9 Set Goals

Set Goals and Create a Plan

Did you discover that you need to improve some of your hard or soft skills before you land the job you desire?

Set long- and short-term goals at different intervals of your journey. These goals might relate to a skill you need to develop or a change you want to make in your life.

Instead of setting a plain, old, boring goal, set a SMART goal! SMART is an acronym for smart, measurable, achievable, relevant or realistic, and time-bound.

Watch the following video to learn more about SMART goals.

Responsive Classroom. (2020, October 14). Setting SMART goals [Video]. YouTube.

Here is an example of a plain, old, boring (and probably useless) goal: I want a job where I make enough money to buy a house.

If you really want to achieve your goal, you need a plan. So, transform it into a SMART goal:

• Specific: I want to find a full-time job in a hospital where I earn at least $50K yearly.
  • (quite specific!)
• Measurable: I will keep track of all my efforts to achieve this by keeping a journal.
  • (this is how I can accurately measure my progress and figure out when I have achieved my goal)
• Achievable: I will search for jobs on several websites every day and apply to at least 3 jobs each week.
  • (this is what I will need to do to achieve the goal)
• Relevant: This goal is relevant because it will allow me to be independent and provide for my family.
  • (this is why I want to achieve this goal)
• Time-bound: I will achieve this goal 1 year from today.
  • (this is when I hope to have achieved it)

Chapter Review

Before trying to write your own SMART goal, try this short quiz to check your understanding of the components of a SMART goal.