As my professional and personal life is continuously changing, I strive to keep my love of learning and my passion for helping others at the forefront. I do not regret continuing on with my Master of Arts in Education (MAED) degree despite switching careers. However, I must admit at times I have found it difficult to look back on previous coursework and see the relevance to what I am doing now as a Talent Acquisition Specialist. Perhaps then my goals for the future are to do just that; seek out ways in which my degree and the knowledge I have gained over the past few years can still remain prevalent in my day-to-day and future life. Beyond this, I have personal and professional goals that relate to my current career and sense of self. These goals include helping at least one person get a job each month (or a “start”), becoming a Team Lead, and becoming more culturally and globally aware.
I have always been the type of person that seeks knowledge and personal development in anything I do. My competitive spirit drives this as well. That being said, I tend to be hard on myself when I feel as though I am not doing as well or perhaps letting people down. I definitely over think things, which doesn’t help. Knowing this, I want to continue creating professional milestones for myself so that I have definitive proof of success or need for improvement. One of the tools I have learned through my professional training is known as “SMART” goals. SMART goals can be used in essentially every aspect of your life. This tool helps create goals that are measurable and attainable. This is how I developed my goal of getting one Start a month. See below for the brief outline I created and will follow.
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(Image source: "https://www.simplilearn.com/smart-goals-examples-article")
Specific: Get 1 Start a month
Measurable: Am I hitting my weekly goals? (I will surely try!)
Achievable: Is it manageable? (Yes.)
Relevant: Is it important to my job and what I am actively trying to achieve? (Also yes!)
Timed: 8 Starts by the end of December.
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Click here for an online SMART Goals generator!
Additional resources to help me obtain this goal include our “Weekly Recruiting Report'' (below), which will help me measure whether I am reaching my weekly goals and overall promote accountability. I will also continue using my teammates and Account Manager for advice to further improve my skills.
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My next professional goal is to become a Team Lead. Each department at my company has one to two “Team Leads” per department. These leads are essentially mentors and of course, leaders, to the rest of their department. As a former educator, this passion for teaching and helping others has not gone away. I believe becoming a Team Lead will allow me to utilize some of my instructional skills but also bring out the best leadership qualities I believe I possess. In order to become a Team Lead, one typically has to be at the company for at least a year. Although I have only been at this company for four months, I can begin implementing best practices now that will help me obtain this role in the future. One way I plan on doing this is by reading some of our company suggested books on leadership. (See below and click to view/purchase!)
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Some key pieces from these books: always have a positive attitude (if you act enthusiastic you’ll be enthusiastic!) and exemplifying “Level 5 Leadership” (or going above/beyond and setting good examples). While there are many great pieces of advice in these books, of course, not everything can be learned from reading novels alone. I plan on continuing to advance my expertise in this career through continued experience, which should and hopefully will happen naturally and authentically.
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My last goal is simple: become more culturally and globally aware. I admit that I am often blind to many important things going on outside of the small “bubble” of my comfort zone. In order to achieve a better understanding of what is going on in the world including and beyond my own, I have already begun to use a variety of resources. I have already begun taking steps towards this, and currently aim to watch at least 10 minutes of the news every morning or afternoon. I also listen to podcasts such as NPR's "Up First" on my way to work. Downloading news applications on my phone, such as Apple's SmartNews, also helps me utilize screen time more effectively. Overall with these goals and resources, I hope and plan to become a more successful and well-rounded individual.
