As we head toward the middle of the year, you'll find yourself thinking about the plans for the next few months - you might be thinking about a Summer holiday or looking forward to a particular sporting event - but how many of you can say that you're putting as much thought into your career goals?


I've mentioned in a previous blog the importance of recording your development (for which we recommend Career Manager).  By keeping a record of your goals, you're more likely to complete them.  The very act of committing them to paper (or in this case adding them to Career Manager) will act as a reminder of what you want to do and allow you to keep track of your goals as you progress.


If you want to be even more certain that you'll achieve your goals then you should aim to make them smart.


SMART is an acronym you've probably come across before - it's often quoted in learning and development training courses along with Maslow's hierarchy of needs - but sometimes whilst we know what something means, we forget to implement it in our own work environment.

So, what is SMART?

Specific – Identify what you are going to do.  Detail what you are going to do and how you are going to do it.

Measurable – How will you know when the goal is achieved?  If you’ve been specific, then you can tick off the items as you complete them.

Achievable – Is the goal something you are likely to complete in the foreseeable future?  If not, then think about shorter steps to get you there or break it down into smaller steps.  The further into the future you leave a goal the vaguer it will be and the more unlikely it will be to be completed.

Realistic – Is this something you can accomplish readily?  Is it likely that you can run a marathon without training or climb a mountain with no experience?

Timebound – Have you set a deadline for doing the actions to meet your goal?  Is it something you can do in one step, or do you need a series of deadlines or a planned set of steps?

 
So, are you SMART?

 

If you are, then that’s great – keep going and hopefully you’ll have time to complete your career goals over the Summer.

 

If you’re not, then start thinking about what you want to achieve for the next few months.  You don’t need to wait until New Year’s Eve to make a resolution – start today.

 

If you really want to stay motivated but think you may want someone to keep you on track, then let us know your SMART goals in the comments section below or join the discussion to keep a note and let us know how you’re progressing.