Career Goals Heres How to Help Candidates Thrive in the World

Career Goals Heres How to Help Candidates Thrive in the World AdrianNaik;Flickr Goals are powerful tools for all of us they act as a compass to help us navigate our way toward success. Setting them can be a challenge, and sticking to them and staying on course is even more difficult. Job seekers need to set career goals as they take steps on their journey through the job market. It helps with finding a good employer who will be a strong fit for them. A 2015 survey from Saba found that 31 percent of employees would share their goals, background talents, and motivations if it led to a more accurate workforce placement. Good news sharing goals does indeed lead to better opportunities because it gives potential employers a vision for the candidate’s future and shows their motivation. But this all starts with creating a strategy of goal setting. This is how you can help your candidates set career goals and find their target: Make SMART Goals The popular acronym SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) is popular because it works. Specific goals give candidates a target to aim for, a definable, tangible result that determines success. The measurable quality allows them to know how theyre progressing. Breaking larger career goals into smaller steps helps maintain a sense of motivation and engagement, allowing job seekers to celebrate the little wins along the way. If there are no time frames or deadlines, productivity tends to wane. Kill procrastination by setting up a schedule of tasks and smaller projects. It drives them to action and holds them accountable. Assign Accountability One of our greatest motivating factors is the people around us. Assign accountability partners or create teams for candidates to join. They can discuss updates on their work, share motivating insights to stay engaged, and create a safe place to celebrate wins. A Dominican University study from 2011 found that 70 percent of the participants who sent weekly updates to a friend reported successful goal achievement (completely accomplished their goal or were more than half way there), compared to 35 percent of those who kept their goals to themselves, without writing them down. Write Everything Down Writing down goals helps people organize their thoughts and emotions, allowing them to flow with their stream of thoughts and transform those thoughts into actionable guidelines. A 2014 study published by Palgrave Communications looked at academic performance of first-year college students. It found that a goal setting intervention that involved writing “boosted academic achievement and increased retention rates.” Writing goals taps into the growth mindset, allowing candidates to see themselves not as a stagnant person, but rather as someone able to develop new strengths. These types of writing exercises can help them visualize obstacles they may encounter. Using mental imagery and visualizing what success looks like is a valuable, meaningful practice that helps professional athletes win games and earn gold medals. Candidates are no different. Create writing assignments to encourage these visualization techniques. Know When to Change Career goals are so difficult to commit to because people change over time. We burn out, get bored, lose interest, and second guess. The good news is that second guessing is part of the process. It’s ok to change goals. It doesn’t mean the candidate is failing or giving up it’s a sign of evolution. For example, if they wanted to enter a small startup in IT but realize they work better in a larger company and prefer better job security and more mobility, they can reroute and see how that impacts the long term. Advise them on identifying the intent behind the change and help them revisit the first step of goal setting. They should write down the new vision, share it with their accountability support system, and track progress toward success. How do you help your candidates follow their career goals?