Setting SMART Goals for your job search
SMART goals were outlined back in 1981 by George T. Doran, who noticed that many business goals were too vague to have a meaningful impact. He collaborated with his colleagues to address this concern and created SMART goals. The acronym SMART stands for specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related.
In job search, SMART goals can be applied as shown below:
Specific: The goal needs to be specific. Ask yourself, what do I want to accomplish for myself with my career this year? A new job or position within the company? A new career? A plan for retirement? Write out your vision. Be clear and be concise so you can focus your efforts.
Measurable: The goal should be measurable. Decide how many hours in a week you want to commit to your specific goal. Should the goal be to get a new job, then allocate a weekly number of hours for job search activities. For example, say you want to begin your search efforts by committing 20 hours each week to job search. Of these 20 hours, you would like to have 11 of those hours dedicated to networking, 5 to responding to job postings, 2 to refining your job search skills, and 2 hours to upskilling. This creates accountability which will lead to measurable results, i.e. job interviews!
Attainable: The goal should be attainable. Understand the challenges ahead and create a plan on how to address the challenges. For example, if your goal is to go back to school to complete your degree, research the expense and time it will take. Talk openly with your family members about your goal in order to attain support and circumvent issues.
Realistic: The goal should be realistic. For example, if your goal is to launch a new business, set reasonable expectations as to when you can expect to generate revenue. The same applies if your goal was to re-career. Set a reasonable expectation as to when you may get an opportunity for employment.
Time-bound: The goal should be achievable within a reasonable amount of time. For example, when in job search, select a reasonable timeline for a landing date based on the market. The same applies if you are pursuing a certification. Take into account time constraints when determining a completion date.