Excel your career in 2023 with SMART goals (best examples included!)

Is career progression on your mind for 2023? If so, you’ll want to set some SMART goals. There’s no point in just hoping for success. You need to plan ahead to use your time effectively and create healthy career habits. Setting SMART goals will give you structure. And in the end, you’ll progress your career at a much quicker rate! 

It’s time to get specific!

What are SMART goals?

SMART goals stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-specific. It’s a structured way of setting aims. SMART goals help to keep you on track and ensure your goals are achievable.

Specific – your SMART goal can’t be vague. It needs to have a tangible aim in mind.

Measurable – you need to be able to track the progress of your SMART goal. It should be measurable in some way.

Achievable – always set SMART goals that are achievable. Many people fail with their goal-setting because they’re over-ambitious. But this only leads to disappointment and failure.

Relevant – keep your SMART goals focused. Make sure they’re actually going to progress your career in a meaningful way. There’s no point setting a goal for something that won’t have much impact on your career.

Time-specific – every SMART goal should be time-bound. You need to know the exact time frame you have to achieve your goal. Without a time frame, your goal could take twice as long to achieve!

Examples of goals Vs SMART goals

Example 1

Goal: “I want to find a new job. To do this, I’ll make sure I apply for lots of jobs everyday.”

This isn’t a SMART goal. It’s not specific since we don’t know what type of job they’d like to find and there’s no timeframe. This goal is too vague.

SMART goal: “I will find a new full-time job in HR by February 2023 with a minimum salary of £24,000. To do this, I will apply for 5 jobs per week.”

In this version, we know exactly what type of job we’re aiming for and we’ve set a deadline. We’ve made it measurable by adding in the 5 job applications per week and salary.

Example 2

Goal: “I want to gain a pay rise in 2023 and become more experienced/skilled in accountancy.”

With this goal, we don’t know what ‘more experienced’ looks like. This needs defining. It doesn’t seem achievable as there’s no solid plan to achieve the pay rise.

SMART goal: “Next year I will complete my AAT Level 3 Diploma in Accounting needed to achieve the next pay grade. I will dedicate 3 hours of study per week to Monday-Wednesday, ready to take my exam in September.”

This goal is much smarter. We know that we need to complete a new qualification to gain a pay rise. And we’ve carved out a specific timeframe and plan to get there!

Example 3

Goal: “I want to have a better work-life balance next year, working fewer hours.”

This goal isn’t measurable or time-specific. We know we need a better work-life balance. But we don’t exactly know how we’ll achieve that.

SMART goal: “To have a better work-life balance, I will submit a request to reduce my hours to 30 hours per week in March. I will also make sure I take my full breaks and leave work at 5pm.”

Much better. Now we know what a healthy work-life balance means. We’ve set a deadline and ways to track our progress. If we aren’t leaving work on time or are skipping breaks, we know we’re not sticking to the plan.

Work SMART, not hard

SMART goals will transform your career. Say goodbye to aimlessly wandering your way through life. Say goodbye to burnout. Making progress doesn’t have to be hard. You just need to get smart.

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