How to Set Work and Personal Goals for a Job
Setting goals helps you to focus your efforts when you are on the job. Determining your career objectives may keep you motivated, satisfy your job expectations, help you earn an above satisfactory performance evaluation and avoid disappointment. As you work with your manager to create work goals, remember that you also should pursue measurable personal goals for your job. Whether you receive recognition or not from your manager, you will have the satisfaction of meeting your objectives and improving your performance.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Set Work Goals
-
1
Read your position description. Look for key skills, behaviors, competencies, tasks and values that you must exhibit or achieve as an employee.
-
2
Write a list of measurable and achievable goals that will help you reach the key expectations of your job, recommends MindTools.com. For example, specify how many sales calls you will perform in one day and one week.
-
-
3
Rank your goals in the order of priority. Break them down into smaller goals, if necessary, to make them achievable.
-
4
Remove goals that will distract you from being successful in your job. For example, any objective that relies on the performance of another employee, such as the completion of a team project, should be removed. You may specify a goal for your portion of the project only.
-
5
Set new goals throughout the year in response to feedback from your manager.
Setting Personal Goals
-
6
Document a career objective. Since you may be on your career path, this can be different than what you wrote on your resume prior to getting this job.
-
7
Write personal goals that will motivate you to perform your key work tasks and will help you grow as a person. For example, you may be determined to exercise during lunch to improve your energy level at work in the afternoon and to help you lose weight.
-
8
Review your goals to ensure that your growth as a person also helps you work progressively towards your career objective.
-
9
Seek training and other resources from your manager and organization that will help you achieve your personal goals for your job.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Be realistic in the expectations that you set for yourself.
Don't write personal or work goals that set you up for failure.
