Why Goals?

Do you know where you’d like to be in one year when it comes to your career? In five years? What interests and skills do you want to use to further your career and get on the path to success? Very few people actually have concrete goals for their careers. In a study of Harvard MBA students, 84% claimed they had no goals. Zero. Zilch. Guess who ended up making more money in ten years' time?

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In order to make your vision a reality, you need to set goals. But how can you guarantee that once you set your goals, you’ll actually meet them? The science is in… the key to achieving your goals is to write them down! It’s been proven that writing down your goals helps you meet and even exceed them. Studies show people who write down their goals and can vividly describe their vision are nearly 1.4 times more likely to succeed.

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So how does it work? The act of writing things down helps your brain process the information deeper, allowing you to retain whatever information you need for longer periods of time. It embeds whatever you write in your long-term memory, keeping the information primed and at the forefront of everything you do.

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SMART Goals

When it comes to setting goals for your career, SMART goals should be your go-to. They make you more accountable, responsible, and realistic — and studies show they work.

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Time-Bound
   

Writing down your goals and visions keeps you accountable, especially if you share this writing with a friend or coworker. If you also take the time to set and write down deadlines, your accountability skyrockets, and you have that much more of a chance to succeed. And if you aren’t comfortable sharing your goals with your peers, Career Companion can be your accountability partner!

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Action

• Use Career Companion: Career Playbook > Goals to capture your career goals with a set deadline

• Keep track of your progress for each of your goals

• Career Companion hosts a library of over 50 goals you can choose from if you aren’t sure where to start, and has resources for jotting down those goals, setting deadlines, and keeping everything organized.