The Practical Benefits of Setting Goals for Career Transitions and Job Searches.
The New Year has begun, and the Great Resignation continues. With it comes career transitions and searches for new opportunities. The desire to find a new role requires setting goals and keeping track of all of the moving parts of a successful job search.
The Importance of Describing What You Want
Before you can obtain the role you want, you need to accurately describe what that new work will look like in as much detail as possible. At this point comes the need to plan your search and understand the elements that go into goal setting and the obstacles you may face.
The purpose of goals and plans is to set a target and recognize the possible ways to reach the target. Setting goals for your career transition and job search is a dynamic process. Are your goals aligned with your values, strengths, and skills?.
Determining the work you want to do and recognizing the skills and strengths you have used to achieve your professional accomplishments will help you establish the goal and increase your confidence that the goal you set is what you truly want. This confidence will help you in your transition. Your confidence will be apparent as you network with others. Take the time to be sure this is what you want. Prioritize your goals, so you are not overwhelmed or lost.
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goal-Setting Framework
A practical goal-setting framework for career management is the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal method. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Related, Evaluate, and Revise. When setting the new position's goal, you want to be as specific as possible in describing the content of the role. Focus on the work rather than the title. Can you visualize yourself doing this work? When you create your marketing plan, specificity counts. If your networking request is too broad and general, it won’t be understood, and you will have missed an opportunity.
Recognizing Past Successes and Using Incrementalism
When you start your marketing campaign, you will need to plan measurable tasks. Your self-confidence may be compromised when you start your job search. It is natural to have feelings of fear that you won’t reach the target. Reflect on and recognize your past successes. Small tasks accomplished can help address that fear. Start with the "low hanging fruit" Manage your expectations to achieve the objective. In an important goal, you need to complete small incremental steps to feel accomplishment from the beginning and boost your motivation. Remember, what is hard to do by the yard, is a cinch to do by the inch. Acknowledging these accomplishments will keep you focused and optimistic about the outcome. Focus on what you can control.
Committing To Your Goals
Can you achieve what you have set for your goal, whether it is doing the work of the position you want, developing the marketing tools you need to tell your story, or networking with those who can help you? Ask yourself if you have the motivation to follow through. Are you committed to the goal you set based on what you want? Are you interested in achieving your goal, or are you genuinely involved? The
differences between interest and involvement are the same as between egg salad and chicken salad. Is this goal realistic, or are your expectations beyond your reach? Do you have the knowledge, skills, interest, and strengths to do the work necessary to achieve this goal? If you have what it takes, avoid multitasking and stay focused on the work at hand. Get the buy-in from those around you for support.
Find a person or group to help you maintain accountability. The job search can be lonely with rejection, indifference, and silence. Be ready for it. Like a storm at sea, it is inevitable, be prepared with support around you.
Goals and Timelines Go Hand-In-Hand
Goals need timelines. When do you want to be in that new position? Are your timelines realistic? Can you accomplish all that is necessary to meet that objective? Track your activities to see where you need to give attention. Manage your time by prioritizing and scheduling tasks. If you don’t plan it, it won’t get done. Do not let perfection become the enemy of done. Avoid procrastination.
Evaluate your work as you go forward. Develop productive habits that help you to monitor your progress periodically. Do not fall victim to the New Year’s syndrome. You cannot set a goal and forget it. Whatever you want to improve, you need to measure your progress. Otherwise, without measurement, you can’t tell whether or not you are making progress and where you can improve your actions. This recognition will help your motivation. Stay consistent; turn the crank every day to complete your tasks to achieve your goal. Don't wait for the inspiration, and inspiration may come with the feeling the
accomplishment.
Don’t Fear Failure. Learn From it
What are you learning from the tasks you undertake to achieve your goals? Are you using this knowledge to modify your plans and performance? Embrace failure rather than fear it. Its value is in the lesson it teaches and the opportunity to improve. Consider the obstacles you face as challenges to overcome or problems to be solved. Go over, under, around, or through them.
Revising your career goals may become necessary. Think of all the five-year career plans turned upside down by the pandemic. Permit yourself to look realistically at your goals as you move forward with your career. Balance your work goals with your career management and personal development goals. Your skills and knowledge have brought you this far, and to create future success, you must improve what you have and acquire new skills and knowledge. Periodically assess where you are, review your interests and accomplishments and think about what long-term career success looks like for you.
A challenge to achieving your goal is giving up too soon. Like gardens, they take time to show results, and with diligence, they will. Results may not appear immediately, but that doesn’t mean it is a waste of effort. Have patience.
When the goal is within sight, it is time to redouble your efforts, pay close attention to the details, and finish strong.