Get Smart About Your Job Search With S.M.A.R.T. Goals!
Get Smart About Your Job Search With S.M.A.R.T. Goals!

Originally attributed to Peter Drucker, the philosophy behind S.M.A.R.T. Goals was first introduced in his 1954 The Practice of Management. The term itself was first coined by George T. Doran in the November 1981 issue of Management Review.

So, what is a S.M.A.R.T. Goal?

Essentially, a S.M.A.R.T. Goal is an objective that is more likely to be achieved if it meets certain criteria. When you say something vague, like “I want to be more financially stable,” you are not being specific enough about what you want and how you will get there in order to move as directly as possible towards your goal. Saying something along the lines of “I want to save 20% of my income over the next 6 months”, you have put parameters in place to help you succeed. The sentiment of both these statements might be the same, but the efficacy of the second statement is much greater.

Let’s break down the components of the S.M.A.R.T. Goal acronym to help us better understand how they can guide us towards our success in searching for a job.

Specificity:

What does success look like with your goal? Would the same goal have different outcomes for someone else? For instance, if you just want to “get a job”, it will not mean the same thing for someone who has different talents and opportunities. You could try saying something like “I want to get a job in the automotive industry”, or “I want to get a job at ReStart”.

Be as specific as possible. If you find it’s hard to narrow down exactly what the end goal is, try making a goal that can help you grow. Instead of saying “I want to be the head chef at a certain restaurant”, maybe for now your goal should be “I want to develop the necessary skills to further my career in the food industry”.

Specificity is just one element, however. Let’s explore other aspects of setting strong goals.

Measurable:

A goal cannot be a goal if there is no way to know if you have achieved it or not. As such, when setting goals there needs to be some way for you to measure that you have accomplished what you set out to do.

For example, you could say “I want to lose weight”. How much weight do you want to lose, though? Maybe you only want to lose 5 pounds, maybe you want to lose 50. Set a marker so you know when you’ve hit your target. A better goal would be “I want to lose 50 pounds”, because you can continue to weigh yourself to find out once you’ve succeeded.

You can also set little goals along the way, to help measure your overall progress towards a larger objective. This can also help you stay focused on your priorities.

Attainable/Action-Oriented:

Not meeting your goals can be frustrating and disheartening. In order to line yourself up for success, it is critical that you make sure you actually have the potential to achieve your goal.

Maybe you dream of being an architect. But if you’re not trained, making a goal like “I want to get a job as an architect this year” might be setting your bar too high. This doesn’t mean that you have to abandon your loftier aspirations, but you need to dial in your goals to what is available right in front of you. While you might not get a job as an untrained architect right away, why not try a goal like “I will look into schools for architecture and talk to professional architects about how to make a career in this field”. Now, that is something you can do right away.

Be realistic about yourself and what you are qualified for. If need be, set goals that are closer to home.

Results-bound/Relevant:

Remember that these are YOUR goals. When planning for them, ask yourself if it is something that would actually be worthwhile to you. Are you choosing this goal because you are motivated by it? Is it important to you that you achieve it?

If you just feel pressured to make a goal, you won’t be putting your all into it. This is one of the main reasons people abandon their objectives before they succeed at them.

If you want to be an airplane pilot, but right now your goal is “I want to get my boater’s license”, you might be barking up the wrong tree. Do what’s right for you, and you’ll find that accomplishing goals is a cakewalk.

Time-focused/Time-bound:

Make sure you know your deadline. If not, you won’t be able to manage your time correctly, and you may find your goals sitting on the back burner indefinitely.

Similar to the “Measurable” trait, having a timeline to commit to means you can track whether you are actually meeting your targets. Be as specific about it as you can.

Instead of “I’ll send in that application soon” tell yourself “I’ll send in that application this afternoon”, maybe even “I’ll send in that application in the next hour”! Keep yourself focused and motivated on a goal, and you’ll find you naturally start to plan your time accordingly.

As a job-seeker, some of the goals you might want to set for yourself include:

– Updating my resume

– Search for jobs

– Follow up with employers

As we have seen, these objectives would be better if you took a S.M.A.R.T. Goal approach. For instance:

– I will review and update my resume and have it printed and ready by the end of the week.

– I will spend 2 hours a day every weekday looking for new job offers on these certain websites.

– I will send thank you emails to interviewers within 24 hours, and follow-up emails two weeks after each interview.

Take time to think about what your goals are, and whether they fit the S.M.A.R.T. Goal format. If not, simply taking the time to flesh out exactly what you want and making sure it’s attainable will help you feel more rewarded and keep you focused on the solid plan ahead. Good luck!