What Is Your Career Foundation

What Is Your Career Foundation Today I spent time with my dad sealing the chicken coop, which is super important because soon well have more rain and snow. I would hate for my wood to get rotten just because we didnt do this important step! Painting is a slow process which means you get to stand in one place for too long. While spending so much intimate time with my coop, talking to my dad and thinking about my kids that are growing up and getting ready to do grown-up things, I thought about this project that I wasnt quite sure I could do (but I did it!! With help, of course). I like to go out every once in a while and slap a wall, just to make sure it doesnt move. Kind of like how, before you buy a car, you kick the tires. Who knows what that is going to prove, but for some reason kicking the tires is like the final approval. The coop doesnt move, not even a little.   Its so gratifying. My dad asked if we were going to paint the foundation and I said no, I dont think so. Its treated wood and should be fine and not painting it should be fine. But then I started to really think about the foundation, what it is for, and how important it is. Getting to this point took A LOT of work there are four 4x4s that had to be level. The wood is treated lumber, so it doesnt rot: Now that the 4x4s are in we can put the trusses (not sure if thats the right word) on, which will hold the floor sheets. The trusses are also treated.   Mess any of this up and youll have a wonky floor.   No chicken wants to walk on a wonky floor! Nothing would be standing today if it werent for a good, solid, healthy foundation. Weve had some crazy storms since this coop went up, and the walls are fine, as is the roof.   If we had a bad foundation I imagine something would have moved a little, and with a little movement, the entire integrity of the coop would be bad. I thought about YOU, and your career foundation.   What is your foundation? Is it solid? Is it square?   Is it made out of the right materials? Career Foundation Materials Did you know you cant use just any wood to make your foundation? For me, that meant I couldnt use the cheap would, I had to use the expensive wood! Its called treated lumber and its made to sit on the ground, get wet, be in mud, etc.   Non-treated wood will rot and it will be ugly. You cant have a foundation that will rot. What is your foundation made of? Mine is a CIS degree, and an MBA. It is my training in management and leadership and project and product management. It is in Spanish and English. Those are all the things I was told would help me be gainfully employed throughout my career. What Ive learned since is there are other parts of a career foundation, which include: Character Personal integrity Work ethic Personal network Personal brand Hustle Career management mindedness You must pair your on-paper credentials with personal and professional characteristics. Some of these are highly visible, others are hidden underneath everything else. But they are all important. Just make sure you arent doing shortcuts and using the cheap stuff. Im not saying everything you do needs to cost a lot, but make sure you are getting quality. A solid career foundation As we were putting the floor on the foundation I noticed that the foundation didnt move. It was SOLID. Perhaps you could have gotten a sledgehammer and knocked some of it around, but really, it was solid. Think about how solid your foundation is.   Or, another way of looking at it, how strong it is.   You get strength with depth and experience. If you read an article on electrical engineering, you might have a small idea of some EE principles. But that doesnt make you and electrical engineer. If you get an EE degree, you have a much more solid understanding of EE.   Then, with time on the job, in different challenges and industries, you learn more and more, and you gain expert-level status. Reading an article about what you should know about wont make you an expert it can get you pointed in the right direction, but what are you doing to make sure you are becoming the expert you should be?   Think about continuing education (non-traditionally, like through Pluralsight), job shadowing, and simply just doing more and more things in your space to gain expertise. Is your career foundation square? There was a really annoying part of building the foundation: making it square. That is, perfect 90 degrees at each corner. This is really hard to eyeball you need the right tools (or techniques, like a couple of nails and a string) to figure out if your foundation is square. If its not square, you are doomed. Square is not opinion, it is science, and it is proven. Some careers dont seem to have a square equivalent. What makes an entrepreneur successful?   Education? Luck? Timing? Hard work?   A certain combination of those? I know a homebuilder who is a major hustler, who barely makes ends meet. I know another homebuilder who has a huge, wonderful business.   Whats the difference? Im still trying to figure that out. They both have hustle, they are both smart, they are both really good. Whats the different between the two? One figure it out, the other might not even know there is more to figure out. With other jobs it is easier to identify what is square. It might be a certain education, degree, certification, or test. You should be expert enough to figure out what you need to do, that you cant get around, to be what you want to be. Need an idea on where to start? Find someone with the job title you want and interview them. Then interview their boss. They should be able to point you in the right direction on next steps for your career. When you have a solid foundation, built the right way, with the right things, you can build something great on it. Your something great is your career.   But make sure your foundation is right. What Is Your Career Foundation Today I spent time with my dad sealing the chicken coop, which is super important because soon well have more rain and snow. I would hate for my wood to get rotten just because we didnt do this important step! Painting is a slow process which means you get to stand in one place for too long. While spending so much intimate time with my coop, talking to my dad and thinking about my kids that are growing up and getting ready to do grown-up things, I thought about this project that I wasnt quite sure I could do (but I did it!! With help, of course). I like to go out every once in a while and slap a wall, just to make sure it doesnt move. Kind of like how, before you buy a car, you kick the tires. Who knows what that is going to prove, but for some reason kicking the tires is like the final approval. The coop doesnt move, not even a little.   Its so gratifying. My dad asked if we were going to paint the foundation and I said no, I dont think so. Its treated wood and should be fine and not painting it should be fine. But then I started to really think about the foundation, what it is for, and how important it is. Getting to this point took A LOT of work there are four 4x4s that had to be level. The wood is treated lumber, so it doesnt rot: Now that the 4x4s are in we can put the trusses (not sure if thats the right word) on, which will hold the floor sheets. The trusses are also treated.   Mess any of this up and youll have a wonky floor.   No chicken wants to walk on a wonky floor! Nothing would be standing today if it werent for a good, solid, healthy foundation. Weve had some crazy storms since this coop went up, and the walls are fine, as is the roof.   If we had a bad foundation I imagine something would have moved a little, and with a little movement, the entire integrity of the coop would be bad. I thought about YOU, and your career foundation.   What is your foundation? Is it solid? Is it square?   Is it made out of the right materials? Career Foundation Materials Did you know you cant use just any wood to make your foundation? For me, that meant I couldnt use the cheap would, I had to use the expensive wood! Its called treated lumber and its made to sit on the ground, get wet, be in mud, etc.   Non-treated wood will rot and it will be ugly. You cant have a foundation that will rot. What is your foundation made of? Mine is a CIS degree, and an MBA. It is my training in management and leadership and project and product management. It is in Spanish and English. Those are all the things I was told would help me be gainfully employed throughout my career. What Ive learned since is there are other parts of a career foundation, which include: Character Personal integrity Work ethic Personal network Personal brand Hustle Career management mindedness You must pair your on-paper credentials with personal and professional characteristics. Some of these are highly visible, others are hidden underneath everything else. But they are all important. Just make sure you arent doing shortcuts and using the cheap stuff. Im not saying everything you do needs to cost a lot, but make sure you are getting quality. A solid career foundation As we were putting the floor on the foundation I noticed that the foundation didnt move. It was SOLID. Perhaps you could have gotten a sledgehammer and knocked some of it around, but really, it was solid. Think about how solid your foundation is.   Or, another way of looking at it, how strong it is.   You get strength with depth and experience. If you read an article on electrical engineering, you might have a small idea of some EE principles. But that doesnt make you and electrical engineer. If you get an EE degree, you have a much more solid understanding of EE.   Then, with time on the job, in different challenges and industries, you learn more and more, and you gain expert-level status. Reading an article about what you should know about wont make you an expert it can get you pointed in the right direction, but what are you doing to make sure you are becoming the expert you should be?   Think about continuing education (non-traditionally, like through Pluralsight), job shadowing, and simply just doing more and more things in your space to gain expertise. Is your career foundation square? There was a really annoying part of building the foundation: making it square. That is, perfect 90 degrees at each corner. This is really hard to eyeball you need the right tools (or techniques, like a couple of nails and a string) to figure out if your foundation is square. If its not square, you are doomed. Square is not opinion, it is science, and it is proven. Some careers dont seem to have a square equivalent. What makes an entrepreneur successful?   Education? Luck? Timing? Hard work?   A certain combination of those? I know a homebuilder who is a major hustler, who barely makes ends meet. I know another homebuilder who has a huge, wonderful business.   Whats the difference? Im still trying to figure that out. They both have hustle, they are both smart, they are both really good. Whats the different between the two? One figure it out, the other might not even know there is more to figure out. With other jobs it is easier to identify what is square. It might be a certain education, degree, certification, or test. You should be expert enough to figure out what you need to do, that you cant get around, to be what you want to be. Need an idea on where to start? Find someone with the job title you want and interview them. Then interview their boss. They should be able to point you in the right direction on next steps for your career. When you have a solid foundation, built the right way, with the right things, you can build something great on it. Your something great is your career.   But make sure your foundation is right.

How Often Should You Get A Raise Or Ask For One Answer Here - Algrim.co

How Often Should You Get A Raise Or Ask For One Answer Here - Algrim.co How often should you get a raise? Are you feeling like you’ve been working hard for a while and no one has spoken with you about when you might expect your next raise? This is a common issue. And one that Human Resource departments usually solve. But at the same time, might not be able to solve depending on the financial status of the business. Here’s everything you need to know about how often you should get a raise and whether or not you should ask for one. Table Of Contents When Do Discussions Of Raises Occur? How Often Should I Ask For A Raise? When Is A Bad Time To Ask For A Raise? What If I Need The Raise Sooner? Don’t Expect A Significant Increase When Do Discussions Of Raises Occur? The first thing you should know is when discussions of raises occur. They normally happen during performance reviews. And performance reviews come up every 6-months. Your supervisor should be sitting down with you and address what you’ve done well and what could use some improvement on. In this conversation, they might bring up how long you’ve been with the company. If you’ve been with the company 6-months, I wouldn’t expect discussions of a raise to come up. If you’ve been with the company for 12-months, I would expect the discussion of a raise to come up but be projected out another 6-months. For example, your manager might mention, I see you’ve been doing a great job with us for about a year now. We might assess your compensation in another 6-months or so. In these performance reviews, discussions of a raise come up. If you are looking for a raise, this can be a good opportunity to ask about it. All you have to do is ask, “When might we be able to discuss compensation increases?” How Often Should I Ask For A Raise? Asking for a raise too often can look bad. You should never ask more than once. And when you do ask, you should know the right time and place. The best time to ask for a raise is after your one year anniversary with the company. Don’t do it on the exact date. Choose a time frame slightly after the one year mark. When you do bring it up, be sure you know how to address the fact that your performance has been good and you feel it’s the right time for you, personally. After the first of the year is always a great time to ask about a raise. This is because businesses often perform quarterly planning. And this planning has Human Resource budget allocated to it. That budget is what they can spend to hire or retain existing employment. After the first of the year, your leadership team will have the freshest mindset on what they can spend. If you decide to bring up the fact that you deserve a raise, choose a few months after the first of the year. Related: How To Ask For A Raise (And Get It) 2019: Guide, Sample Emails When Is A Bad Time To Ask For A Raise? The worst time is during moments of the business when the team is trying to achieve a milestone. You don’t want to distract your leadership team with mentions of compensation increase when they’re trying to overcome a business hurdle. This can be perceived as you lacking empathy and understanding for the business. And putting yourself first. If you were to do this, you would greatly increase the chances that you will not receive a raise. What If I Need The Raise Sooner? If you need a raise sooner, let’s say because you are needing to move to a new area in order to stay with the business, then you can bring up your request for a raise before your one year anniversary. It depends on the reasoning. And if that reason is related to you staying with the business. Reasons for that might include needing to move to be closer to the business. Needing to move because your lease is up. Or the need to move because your children have to be in schools closer by your work. When you share these reasons, you should mention that you’ll be experiencing an increase in expenses. And that’s why you’re wanting to ask for a raise. If that’s the truthful circumstances, you won’t be punished. Don’t Expect A Significant Increase It’s important to remember that most raises are, on average, a 4% to 8% increase in annual salary. That’s not incredibly significant. If you are needing more than that out of your raise, you might want to consider changing jobs or asking for a promotion where you might be able to earn more compensation. To ask for a promotion, be sure that you are looking through the companies careers page and finding job listings where you think you may be applicable. Then speak with your manager and Human Resources department about being considered for that position and how you are needing an increase in salary because of your relocation.

10 Ways to Successfully Change Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

10 Ways to Successfully Change Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Im interested in taking my  personal  brand in a new direction. What should I do first, especially if I want to bring my current following with me? These answers are provided by  Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC has also launched  BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. 1. Understand Why Youre Changing Your Brand Dig  into WHY you want to move away from what youre doing. After you have your strong why, connect with your current following and talk to them about your why. Let them know about the changes. How will they be affected? Will it be better? Be clear and communicate the change. You will lose some people, and thats OK since you are moving to a better you.  Jen Brown,  The Engaging Educator 2. Hone Your Voice When youre developing your  personal  brand or changing the direction of an existing one, you should start with developing your voice. How do you want to be perceived? What is your brand messaging? Once you know what your voice will be, it will be easier to build your website, social media channels and blogs.  Kristin Marquet,  Creative Development Agency, LLC 3. Expand Your Scope Take a moment to evaluate why you want to make the change and how your new scope is going to meet the needs of your current followers. For example, if you are Elon Musk, you’ve moved on from PayPal but that doesn’t mean you aren’t using technology to improve the lives of others. Stay engaged with your existing followers as you broaden the scope of your brand to prevent dilution.  Tim Chaves,  ZipBooks Accounting Software 4. Go Behind the Scenes of Your Life Changes Taking your  personal  brand in a new direction means that you are moving in a new direction, and chances are your followers would love to get a behind-the-scenes look at your transformation. To that end, always be honest and open with your journey so that your followers get to really understand and love who you are. That way, theyll continue being your fans no matter how much you change.  Peter Kozodoy,  GEM Advertising 5. Build an Email List One of the first things youll want to do is build an email list to let your followers know what youre up to. You can do this by adding opt-in forms to your website and  blog  posts. Once you have an impressive email list, youll want to start segmenting it based on actions taken on your site to increase open rates.  Syed Balkhi,  OptinMonster 6. Focus on What Makes You Different In simple marketing terms, focus on your unique selling proposition. Determine what sets you apart from your competitors because that’s what your current following will remember. Build on what makes you different, and focus on building a strategy that can help you leverage that difference.  Derek Robinson,  Top Notch Dezigns 7. Reach Out to Other Entrepreneurs for Advice Make a slight adjustment to your content strategy so you reach a new audience without leaving your current one behind. Continue to interact with your current following no matter what other efforts you undertake. Reach out to other entrepreneurs in your niche to see what theyve done as far as rebranding.  Andrew Schrage,  Money Crashers  Personal  Finance 8. Give Your Current Followers a Heads Up Earlier this year, I changed directions with my brand and I had to let everyone know beforehand. I wanted to ensure they knew I was switching over. Then I wanted to see if they would follow me there before I made the official switch. After I received the consent from my top fans, I made the switch. It was peaceful to know that my fan base was going to come with me.  Sweta Patel,  Silicon Valley Startup Marketing 9. Let Them Learn With You Becoming a completely different person overnight would not be good for your image (or sanity). The best approach is to begin tiptoeing into the water you want to swim toward. Aggregate third-party articles, express your curiosity and let them watch you learn more about your expertise. This type of process makes the connection even stronger regardless of how drastic your new positioning may be.  Logan Lenz,  PartsMarket 10. Make the Transition a Step-by-Step Process Your fans follow you because of who you are right now, so don’t try to become something else overnight. Gradually introduce your changes. Give your fans a teaser, then an announcement, then content related to your new direction. Lead your followers step by step until a significant number of them are comfortable with where you are going.  Diego Orjuela,  Cables Sensors

How to crack strengths-based interviews-part 2

How to crack strengths-based interviews-part 2 Since I last wrote about Strengths, (How-to-crack-strengths-based-interviews ) there has been a steady increase in the number of organisations using Strengths-based recruitment in order to determine which candidates will be the best fit. According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, around 40% of top graduate recruiters are now using a strengths-based approach. It’s therefore important that you are aware of how this impacts on the recruitment and selection process, as it’s different to the more traditional competency-based approach to interview questions. Which recruiters use strengths-based recruitment? Organisations  which have adopted  a Strengths-based approach include EY, Barclays, Nestlé, Sky, Severn Trent Water, Cap Gemini and Microsoft recruiters popular with many students. This post will therefore concentrate on how the process is designed to identify candidates who are the best fit for roles and organisations. However, be warned that unlike competency-based questions, strengths interview questions are not something that you should try to rehearse. The point of strengths questions are to elicit the authentic, not the ‘scripted’ version of you, as this clip demonstrates: How do competency and strengths-based questions differ? Competency-based questions provide an opportunity for you to give examples to demonstrate how you can do the job, by describing times when you solved problems, communicated effectively or worked as part of a team. In contrast, strengths-based questions will aim to establish your motivation and which particular qualities you will bring to the role and organization. Vin Bhabra, Campaign Marketing Manager for RBS, where Strengths questions are used at the telephone interview stage says: ‘We want to explore applicants’ career aspirations and find out why they see RBS as the place to achieve their potential. We take a strengths-based approach to the interview so we can find out what candidates do well and what they enjoy doing. Using or talking about strengths makes people feel energised and enthusiastic, and it gives us a chance to focus on what makes them unique- to understand their passions.’ The recruiter is likely to have a list of strengths that they will be recruiting against, so questions will be designed with these in mind.   Interviewers will not expect all successful candidates to fulfil each and every one of these. Rianna Powponne, Graduate Recruitment Assistant at Law firm Clifford Chance, says strengths-based interviews are used as part of their assessment process for summer vacation schemes and training contracts. She advises: ‘Do not over-prepare your answers to strengths-based questions as they are designed to catch you off-guard and are sometimes quite obscure. Remember the onus is on yourself to answer, so do give detailed examples and be positive when detailing your experiences, as body language and tone are also taken into account. Be honest! If it is not a strength of yours do not waffle trying to make something up on the spot. We do not expect candidates to always demonstrate strength in every competency we are looking for.’ How can I prepare? If it’s not possible to prepare for strengths questions what else can you do?  You may be able to de-code or find some of the strengths recruiters’ value by researching their websites. It’s worth reflecting on whether the description of the organisation and the job role you are considering fills you with energy or drains you. If you are applying for positions because you feel you should, rather than because you really want to, then the process will find you out! Consider saving your energy for those posts you’d genuinely enjoy and be good at. How can I succeed? So- what will help you crack-strengths based interviews?  Knowing what you are good at and enjoy will make it easier to decide what kinds of roles and working environment are likely to make best use of your strengths. Having an understanding of your particular strengths makes it easier to describe yourself authentically and with greater ease to others. You can complete a free online Strengths profile by registering with www.jobmi.com and  selecting ‘your abilities and fit’.

What Do You Learn From Writing a Resume?

What Do You Learn From Writing a Resume?What do you learn from writing a resume? You can see an application form and think that you've got it down cold, and the job is yours. If that were the case, then I suppose you should consider yourself lucky. There are many important things that you should consider when you write a resume, or any other type of document.In this article, I will show you some basic things that you should consider when you write your resume. We'll start with the formatting. You should be able to write your resume in a format that makes it easy for your prospective employer to read and follow.The formatting of your resume should be dependent on the last job you held and how long you've been employed there. Your most recent job should come first, and the longest time you've had there should come after that. Take your chronological order in which you have held different jobs into consideration. Also take note of any contact information you may have worked up about eac h job you've held. In your chronological order, your contact information should come before your best and last jobs.The third thing you should know about when you write a resume is the structure of your CV. This is very important. If you don't have the structure down, then your resume is not likely to be read, much less respond to. You need to know how to format your CV in a way that relates to it, and to make sure it looks the same on every employer that looks at it. This is very important because you want a consistent look.The fourth thing you should know about when you write a resume is what to include on your CV. You should include any skills you have that relate to the job. This includes such things as experience, education, and awards you may have won, if they were relevant. You should also include references that you have that were on the job during the time you held it. This is very important because a potential employer wants to know what they are getting when they hire you .The fifth thing you should know about when you write a resume is how to organize it. Your resume should go from the top down. You should start with the date, location, and duties, and work your way down. This is to make sure your resume matches exactly what you are looking for. Then you should highlight the most relevant skills that you have for the job.The sixth thing you should know about when you write a resume is that good references are extremely important. You shouldn't include a reference that may not be legitimate or has information that is not pertinent to your job search. You should provide a physical address that can be called if you want to call them, if you don't have one, leave a voice mail so that you can get a response if need be.Writing a resume can be a process, but if you follow these tips, you should be able to improve your chances of landing the job. It's always better to apply for more than one job to increase your chances of getting a call back.

Friday Spoing Mukthars Birthday - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Friday Spoing Mukthars Birthday - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog A group of Copenhageners surprise their bus driver on his birthday: Think that made him happy at work? I wish you a very happy weekend. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

How to Set Goals Actually ACHIEVE Them in 2013 - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

How to Set Goals Actually ACHIEVE Them in 2013 Many people feel as if theyre adrift in the world. They work hard, but they dont seem to get anywhere worthwhile. A key reason that they feel this way is that they havent spent enough time thinking about what they want from life, and havent set themselves formal goals. After all, would you set out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Probably not! Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. Youll also quickly spot the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray. Why Set Goals? Goal setting is used by top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term  motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life. By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals, and youll see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. You will also raise your  self-confidence, as you recognize your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that youve set. Starting to Set Personal Goals You set your goals on a number of levels: First you create your big picture of what you want to do with your life (or over, say, the next 10 years), and identify the large-scale goals that you want to achieve. Then, you break these down into the smaller and smaller targets that you must hit to reach your lifetime goals. Finally, once you have your plan, you start working on it to achieve these goals. This is why we start the process of goal setting by looking at your lifetime goals. Then, we work down to the things that you can do in, say, the next five years, then next year, next month, next week, and today, to start moving towards them. Step 1: Setting Lifetime Goals The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime (or at least, by a significant and distant age in the future). Setting lifetime goals gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision making. To give a broad, balanced coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in some of the following categories (or in other categories of your own, where these are important to you): Career   What level do you want to reach in your career, or what do you want to achieve? Financial   How much do you want to earn, by what stage? How is this related to your career goals? Education   Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to have in order to achieve other goals? Family   Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent? How do you want to be seen by a partner or by members of your extended family? Artistic   Do you want to achieve any artistic goals? Attitude   Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? (If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to the problem.) Physical   Are there any athletic goals that you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this? Pleasure   How do you want to enjoy yourself? (You should ensure that some of your life is for you!) Public Service Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how? Spend some time  brainstorming  these things, and then select one or more goals in each category that best reflect what you want to do. Then consider trimming again so that you have a small number of really significant goals that you can focus on. As you do this, make sure that the goals that you have set are ones that you genuinely want to achieve, not ones that your parents, family, or employers might want. (If you have a partner, you probably want to consider what he or she wants however, make sure that you also remain true to yourself!) Step 2: Setting Smaller Goals Once you have set your lifetime goals, set a five-year plan of smaller goals that you need to complete if you are to reach your lifetime plan. Then create a one-year plan, six-month plan, and a one-month plan of progressively smaller goals that you should reach to achieve your lifetime goals. Each of these should be based on the previous plan. Then create a daily  To-Do List  of things that you should do today to work towards your lifetime goals. At an early stage, your smaller goals might be to read books and gather information on the achievement of your higher level goals. This will help you to improve the quality and realism of your goal setting. Finally review your plans, and make sure that they fit the way in which you want to live your life. Tip: If you feel that youre not paying enough attention to certain areas of your life, youll find articles on  The Wheel of Life  and the  Life/Career Rainbow  useful. Staying on Course Once youve decided on your first set of goals, keep the process going by reviewing and updating your To-Do List on a daily basis. Periodically review the longer term plans, and modify them to reflect your changing priorities and experience. (A good way of doing this is to schedule regular, repeating reviews using a computer-based diary.) SMART Goals A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants (some of which weve included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands for: S   Specific (or Significant). M   Measurable (or Meaningful). A   Attainable (or Action-Oriented). R   Relevant (or Rewarding). T   Time-bound (or Trackable). For example, instead of having To sail around the world as a goal, its more powerful to say To have completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2015. Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand! Further Goal Setting Tips The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective, achievable goals: State each goal as a positive statement  Express your goals positively â€" Execute this technique well is a much better goal than Dont make this stupid mistake. Be precise:  Set precise goals, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, youll know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it. Set priorities  When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones. Write goals down  This crystallizes them and gives them more force. Keep operational goals small  Keep the low-level goals that youre working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Set performance goals, not outcome goals   You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite dispiriting to fail to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control! In business, these reasons could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, they could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals, and draw satisfaction from them. Set realistic goals  Its important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (for example, employers, parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Its also possible to set goals that are too difficult because you might not appreciate either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance. Achieving Goals Mind Tools on Goal Setting: Goal Setting Main Page Personal Goal Setting Lockes Goal Setting Theory Golden Rules of Goal Setting Backward Goal Setting Making New Year Resolutions Using Well-Formed Outcomes in Goal Setting When youve achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress that youve made towards other goals. If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you build the self-confidence you deserve. With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans: If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goal harder. If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goal a little easier. If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so. If you noticed a deficit in your skills despite achieving the goal, decide whether to set goals to fix this. Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting. Remember too that your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, consider letting them go. Goal Setting Example For her New Years Resolution, Susan has decided to think about what she really wants to do with her life. Her lifetime goals are as follows: Career   To be managing editor of the magazine that I work for. Artistic   To keep working on my illustration skills. Ultimately I want to have my own show in our downtown gallery. Physical   To run a marathon. Now that Susan has listed her lifetime goals, she then breaks down each one into smaller, more manageable goals. Lets take a closer look at how she might break down her lifetime career goal becoming managing editor of her magazine: Five-year goal:  Become deputy editor. One-year goal:  Volunteer for projects that the current Managing Editor is heading up. Six-month goal:  Go back to school and finish my journalism degree. One-month goal:  Talk to the current managing editor to determine what skills are needed to do the job. One-week goal:  Book the meeting with the Managing Editor. As you can see from this example, breaking big goals down into smaller, more manageable goals makes it far easier to see how the goal will get accomplished. Tip: A good way of getting going with this is to use the Mind Tools  Life Plan Workbook. Supported by worksheets and advice, this guides you through a simple 5-step process for setting your life goals, and for organizing yourself for success. This article has been published by Mind Tools  whose aim is to provide you with tools for an excellent career. To find out more go to: http://www.mindtools.com