5 steps to SMART Goals and Career planning

Career planning is an ongoing process which requires taking up actions and activities, to create a future work success by designing, learning and executing your action plans. The most important activity however is devising a plan to help you achieve your career goal, it is crucial as all your actions are a result of the said plan.

A goal is a time specific objective that is measurable and can be acted upon. To have and work on a career plan goals are the measures whose achievability acts as a milestone. The fact about goals are they constantly keep changing as they are achieved and to help keep framing the best goals here is an explanation of a renowned acronym SMART goals that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.

Specific- Your goals to move ahead in your career plan must be specific with no room for confusion or doubts, for instance I want to be area sales manager in the next 2 years is a more specific goal than saying I want a promotion

Measurable- How do you tell whether you have achieved your goal, is it as soon as the stipulated time ends? Measurable goals are generally quantifiable for instance, increasing income by 25% is a measurable goal your progress with income as a parameter makes measurability easier

Achievable- Goals have to be realistic and current conditions driven, failing to reach a milestone is a major cause of disappointment.

Relevant- Your course of actions has to be a product of all your limitations in the sense of events or circumstances you are in, for instance if you are a fresher in the corporate aiming for higher studies should be after considering your costs, financial obligations and commitment to the organization, if any

Time Bound- If your goals are not time bound, they do not have a deadline and when there is no deadline there comes the human tendency of procrastination, which means there is an unscheduled delay in your career plan.

ACHIEVER NETWORK a platform for like- minded individuals to synergize, helps one stay focused and set short, medium and long term goals under the supervision of international coaches. The platform also has tools that are designed to help you get closer to your career goals.