The Ultimate Template for Career Goal-setting

With the chaos of the holidays over, January is the time to reflect and reset. Many of us tend to use this time to set goals, whether that be for our career, health and wellbeing, or for life in general. 

More often than not, our goals fizzle out over time when life takes over. After all, we’ve all set New Years’ resolutions on January 1st with gusto and high hopes, and by February forgotten what they are. 

If 2023 is the year you’re eager to enhance your professional development, want to apply for a new job or progress in your current organization, then you might benefit from making a worksheet that will help you to successfully set and track your goals. In fact, it’s been proven that goals are most effective when we use a framework that provides a trusty platform to plan and monitor their completion.

A goal-setting worksheet could help you to successfully set, manage and achieve your goals this year. 

First, sit down and reflect 

Before you settle down with pen and paper to set your career-oriented goals, consider answering the following questions:

1.  What do I want from my career? 

Consider your previous roles, current role and overall career. What work environments do you prefer? What have you enjoyed in previous roles? What management styles do you respond well to? Which companies or roles are appealing to you, and which aren’t? 

All of this information will give you an insight into your professional preferences and could help you to identify positions or roles that offer valuable opportunities aligned to your values and interests. 

2. How am I doing? 

You might benefit from asking for feedback! Reach out to professionals within your network; colleagues, teammates, your manager, previous employers, and ask them for feedback. These people know you well in a professional capacity and might provide nuggets of information or insight into your skillset, personality and work achievements that you aren’t able to see clearly yourself. 

Alternatively, consider seeking out professional online resources which could arm you with valuable information from industry experts. 

Secondly, set your goals

We all have different goals. Some big, some small, some brave and some safe. Really, the list is endless, and a goal can be as short- or long-term as you wish, so don’t be afraid to have fun with this step! 

Identify what type of goal you want to achieve: is it outcome-focused, a performance-based goal or a delivery-focused goal? Perhaps your chosen goal-setting worksheet has hints and tips for setting an attainable and realistic goal - refer to it during this process. 

Remember, goals should be challenging and take you out of your comfort zone, so be bold and think big. You can always scale back at a later date if you need to. 

Don’t forget to make sure that your goal aligns with your overall life aspirations, morals and personality. 

Thirdly, pick your goal-setting worksheet style 

The goals you have in mind and the way you like to work will influence the style of template you should use. 

All templates should: 

• Be simple 
• Be timeframe-focused
• Be action-oriented
• Show where you are winning
• Remind you why you are doing what you’re doing

Here are a few template examples. Remember, there are many more out there, so, if none of these feel right, have a Google and see what comes up. Or, think outside the box and design your own! 

1. Worksheet for goal execution 

Who’s it for? Someone who has already set their goals 

• This style of worksheet will help you to create a plan for meeting goals once you identify them. 
• It has space for several goals to be outlined and takes into consideration the resources that they may require in order to be achieved. 
• It includes a list of steps that allow you to detail what you need to tick off your list in order to meet your goals. These steps include information such as budget, who’s responsible and start and end dates. 

2. SMART goal setting worksheet 

Who’s it for? Someone who needs guidance in setting their goals 

• This worksheet encourages you to use the SMART technique to set your goals before outlining what’s needed to achieve them.
• SMART goal setting focuses on specificity, measurability, achievability, relevancy and time. Taking the time to define these parameters can help ensure that your goals are attainable within a certain time frame. 
• This style of worksheet encourages you to consider a single goal, highlight why it’s important to you and also identify any potential roadblocks you might experience that could prevent you from achieving it. 
• There’s also space to outline steps needed to work towards your goal and to set deadlines to keep yourself accountable. 

3. Straightforward goal setting worksheet 

Who’s it for? Someone who’s short on time

• Let’s be real - it can be time-consuming to set up a highly detailed goal setting worksheet. 
• This simplified worksheet allows you to outline your objective in just one or two sentences, set a deadline and list simple steps to complete your milestone. 
• There’s still space to identify challenges and allocate tasks to certain people or resources.

Finally, fill in your goal-setting worksheet 

It’s time to put pen to paper and complete your goal setting worksheet! 

A blank sheet of paper can feel a little bit daunting. Don’t be afraid to create lots of drafts - there are many ways for you to organize this document so allow it to evolve organically as you start to document your goals and everything surrounding them. 

Begin by considering your interests, preferred industry and the ideal outcomes. Weave this language into your worksheet to make sure that your unique aspirations shine through at every stage. 

Outline each of your goals and clearly define the steps that are needed to achieve this. Give each step clear actions, a realistic timeframe and highlight any resources that are needed in order to complete. 

Identify the skills you hope to improve or develop along the way and what training or certification you might need in order to do so. Skill acquisition is often an integral part of professional growth so definitely consider including this information. Also, don’t forget to outline skills or qualifications that you currently have that will help you to achieve your goals.

Got writer’s block? Use allwhere's worksheet template

If you’re struggling to get started, we’ve got your back. Here’s a template that you can use as a guide: 

[Your name] [Your professional title or role]

Goal 1 [Identify your objective and outline why you’ve chosen it]

List of steps to take to reach your goal

1. [Action]
2. [Action]
3. [Action]
4. [Action]
5. [Action]

Potential challenges 

• [Outline potential challenge, include detail on how you can prepare for or prevent it]
• [Outline potential challenge, include detail on how you can prepare for or prevent it]
• [Outline potential challenge, include detail on how you can prepare for or prevent it]

Resources required

• [Person, organization or tool that can help you reach your goal]
• [Person, organization or tool that can help you reach your goal]
• [Person, organization or tool that can help you reach your goal]

Start-date and end-date [Start date] [End date]

Start and end the year with goals in mind

Make 2023 the year that you set your goals and successfully achieve them. 

Wrapping your goals in a simple, yet effective framework could help you to write more realistic goals, track them, keep yourself accountable and ultimately achieve them. 

Remember, a goal setting template is for life, and not just for the New Year! Once you’ve completed your document, don’t file it away and forget about it. Check it and follow up. If you achieve something, take the satisfaction in ticking it off. If goals or timings shift, adjust the document accordingly. This worksheet can be used for weeks, months or years depending on the types of goals that you set. 

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Don’t know where to start with your 2023 goals? Start with allwhere. We provide a suite of services that includes outsourced, centralized procurement; full lifecycle asset management (deployment, replacement, retrieval, storage, disposal, and redeployment); and more to help teams navigate the future of work. To learn more, book a demo with us here.