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Effective employees don’t just work hard, they work SMART. Setting personal goals helps you accomplish more and get more fulfillment out of your career. SMART Goals is a method many professionals use to advance their work lives and meet personal benchmarks. The SMART Goals acronym gives people a roadmap through which they can formulate highly-achievable goals.
Each piece of the acronym gives workers a succinct direction for attaining reaching further in their careers. Below, we’ll get into what the acronym stands for and how you can apply it to your daily life!
Breaking Down the SMART Goals Acronym
If you’re using the SMART Goals acronym to shift jobs, it makes sense to use ZipRecruiter. As a job site, ZipRecruiter specializes in pairing people with job opportunities that expand their careers and facilitate growth.
But experts know that growth doesn’t end with the job hunt. That’s why the acronym SMART Goals was created!
Specific
The first step to a successful implementation of the SMART Goals method is to make your goal as specific as possible.
This doesn’t just mean thinking to yourself, I want to be a manager someday. Instead, you should consider the 5 W’s. Ask yourself:
- “What are my goals?”
- “Why are they important to me?”
- “Who can help me succeed?”
- “Where does my success happen?”
- “Which resources can I tap into?”
Then, put it all together into one seamless goal. For instance, a person who wants to be a manager might write down:
“I want to be a head manager at my news company because I value creating a positive work environment and publishing truth-filled pieces. To accomplish this, I’ll need to find a mentor who has been in this position.”
“I can also learn from my supervisor and take advantage of the continuing education incentives my company offers.”
Sometimes, your goals might highlight the need for a career change. In that case, you’ll need a trusted job site to locate the positions that best help you achieve more.
Measurable
Next, make your goals measurable. This involves sitting down and asking yourself how you’ll know a goal has been reached.
Usually, goals come with a set of signs when they’ve been completed. In our example above, the aspiring news manager might know they’ve accomplished their goal when they get a promotion.
You should also set some smaller, measurable goals along the way. For example, you could set out to complete a course that will give you the skills you need to meet your larger goals.
Establishing tinier goals helps you measure your progress as you go. It also breaks down the process, making it seem less unachievable.
Achievable
Speaking of achievability, you’ll want to make sure each of your goals is attainable. You should know exactly how you plan on achieving your goals.
In addition, you should consider the obstacles to achieving each objective. You might discover you need to deal with one or two items before you go about pursuing your goals. You may also find you need to scrap the pursuit of a particular goal altogether.
That might sound discouraging, but it will save you time and disappointment. Identifying a goal’s achievability also points you to the resources you may need. For example, if you don’t have the license you need, you’ll know you need to get training.
Relevant
You should always try to set goals that remain relevant to other things going on in your life. If you don’t, you might end up setting goals that don’t contribute to your career.
When you set professional goals, keep the essence of what you do in mind. Remind yourself why you’re doing what you do. Commit to making goals that contribute to that sense of purpose.
It’s fine to set goals in other areas of your life, too. Just make sure you separate those goals from your work goals! Those work goals will go a very long way after you create your account in ZipRecruiter. These are the markers from which potential employers will be able to gauge your goal-setting/achieving skills!
Sometimes, you might want to figure out how to best balance your work and home goals. Some parents accomplish this by working from home!
Time-Bound
Finally, every effective goal remains time-bound. Having a time-bound goal means you know exactly when you’ll be doing each stage.
You’ll also know when you plan on achieving your goal. This helps you stay on track and keeps you motivated!
Divide your goal up into years, months, and weeks. Decide what you want to accomplish by particular dates and do your best to stick to the plan.
If the goal is time-sensitive, you might want to schedule in a little more time than you think you’ll need. That way, if something comes up, you’ll still have time to complete it!
Getting SMART About Your Goals
When you start using SMART Goals, you’re going to notice a huge difference in what you achieve. The SMART Goals acronym helps you define what you want in life. It also paves a road for you to attain those goals as you search for your job with ZipRecruiter. So, no matter what you plan on doing, make your goals SMART!
If you want to learn more about meeting specific goals, our website can help. We provide useful pieces of advice that will help you make your day-to-day life easier. Read some more of our articles today to start knocking your goals out!
