How to Set Job Goals
Occasionally---particularly near the beginning of a calendar or fiscal year---a supervisor or manager may ask you to set job goals for the upcoming year. He also may request you to set some short-term goals. Regardless of whether you need to set long- or short-range goals, there are certain criteria that you should follow. The criteria you follow remain the same, regardless of the type of career in which you find yourself.
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Instructions
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Set goals that are specific. Every goal that you set should be clear in defining exactly what you want to accomplish. When setting a goal, you should have a clear understanding of what you want to see happen during a determined period.
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Make a measurable goal. Regardless of the goal you make for yourself, there should be some way to measure your success in achieving the goal. In some jobs, this could involve a number of sales made or a number of meetings held.
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Set achievable goals. You may not be able to achieve a goal to sell the most used cars in the country if you are living in a community of 1,000 people. Set goals that your circumstances would allow you to achieve. Always stretch and challenge yourself, but be realistic in your expectations.
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Set relevant goals. Make sure that the goals you set for yourself relate to the department or section in which you work. For example, if you work as a college professor, your goals should focus on the things that are relevant to your position and not on trying to lower tuition costs or increase enrollment for the university.
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Make a time frame. Every goal you set should have an accompanying time line. Often, the best motivation for completing a goal is knowing that there is a date at which it should be completed. Having a date set to complete the goal can allow you to keep that date in mind as you assess how much time you should spend on different aspects of the goal.
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