As yet another year draws to a close and a new one awaits just on the horizon, it’s a time to assess where you stand as a responsible career-climber.
Indeed, this is not unlike a small job evaluation…you want to determine what it is you wish to accomplish in the new year and, perhaps more importantly, how to achieve those goals. Questions such as “Where am I positioned for growth?” and “Where do I have my work cut out for me?” should be at the top of the list when entering the goal setting 2018 realm, and taking “stock” at the year’s end provides an opportunity to focus and help you adjust your approach to work.
In figuring out what you want to accomplish and how to achieve it, consider the following:
1. Ask Yourself These Questions
To help with your career goals evaluation, ask yourself the following five questions as you glance back at the last 12 months – and ahead to a fresh new year:
• What Career Goals Did I Accomplish?
• Were My Skills Sharpened?
• What is the One Thing That Occurred This Year That I Would Change if Possible?
• Was I Happy at My Job?
• What Do I Want To Accomplish with Regard to My Career in the Coming Year…and How Will I Set Myself Up for Success?
• What Motivates Me? – Think about what inspires you to do your best work beyond the monetary factor.
2. Review Your Accomplishments and Shortcomings…Notice Any Patterns?
Think about what you’ve accomplished this year, with regard to both goals at work and larger professional insights; did you engage in everything you planned to this year? What were your largest wins and losses?
3. What is Getting in Your Way? What are Your Barriers?
Is there anything preventing you from achieving your goals right now? Your official performance review can be helpful here; for example: Your immediate supervisor may have indicated that you need additional experience or different skills in order to advance to that next plateau in your career. Or, you might already know what it is that’s standing in your way.
4. Find Support When it Comes to Helping You Stay Accountable
Ask anyone who has ever attempted a serious diet: It’s much easier to remain motivated when there’s a support team in your corner. Build your own supporting cast to help you stay on track, and regroup when you “fall off the wagon.”
5. Set Measurable Timelines
Most people set massive, overreaching, difficult-to-measure goals for themselves because they’re concerned only with the idea of the end result. In 2018, we challenge you to focus your intention on one large goal and break that goal into smaller steps to get there. For example, if your goal is to be more innovative at work come up monthly milestones related to building up that skill.
6. Find Small Ways to Stick to Your Goals
A year is a long time to reach any kind of goals, and it’s easy to forget about them or become overwhelmed with the effort it takes to achieve them. One way to approach your goals moving into 2018 is to conjure up 12 separate ones that relate to an overall “master” goal, one for each month of the year.
7. Use Frameworks to Organize Your Thoughts and Outline Your Plan
Here’s a simple and extremely effective framework you can use for setting your goals – the process consists of three components:
• Think BIG
• Act SMALL
• Move QUICKLY
We call this the “BSQ Framework,” and it revolves around this philosophy: You always want to think big and never want to sell yourself short through setting small goals, acting small enables you to set a series of milestones that you must hit along the way and moving quickly represents the timeline you put in place to follow.
When it comes to goal setting in 2018, AimHire has the expertise and managerial horsepower to take your aspirations to the next level.
