SMART goal plan due in 2 hours
vivivivi
GoalSetting.docxWhat are some tips for setting internship goals?
Essentially, an effective internship goal should…
• Be specific. While general goals may sound grand (i.e. “significantly improve employee productivity”), they are difficult to accomplish: First of all, it’s hard to come up with specific steps to reach general goals. And secondly, it’s almost impossible to know when you’ve reached them. (This brings us to the second aspect.)
Examples: Non-specific goal: Increase social media presence Specific goal: Set up a social media presence on two platforms (like Facebook and Twitter) and make a minimum of one daily update to each
• Be measurable. In order to know if a goal was accomplished, there must be some means for measuring it. So when setting goals, be sure to ask yourself, How exactly will we know when our objective has been achieved?
Examples: Non-measurable goal: Fix staffing problem Measurable goal: Increase two-year employee retention rate by 25%
• Be realistic. Setting unrealistic goals undermines employee and program morale. On one hand, internship program participants and supervisors should feel like they’re accomplishing something. On the other, setting attainable goals evidences progress to those who allocate funds.
Examples: Unrealistic goal: Build public perception of (startup) company as leader in field Realistic goal: Generate two credibility building online mentions and two print mentions
• Be of value to intern and organization. It takes skill to balance what students need from an internship program with what the employer wants to achieve. But the way to accomplish equilibrium is simply to assess the value of each goal from both perspectives: Is there something valuable for the student to learn? Is there something that the company needs accomplished?
The caveat here is that every single goal may not meet the needs of both parties. Some goals are simply more student valuable, or conversely, more for the company. And this is fine. Just make sure to balance an employer-centered goal with a student-centered objective and vice versa.
Examples: Valuable to student: Be able to conduct an effective sales call Valuable to employer: Organize backlogged employee expense receipts Valuable to both: Research and evaluate potential social media platforms
• Be structured. Ensure that goals are structured by incorporating specific steps and a firm deadline. The deadline is particularly important, because without a formal due date, projects often get pushed back indefinitely.
The following format is one appropriate structure: o Specific goal: o Tasks to accomplish goal (how we will achieve the goal): o Evaluation method (how we will determine the goal has been met): o Deadline for goal completion (the date when we’ll evaluate):
Goal setting is much more than simply saying you want something to happen. Unless you clearly define exactly what you want and understand why you want it the first place, your odds of success are considerably reduced. A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants (some of which we've included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands for:
· S - Specific (or Significant).
· M - Measurable (or Meaningful).
· A - Attainable (or Appropriate).
· R - Relevant (or Rewarding).
· T - Time-bound (or Trackable).
For example, instead of having "To sail around the world" as a goal, it's 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!
When you set goals for yourself, it is important that they motivate you: this means making sure that they are important to you, and that there is value in achieving them. If you have little interest in the outcome, or they are irrelevant given the larger picture, then the chances of you putting in the work to make them happen are slim. Motivation is key to achieving goals.
Set goals that relate to the high priorities in your life. Without this type of focus, you can end up with far too many goals, leaving you too little time to devote to each one. Goal achievement requires commitment, so to maximize the likelihood of success, you need to feel a sense of urgency and have an "I must do this" attitude. When you don't have this, you risk putting off what you need to do to make the goal a reality. This in turn leaves you feeling disappointed and frustrated with yourself, both of which are de-motivating. And you can end up in a very destructive "I can't do anything or be successful at anything" frame of mind.
It helps if you put your goals in writing and post your goals in visible places to remind yourself frequently of what it is you intend to do. Put them on your walls, desk, computer monitor, bathroom mirror or refrigerator as a constant reminder.
The physical act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible. You have no excuse for forgetting about it. As you write, use the word "will" instead of "would like to" or "might." For example, "I will reduce my operating expenses by 10 percent this year," not "I would like to reduce my operating expenses by 10 percent this year." The first goal statement has power and you can "see" yourself reducing expenses, the second lacks passion and gives you an excuse if you get sidetracked.
Tip 1: To make sure your goal is motivating, write down why it's valuable and important to you. Ask yourself, "If I were to share my goal with others, what would I tell them to convince them it was a worthwhile goal?" You can use this motivating value statement to help you if you start to doubt yourself or lose confidence in your ability to actually make the goal happen.
Tip 2: Frame your goal statement positively. If you want to improve your retention rates say, "I will hold on to all existing employees for the next quarter" rather than "I will reduce employee turnover." The first one is motivating; the second one still has a get-out clause "allowing" you to succeed even if some employees leave.
