Focusing your Learning

The primary goal of unpaid placements is educational. This focus allows you to concentrate on learning and development as much as on immediate job performance. Without the pressure of meeting performance metrics tied to compensation, you can feel more comfortable taking risks, trying new approaches, and learning from your mistakes.

In a placement or internship, a person can set various learning goals to maximize their experience. Here are some common types of goals to consider:

1. Academic Learning Goals: Applying theoretical knowledge from coursework to real-world scenarios. For example, using marketing theories to develop a campaign.
2. Technical Skill Development Goals: Building specific skills relevant to the industry, such as mastering a particular software.
3. Soft Skill Development Goals: Focusing on soft skills like communication, teamwork, time management, and critical thinking. The development of soft skills is essential for employment today.
4. Career Exploration Goals: Understanding the roles, responsibilities, and qualifications needed in a specific career. This might include shadowing professionals or learning about different career paths within the industry.
5. Professional Networking Goals: Making industry contacts, finding mentors, and building a professional network that can be valuable for future career opportunities.
6. Cultural Goals: Learning about how to integrate into a workplace culture, including the norms, values, and expectations within the organization.
7. Personal Development Goals: Focusing on personal growth, development, and self-awareness.

When you join an organization, your work will earn you a pay cheque. This is essential of course, but every new job is also an opportunity to meet new people and learn new things. Your manager may help with your learning and networking goals, but you must also take learning and development into your own hands.

Your Placement, Goals, and Objectives

Ultimately the setting of goals will be a collaborative process with your supervisor, but you can come to the discussion prepared with some ideas. As you begin to think about what you hope to gain from your workplace, remember there are a variety of outcomes you may aim for, and a variety of pathways to get there.

A goal describes an outcome that you wish to achieve. The problem most people have with accomplishing the goals they set is creating a manageable step by step process that clearly outlines the actions required to achieve them.  This is where objectives come in. An objective describes the specific actions you will take to meet your goal. Setting goals and objectives give you a focus and a plan.

Let’s look at some examples of goals and objectives:

Goal: Improve my communication skills by practicing public speaking. (soft skill goal)

• Objectives:
  • present project plans at three team meetings,
  • co-present a pitch to two customers within the next three months,
  • seek feedback from my supervisor and co-presenter after each presentation.

Goal: Learn how to create a professional marketing plan. (technical goal)

• Objectives:
  • 1. find three different examples of marketing plans online and discuss the different formats with my supervisor,
  • 2. participate in all weekly meetings of the marketing department and ask one question,
  • 3. conduct research in the next three months to help support the development of my organization’s new marketing plan. Ask for feedback and areas for growth on my research.

Remember to give your objectives quantifiable targets and timelines. Being able to return and reflect on your goals and objectives helps keep you accountable. As you set your goals be clear about the timeline you are aiming to achieve them in. For example, are they for the first three months in your position or the first year?

Merging your personal goals with organizational goals

Your goals will change over your time with an organization. In the section below you will find a way to think about your goals as something that should be continually evolving.

Initiating goals

When you join an organization, it is important to start with fully understanding THEIR goals. Start by taking your own initiative to review publicly available documents from your organization as well as those provided to you. Look for explicitly stated goals but also references to the values and practices that help clarify what they are trying to achieve, how they are going about it, and how your role will contribute. Use this as a basis for thinking about your own goals. Where can your and your organizations’ goals be mutually reinforcing? Together with your supervisor, set collaborative goals that are mutually acceptable and meet both of your desired outcomes as closely as possible. This initial alignment will make it easier for you to track your progress and communicate effectively throughout your tenure with the organization.

Adapting goals

As you learn more about the organization, and they learn more about you, it is useful to periodically look at, and refine, the goals you have set. Plan to do this every 2-6 months both on your own, and with your supervisor. Do an honest assessment and change what needs to be changed. For example, you may have started with a plan to “learn more about writing blogs by working on three a week and obtaining feedback”. As you become more familiar with your role this goal might evolve into “I will seek feedback on my writing tone and use of keywords at each weekly meeting with my supervisor for the next two months”. As you meet your goals, define new ones.

Changing Goals

You may also find that a particular goal will not be able to be met. This can be disappointing. Instead of being frustrated, reflect on what happened. Consider whether the goals were realistic and what obstacles were faced. Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. You may also find that you were unable to meet the goal because the focus of your work has changed, and an entirely new goal and objectives should be set.

Nothing to Do? Add a goal.

Sometimes employees simply do not have enough to do. Perhaps you work efficiently and can complete tasks by mid-morning but are required to be present for the full workday. Other times, your supervisor may be busy and not have assigned you something.  Regardless of the situation, you might be thinking, “what am I going to do now?” Return to your organization’s goals and think about how learning something new could support them in some way. YouTube is full of tutorials for workplace skills like Microsoft Excel, Photoshop, or similar. Whatever you choose, aligning your “something to do to keep busy” activities with the business of the organization would be most effective because you may be able to transfer those skills to your work at your placement.

Remember, your organization will have specific task-related goals for you, but you also want to ensure that you have learning and development goals both for your performance in your current role and for your future. Learning objectives will help you focus your efforts. Goals and objectives help you be clear on what you are trying to achieve and provide a basis for guiding conversations with your manager. This will ensure that you both enjoy an optimum experience and avoid disappointment or confusion down the road.