By: Adrienne Moulton

Can you believe it is already December? I’m sure you can agree that a lot has happened over the past 11 months. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, especially when the Holiday Season hits. It’s also easy to lose sight of our best-laid plans. Think back to the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of this year. Reflect on the progress you made (or did not make) towards these goals. Reflect on the actions you took (or didn’t take) towards achieving these goals. Where do you stand? Have you met or exceeded these goals? If you answered, “Yes” to this previous question, congratulations! 

If you missed your goals by a long shot, or just simply are not where you wanted to be as this year comes to a close, you need to do something differently. Whether you need to reassess your goal-achieving approach or possibly refresh your memory on how to effectively set goals, use these following steps to creating SMART goals as you prepare to map out your 2019 objectives:

1. Set Specific goals. Your goal must be clear and well-defined. What exactly is it that you want in your career? Where do you want to end up in your career path?
2. Set Measurable goals. You must be able to measure or monitor your goal so you are able to track the level of success, and also so you know once you have achieved your goal.
3. Set Attainable goals. Do not set too lofty of a goal to where it is impossible to achieve. Yes, it’s true, aiming high for goals is a good practice so that you push yourself but you do not want to aim too high to where it is simply demotivating. This is where you have to be honest with yourself and your capabilities. 
4. Set Relevant goals. Your goal should be pertinent to the larger picture of what you want to achieve. It should coincide with the direction you want your career and ultimately your life to take.
5. Set Time-Boxed goals. It is critical that you establish deadlines for your goal. You need to know what timeline you’re working against so that you know when success can be measured. Deadlines also create a sense of urgency which should help you march towards your goal much quicker than you naturally would with an open timeline.

Make sure you write your goals down, so that way you can visually track your progress!

Perhaps even after thinking through the SMART goals approach you are unable to come up with goals you can get behind. You may be burnt out and in need of a new position or environment. If this is the case, it may be time to reconsider your career and the current role you are in. It may be time to polish the resume, dry-clean your suit, and brush up on your interviewing skills. While taking care of those job search essentials, leave the rest up to us. 

That’s right, we can do the job searching for you. Based on your goals, hard skills, soft skills, and career preferences, we will do our best to present various opportunities to you. You deserve to be happy in your career, and your passion for your job should be able to drive the goals you set and the motivation it takes to achieve those goals. 

If you think you may be ready for a change or at least would like to see what may be out there, please feel free to contact your RMC Recruiting Agent. If you have not been in touch with one, feel free to submit your resumethrough our website. You may also chat with a live RMC Recruiter through our website Chat tool (look for the bubble in the right-hand corner of your screen!) Or if you choose, email your resume or indicate your interest in getting in touch with an RMC Recruiter via [email protected].