As we all head into post-pandemic life, you may be rethinking how you set and achieve your goals.
Your career is a great place to set goals for yourself. Whether you’re happy or disappointed with where you’re at in your career, everyone could use a few goals to motivate themselves. Goals don’t always have to be huge accomplishments, either. In fact, setting smaller-scale goals such as X amount of blog posts per month or x amount of marketing events are great ways to achieve goals and improve your career.
The most difficult part about setting goals is sticking to them. Knowing how to stick with and achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself is an incredibly important skill to have.
Be S.M.A.R.T.
A well-known concept used in goal setting is a principle known as S.M.A.R.T; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Each of these play a specific role in proper goal setting:
Specific: Instead of a general statement about what you want, develop a specific and concrete goal. Instead of “I want a new job in marketing,” change that to “I will apply and interview for X amount of marketing jobs by Y date.” This specificity allows you to focus on a specific aspect of a goal rather than trying to tackle a huge aspiration all at once.
Measurable: No goal is worth setting unless you can monitor and track your work towards the goal. Allow yourself to be able to measure your progress easily such as a certain amount of networking events per month.
Achievable and realistic: Make sure you’re within your means for achieving your goal. Aiming to be hired as a Creative Director when you’re only a few years into your career isn’t a natural career transition. Research whatever your goal may be and find out what it takes to reach that goal realistically. While it’s noble to set the bar high, make sure you can actually achieve your goals with hard work and persistence.
Timely: Bottom line, don’t try and rush your goals. Give yourself enough time to complete the goals you set for yourself. If you’re hoping for a promotion, don’t expect it to happen in 2 weeks, layout a plan over a certain amount of time. If you feel hurried and rushed while trying to reach a goal, this will only work against you.
Having career goals, no matter how big or small they may be, is incredibly important. The next time you set a goal for yourself, consider the S.M.A.R.T. ideology and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your career goals!
Is your goal to find a new job? Check out our current openings in marketing, creative and digital and apply today!
