short term goals essay

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Career Goals Essay For Scholarships (With Examples)

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Scholarship programs often want you to write a career goals essay to see that you have a clear plan for how you’ll apply your education to a specific career path. This helps show a scholarship committee why you’re seeking funds for the next step on the path toward your success. Answering “what are your career goals” effectively can help increase your odds of impressing landing a scholarship opportunity. If you’re a prospective student applying for scholarships, this article will provide tips on how to write a career goals essay, along with essays on career goals examples to help you get an idea of what scholarship committees are looking for. Key Takeaways: When you’re writing a career goals essay, make sure to write about the goals that are relevant to the scholarship. Be honest and use your own voice to stand out in your scholarship essay. Go into detail about how the scholarship will help you achieve your goals. In This Article    Skip to section What is a career goals essay? Why scholarship essays ask about career goals Example career goals essay prompts Career goals essay examples Tips for writing a scholarship essay about career goals What to write in a career goals essay if your goals have changed Career goals essay for a scholarship FAQ References Sign Up For More Advice and Jobs Show More What is a career goals essay?

A career goals essay is a personal written explanation that discusses your background, why you’re interested in participating in the program, and what career you’d like this degree to lead into. A scholarship essay functions to explain why you want to achieve your professional goals and how you intend to get there.

In almost every application process, a portion asks the candidate to answer an essay question. When applying to an educational program, like an MBA, the essay prompt usually relates to your career goals .

Why scholarship essays ask about career goals

Scholarship essays ask about career goals to assess your enthusiasm for the program, learn more about how the scholarship will help you, and ensure that you’ve considered how the program will help you achieve your goals for the future:

Assess your enthusiasm. Passion is important for scholarship administrators, and if you’re able to articulate your enthusiasm for a specific career path , it will show that you’re determined to meet the requirements to reach that goal. The most specific and well-thought-out your essay is, the easier it will be for a reader to understand your devotion and commitment to the program and the field it will allow you to enter.

Learn how the scholarship will help you. Having a firm grasp of your career goals is great, but it’s equally important that you express exactly how the specific program relates to those goals. This shows that you’ve researched the merits of the program and understand exactly how it fits into your professional goals.

Show you’ve considered your future. This goes along with the first two points — show that you know how to set goals and consider the path toward achieving those goals, and you’ll have an easier time convincing the reader that you’ll know how to set goals while participating in the program. They’ll see that you know how to prioritize education because you have a clear vision for navigating your career path.

Example career goals essay prompts

While some scholarships might come right out and simply ask, “What are your career goals?” most will rework the question into something different that still accomplishes the same goal.

Below are some examples of career goals essay prompts that a scholarship program could pose to its applicants:

Discuss your career goals. Many scholarships prefer the most direct approach when giving an essay prompt to their applicants. This type of question gives the candidate a lot of wiggle room to discuss their passions, motivations, and career goals.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years ? This question is often used as a prompt for a career goals essay because it gives the applicant a timeline to describe their aspirations. It forces them to be realistic about where their career will be and how they will accomplish this within the next ten years.

How will this scholarship contribute to your professional success? A scholarship committee wants to be sure that the money they’re giving will contribute to a student’s overall professional success. This question asks about the applicant’s game plan in the long-term and evaluates how this program is going to assist in their future.

What is your dream job ? Since a dream job is often categorized as a person’s career goals, this is a common question phrasing in scholarship essays. Asking about a candidate’s dream job answers whether this program aligns with the student’s long-term career goals.

What matters most to you and why? Sometimes, a scholarship essay prompt won’t ask about your career or future at all. Instead, they’ll ask a question like this that assesses your motivations , values, and character.

Career goals essay examples

Use these examples of career goals essays for scholarships to help write your own. Pay special attention to how they’re organized, rather than the content, to inspire your own career goals essay:

Career goals essay example 1 – Discuss your career goals

When I was six years old, I was riding bikes with my older sister around our neighborhood. She had just taught me how to ride, and I was excited to have to freedom to explore with her. When she was rounding a particularly difficult bend to see around, a car happened to be coming along at the same time. It struck her. That bike ride changed our lives forever. Over the next year, I went with my sister every Tuesday and Thursday to her physical therapist ’s appointments to help her regain walking strength. Watching her physical therapist patiently assist my sister back to becoming herself awoken something in me. A passion for helping others in the same way eventually turned into a career goal of becoming a physical therapist myself. I decided to get my bachelor’s degree in exercise science. After graduating in 2019, I knew that the next step for me was to attend a graduate program in physical therapy. I was accepted to Lassell University Master of Science in Rehabilitation Services. This presented me with my latest goal along my career path, and I’m eagerly waiting to start. This scholarship would help me afford the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Lassell University class of 2023, allowing me to continue working towards my ultimate career goal of becoming a physical therapist and helping others to become themselves again.

Career goals essay example 2 – Where do you see yourself in ten years?

In ten years, I will have been successfully running my own construction business for about five years. I’m currently a second-year student at the University of Texas, pursuing a master’s degree in business administration. I decided to get my MBA because I knew it would be a positive asset toward my long-term career goal of owning a construction business. In my high school years, I worked as a construction apprentice for a local business. I loved many aspects of the business, such as building something from nothing. I knew that I wanted to incorporate this work into my long-term career, but I didn’t want to work as an apprentice . This led me to pursue business. In ten years and with the help of this scholarship, I will have graduated with my MBA almost a decade prior . After graduation, I plan to take a business administration internship with a carpentry business to help myself get a footing in the field. After about two years of this, I will have started my own construction business.

Career goals essay example 3 – What matters most to you and why?

The people I surround myself with matter most to me. Whether it be my relatives, friends, or professional acquaintances, I always care the most about the happiness of the people around me. Making the people around me happy matters the most to me because I truly because we find our happiness through others. I believe that this drive to make a positive impression on the people around me is what drove me towards a career as a nurse . I always thought of hospitals as places where people need someone to support them and make their day a little happier. I wanted to be one of those who spend their careers positively impacting people in need. This scholarship will enable me to finally afford nursing school and go after my dream job full force.

Career goals essay example 4 – What are your short- and long-term career goals, and how will earning this degree contribute to achieving those goals? Please provide a minimum of 200 words.

My short-term career goals involve working directly with underprivileged young people to increase the literacy rate in my community. As a student of an underfunded and understaffed school, I’ve seen firsthand how much of an impact early literacy education makes on long-term achievement. It broke my heart to see my peers embarrassed at their struggle with reading at an advanced age, and this shame added another dimension to their lack of opportunity. Being a literacy educator for young people would allow me to serve this community directly to show them not only the necessity of strong written communication skills, but the joy of reading for pleasure. This program focuses specifically on early literacy, and would provide me a direct route to a career in serving the community I hope to serve. As for long-term career goals, I hope to one day create a program where socioeconomically parents can bring their children for literacy education, not only to increase their ability to navigate the world of language, but also to instill confidence and joy in the written word. What drew me to this program was that it also has administrative, legal, and business dimensions that would set me on the path toward achieving this goal.

Tips for writing a scholarship essay about career goals

Here are some tips to keep in mind for writing a career goals scholarship essay:

Write about goals relevant to the scholarship. Although you may have many different kinds of goals for your personal and professional future, a scholarship essay only discusses objectives that are relevant to the program you’re applying for.

Be honest. Applying for a scholarship is stressful because the applicant’s education is usually reliant on receiving these funds in one way or another. Even though it’s tempting to exaggerate your skills or pretend you’re more passionate about something than you are to make yourself a more competitive applicant, it’s a bad move.

Use your own, unique voice. The essay portion of a scholarship application is your chance to stand out by using your voice. Nobody else, regardless of their academic or professional achievements, is you. Make this clear in your career goals scholarship essay by keeping your unique written voice engrained in the words you produce.

Be specific. A big reason that scholarship committees ask applicants to write a career goals essay is to determine how prepared they are in planning their long-term professional goals. They aren’t interested in providing a scholarship to students who aren’t going to follow through with their career plans.

Explain long and short-term goals . Even if the essay prompt asks you to describe where you see yourself in ten years, you still need to tell them the steps leading towards this picture of success.

Include the short-term goals that add up to your larger career objectives in your essay response. Explain how accomplishing the smaller goals gives you an advantage when tackling long-term ones.

Explain how the program and scholarship will help you. Before writing your career goals essay, consider how this program and scholarship will help you in your career. The answer to this question is essential.

Follow the essay formatting guidelines. This may sound obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to forget this step when your essay is finally flowing and when you’re scrambling to get it submitted on time.

Check, double-check , and triple-check the essay guidelines for content, word count, and formatting requirements. If you miss any of these steps, your essay may be immediately disqualified no matter how good it or the rest of your application is.

What to write in a career goals essay if your goals have changed

Many times career goals essays are written by students who have already completed at least some college or are applying to a post-graduate program and need more money to continue.

There’s a good chance that your career goals have changed since you started or graduated college. For example, say you wanted to be an engineer , so you got your undergraduate degree in engineering but realized you didn’t like it after working in the industry for a few years.

You decided that nursing would be more up your alley, and now you’re applying for a scholarship for a nursing program. While this isn’t unusual, it can make it more difficult to write a career goals essay since your past work doesn’t necessarily match your future goals.

In this case, you’ll simply need to explain why you changed your career path and why this next one is the best choice for you. Share your decision-making process to show that you haven’t taken the switch lightly, and talk about what you’ve already done to try to pursue this path.

Career goals essay for a scholarship FAQ

How do you write a career goal for a scholarship essay?

You write a career goal for a scholarship essay by sharing your passion, explaining both your long- and short-term goals, and relating your goals to the scholarship.

Explain why you want to pursue the career you’re pursuing, where you hope to be in the future and how you plan to get there, and how the scholarship will help you do this.

How do you describe your career goals in an essay?

You describe your career goals in an essay by explaining what you want to do in your career, why you decided on this career path, and what you’ve done so far to make that a reality.

You can usually work these factors into any prompt you receive, so think through them before you start writing so that you can use them as an outline of sorts.

What are career goals examples?

Examples of career goals include:

Working as a grant writer for a nonprofit organization.

Becoming a department manager and eventually an executive in your field.

Owning your own plumbing company.

Caring for underserved communities as a nurse practitioner .

What are some goals for success?

Some goals for success include growing in your role, building your network, and finding joy in the job. Most careers don’t just happen overnight and require you to set the right milestones that work best for you. Not everyone will have the same goals for success.

How do you start a career goals essay for a scholarship?

You can start a career goals essay for a scholarship by directly answering the prompt. Most scholarship prompts include a word count of between 200 and 500 words, so it’s essential that you immediately respond to the prompt. Attention-grabbing sentences and narratives can be helpful for setting the scene, but an efficient and direct answer will show a clarity of mind that helps enhance the quality of your answer.

BLS – Career planning for high schoolers

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Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.

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How to Write an Awesome Essay About Your Career Goals

• Before you begin, ask yourself a few key questions like:
• What are my short-term and long-term career goals?
• Where do I see myself in ten years?
• What events in my life have led me to have these goals?
• What major will help me reach my goals?
• What skills do I need to reach my goals?
• What impact do I want to have on society?

Career Goals Essay Template

Need more inspiration.

After you brainstorm the responses to these questions, look for common themes, or pick out the most interesting stories. You can build your main essay “thesis” or idea around this.

Once you’ve got the main idea, create an outline to put your ideas into essay format. This will give you a general idea of structure.

You can use the career essays template below to give you some ideas. But remember that some rules are meant to be broken, so don’t be afraid to be innovative and think outside the box!

Also, when you’re done, head over to Going Merry to apply for the Career Goals scholarship essay bundle (one essay, one application, multiple scholarships!). You might as well make that essay count. Sign up for Going Merry to apply for scholarships more efficiently.

Here’s a paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown:

Paragraph 1 : Establish the main theme of what you’re going to talk about. It should also grab the reader’s attention. For example, instead of starting your essay with something generic (e.g. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a zoologist), get creative with it! Try something like My greatest memory as a young girl was going to the zoo for the first time or While most kids play house or school, I always wanted to play zookeeper.

Paragraph 2 : Elaborate on what inspired your career goals. Perhaps it was a relative, a TV show, or simply an experience that you had. Remember that old writing adage, “Show, don’t tell.” In other words, try to demonstrate your interest with story or description. 

Paragraph 3 : Discuss your short-term career goals and your intended major. How will your intended major help you reach these goals? What skills do you need to learn to reach them? At the end of the paragraph, try discussing how your short-term goals can help you achieve your long-term goals.

Paragraph 4 : Focus on your long-term goals and the impact that you hope to have on society. If you’re not sure what your long-term goals are, don’t sweat it; they’ll probably change anyways. You can instead focus on the difference you’d like to make overall. And don’t worry too much about the size of the impact…remember that just doing what you’re truly passionate about has a massive impact on those around you.

The last paragraph is your conclusion. You can use this paragraph to summarize what you discussed in the previous few paragraphs. If you want to be even more creative, try ending your essay with a question for your readers or a new insight. Good luck!

And now that you’re ready with that essay, put it to good use! You can recycle that same essay, when applying for the Career Goals Scholarship Bundle. We’ve joined together multiple scholarships (all requesting essays on career goals), into just ONE simple application! See more info here , or just sign up to get going.

Check out examples from other students just like you. Here are links to some great career goal essay examples:

• Example 1  
• Example 2  
• Example 3  

Or maybe you’re looking for help with an academic goals essay — we’ve got you covered there too.

Also, check out this helpful list of the 10 most common scholarship essay topics !

Sign up for Going Merry today, and upload your career goal essay right to your profile. It’s that easy!

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Essays About Goals: Top 5 Examples Plus 10 Prompts

Goals could be a one-time event or a lifelong growth process. Write effectively with the help of our essays about goals and writing prompts in our guide. 

Having goals helps us have a sense of purpose. We find our determination, discipline, and strategic thinking tested to their limits. The road toward any goal, especially ambitious ones, is full of thorns and spikes. Some walk away and accept that these goals are not destined for them. Some, however, keep pressing forward, determined to achieve these goals. Gaining confidence in writing can help you achieve your goals by putting pen to paper and starting a plan.

5 Essay Examples

1.  are you goal or growth conscious by katherine beneby, 2. how to help an employee figure out their career goals by dorie clark, 3. no goals: why is it so hard to do something for enjoyment’s sake by jenny valentish, 4. get inspired: how four hikers accomplished their 2021 hiking goals by anna roth , 5. does sharing your goals on social media make you more likely to achieve them by kristan russell, 1. my goals in life, 2. travel goals, 3. the goal of forming better study habits, 4. climate goals: are we progressing, 5. importance of fitness goals, 6. fiscal policy goals, 7. failing at your goals, 8. setting lofty vs. light goals, 9. poverty reduction goals, 10. my academic goals.

“The difference between goals and growth is that goals are seasonal, while growth is lifelong. Goals focus on a destination while growth focuses on a journey.”

In this essay, the writer discusses how achieving our goals may be possible if we reframe our minds to think of them as a growth process. This essay enumerates the difficulties of achieving our objectives and offers guidance on what will help put structure in how we formulate our growth plans. You might also be interested in these essays about bad habits .

“It’s not always possible to help the people we supervise identify and work toward their career goals… [S]o when we can assist our employees in getting there, it’s a meaningful way we can make a difference in their lives and their professional success.”

As per our list of topics to write about , this essay looks at how managers must realize their critical roles in the lives of the employees they handle. Their biggest contribution to the development of their employees is helping them achieve their tasks at work while ensuring these victories lead to their broader career goals. You might also be wondering, why write goals down?

“Once, to stave off depression, I set myself the goal-tastic mission of doing something new every day for a year – from flying in a glider to blowing things up – and blogging about it. Right from day one, the sense of focus lifted my mood, and there was frankly no time to overthink.”

In this essay, the writer looks at how atelic activities, or those we do for fun, positively influence our outlook. Our goal-driven world, however, hinders us from seeing the pure joy of doing things without goals. You might be interested in these essays about dream jobs .

“Last year, she set a goal to simply go hiking at all. And she’s thrilled to have made it happen, saying it was one of the best things she could have done for herself and her family during such a challenging year.”

This writer describes points to inspire people to start hiking and to set personal fitness goals. Look no further and turn to the inspiring stories of people who have targeted to hike across states, hike for the first time, hike once a month for health purposes, and hike a hundred miles yearly. For more inspiration, check out these essays about achievement .

“Wellness gurus and fitness bloggers seem to be divided between whether sharing goals on your social media sabotages you or holds you accountable.“

This essay revolves around a nascent study that aims to see if sharing your goals on social media make them more attainable. While initial results show that those who posted made significant progress compared to people who did not post, more questions need to be explored. You might be inspired by these essays about success .

10 Prompts on Essays About Goals

In this essay, delve into your short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. Before anything else, elaborate on what drew you to set these goals. Then, share your action plans to make them a reality. Discuss the obstacles you’ve faced and how you’ve conquered them. 

What is the one destination you dream of? For this essay, daydream about your travel goals. Direct that excitement and write your travel itinerary, the duration of your stay, where you will be staying, and what daring activities you will dare yourself to plunge into. You can also talk about whom you would like to be with when you fulfill your travel goals or if you prefer going solo.

It is a challenge to hit the books when we live in a world with unlimited distractions. In this topic prompt, share effective study habits to help students focus on their studies. One helpful tip, for example, is designing your environment to be conducive to a habit change. In the case of study habits, this means temporarily eliminating access to social media and other digital distractions. Cite more tips and conclude your essay with a few words of motivation.

Under the Paris Agreement , the landmark international agreement to fight climate change, countries must jointly strive to arrest global warming and cap it to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030. The question is: is this goal still on the table? Read recent news articles on how countries are following through on their Paris Treaty pledges. Listen to what environmentalists say about national efforts and tackle what more must be done to attain the climate goals. 

Fitness is a common new year’s resolution but try convincing your readers to start their fitness goals today. First, help your readers explore the right dietary program and workout schedule based on their daily demands. 

Then, underscore the importance of a fitness goal for gaining self-esteem and improving physical and mental health. Entice them with the idea of gaining a new exciting skill from a new workout activity and motivate them to start unlocking the fit version of themselves today. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries recorded ballooning debts as governments spent heavily to fight the pandemic and also support struggling sectors. So first, determine whether your country is in a tight fiscal space. 

The fiscal space assessment framework created by the International Monetary Fund may help you identify the metrics and data to gather. Then, shed light on your government’s fiscal policy goals to address debt while spending in sectors that guarantee an economy’s long-term health, such as education and social services. 

How do people receive failures? Write about people’s attitudes and actions when they fail at their goals. Can people develop depression, and how can they recover from the fall? Try to answer these and share your experience of failing at your goals. 

Ask yourself: How did you move forward after that? Then, share your opinions on whether a failure signifies that it would be best for someone to find a new goal altogether or try again with stronger determination and a better-calculated strategy. 

Which is better: aiming for a lofty goal that opens risks of failure, which many fear, or light goals that might do little in stretching out your potential? Answer this by listing the pros and cons of each. Then help readers strike the optimum balance between a loft or light goal. Cite examples of lofty and light goals to help your readers better differentiate the two.

For this essay, take a deep dive into the poverty reduction efforts of your government. First, give an overview of an ongoing flagship poverty reduction program and uncover its outcomes since its implementation. Read through government reports about the breakthrough goals of the program and which ones are gaining momentum. 

Then, look at the other side of the fence by listening to what critics say about the program. Take note of their laments about bottlenecks in the program and what more can be done to attain poverty reduction goals swiftly. 

Start with a descriptive paragraph detailing your academic goals. Writing about it vividly, as though it is the reality, is a creative way to show readers how much you have played out the scenarios of success in your head while helping your readers fully understand your goals. Then snap back to reality and discuss your action plan to realize these goals.

For related topics, you may check our essays about dreams in life . Don’t forget to proofread your essay with the best grammar checkers .

101 Short-term Goals for Students

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Short-term goals can be defined as objectives that one aims to accomplish within a relatively brief timeframe, typically ranging from several days to a few months (Nordengren, 2019).

Everyone, and especially students, need these goals, for two reasons:

• They can offer an immediate motivational surge, and 
• They are a stepping stone to longer-term, larger successes (which should be your long-term educational goals ).

Furthermore, these goals aid in time management, organization, and prioritization of tasks (Moeller, Theiler, & Wu, 2012).

When a larger goal seems daunting and overwhelming, splitting it into manageable short-term goals can provide a clearer path forward (A simple example for students: breaking down a semester-long project into weekly tasks).

So, you may even find that you are less likely to procrastinate or feel overwhelmed, ultimately leading to increased productivity and higher chances of success.

Let’s take a look at some short-term goals that you might consider for your current course of study.

Short-Term Goals for Students

Short-term goals for college and university.

1. Learn New Study Skills: Something just about any student can do is to set a goal to learn new methods of studying, and to adopt new and more efficient study routines. This goal can help you to achieve continuous self-evaluation and self-improvement (Nordengren, 2021). An updated study approach can lead to better understanding and retention of information, and can really revolutionize your approach to school or university.

2. Improve Class Attendance: Many university students see their attendance fade over time. So, this goal can help you to revamp your efforts to attend class and, therefore, take in more information and tops from your teacher (who often, during class, drops gems that’ll help you in exams). Regular class attendance can improve comprehension, as teaching insights often build upon textual information you find on lecture slides and handouts. Consistent attendance also reduces the stress of studying alone (Asafova & Vashetina, 2022).

3. Learn to Read and Comprehend Research Papers: For college students, understanding academic papers can enhance their insight into a subject beyond regular textbooks (Wilson & Dobson, 2008). By doing so, a student is setting a path towards advanced learning and critical evaluation of research, a handy skill in many professions. And good news – I have a guide here on how to get started reading academic paper .

4. Actively Participate in Group Work: This goal involves taking an active role in group assignments and projects, and is a good one if you’ve in the past taken a back seat during group projects and not been a team player . Active participation ensures that learning from peers enhances personal understanding. It also enables students to develop valuable teamwork skills (Nordengren, 2019).

5. Begin a Revision Schedule before Exams: If you’ve got exams coming up (even in 2 months time!), it’s time to start a revision schedule – this is your short-term goal to get through the current set of exams. Early revision promotes better retention of information (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). A student will have ample time for profound understanding and, consequently, improved performance.

6. Set a Target Grade for an Upcoming Test: Select a specific test that’s coming up, and set a goal of a grade that’s one notch above the last grade you got. This can be a stepping stone toward a long-term goal of yours, such as increasing your GPA to a certain point by the end of next year.

7. Attend Open Office Hours: This goal involves making regular efforts to interact with teachers outside class hours. In my opinion, this is the number 1 way you can ensure you get better grades. Take your drafts to open office hours and ask questions – it’s the best way to know what your teacher wants of the finished product!

8. Actually Use Feedback as Feedforward: Students tend to get feedback off their teacher, read it, get a bit grumpy, then forget about the feedback. One short-term goal you could set is to find ways to use that feedback to improve for next time. I recommend sitting down and writing-down 3 key takeaways, then as you study for your next exam, implement these takeaways to try to improve your grades.

9. Develop Effective Note-taking Skills: You could aim to improve the efficiency and usefulness of your note-taking. Excellent note-making is beneficial for reinforcing learned material. It aids recall and understanding, especially during revision. I personally use the Zettelkasten method , which uses cognitive science to perfect your study technique.

10. Develop a Habit of Reflection: This goal is reflected in the habit of daily or weekly reflection on what has been learned. Reflective practices often yield a deeper understanding of the learning material (Krumrei-Mancuso et al., 2013). They also assist students in recognizing areas they may need to revise or learn further.

11. Finish Assignments in Advance: The best way to decrease stress is to target completing assignments well before their due date. This helps to avoid last-minute rushes, decreases stress (Nordengren, 2021), and means you never have to skip a social outing again! This also contributes positively to time management skills.

12. Regular Physical Exercise: While this might not appear directly related to studying, it certainly affects your studying, mood, and grades. I recommend setting a short-term goal for regular physical activity, such as going for a 15 minute run each day for the next 5 days. This might even turn into a long-term habit. Physical fitness can boost brain function and concentration. It can directly impact academic performance positively (Hidayat et al., 2022).

13. Efficient Time Management: The goal involves setting up a planned schedule, accounting for studies, rest, and other activities (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). Effective time management can reduce stress and improve productivity. Balancing different aspects of life often contributes to better academic performance.

14. Improvement of Writing Skills: Students may aim to improve their writing abilities for more effective communication (Marzano, 2010). Strong written communication can improve the quality of assignments and exam answers. It also plays a significant role in future career opportunities.

Select More Goals for Improving your Communication Skills from This List

15. Enhance Public Speaking/ Presentation Skills: This goal focuses on improving students’ abilities to effectively communicate their ideas verbally (Wilson & Dobson, 2008). Enhanced public speaking skills can boost a student’s confidence and is a key skill needed in many professional settings. Practice and feedback can help in making notable improvements.

Read Also: The Qualities of a Good College Student

Short-Term Goals for High School Students

1. Improve Your Grade in the next Exam (set a target grade): You could aim to enhance your grades in a particular subject that poses challenges. This goal could encourage you to find new strategies for studying and comprehension, improving your overall academic performance (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). As a result, you may feel more academically confident and open more opportunities for your further education.

2. Engage Actively in Class: Consider setting a goal to boost your participation during class time. Making this effort could lead to a deeper understanding of lessons and improved confidence in sharing your insights (Asafova & Vashetina, 2022). Moreover, teachers appreciate active participation, reflecting positively on your overall performance and relationship.

3. Develop Superior Note-taking Skills: You could strive to enhance your note-taking methods. By pursuing this goal, not only could you boost your ability to capture vital information efficiently but also render your revision sessions more productive (Nordengren, 2021). Remember, effective studying starts with well-organized, informative notes.

4. Adopt a New Extracurricular Activity: You might consider joining one or more extracurricular activities or clubs. Participating could help develop diverse skills, make new friends, and push you beyond your academic comfort zone (Marzano, 2010). It also provides you a broader perspective and richer high school experience.

5. Volunteer Your Time: Engage in community service or pursue volunteer opportunities around your area. Volunteering nurtures a sense of accountability and empathy and can enrich your high school experiences (Shi, 2018). Such experiences are also a valuable addition to your college applications.

6. Enhance Time Management: Consider setting a goal to manage your time more effectively. Better time management could balance your academic, personal, and extracurricular commitments (Friedman & Mandel, 2009). A well-organized schedule can help reduce stress and carve out time for your relaxation and hobbies.

7. Create a Study Group: You might initiate a study group with your classmates. Collaborative learning and exchange of ideas can enrich your understanding and make studying more enjoyable (Nordengren, 2021). Sharing and learning from each other could yield productive study sessions and better outcomes for everyone involved.

8. Read a Non-curriculum Book Each Month: Perhaps, you could aim to read a non-curriculum book every month. Reading widely can broaden your knowledge, enhance your vocabulary, and further develop your reading skills (Marzano, 2010). This practice could also cultivate intellectual curiosity, an invaluable trait for lifelong learning .

9. Improve Writing Skills : You may want to aim at enhancing your writing abilities. Effective writing skills can significantly elevate the quality of your assignments and help you in expressing your ideas clearly (Gurley et al., 2015). Besides, honing your writing skills now will help in college and your future career.

10. Reduce Procrastination: Consider setting a goal to delay tasks less. Procrastination can often lead to last-minute stress and hurried, subpar work (Nordengren, 2019). By consciously working to reduce procrastination, you can manage your tasks more effectively and produce higher-quality work. I recommend the pomodoro technique.

Complete List of Short-Term Goals

• Learn New Study Skills
• Improve Class Attendance
• Learn to Read and Comprehend Research Papers
• Actively Participate in Group Work
• Begin a Revision Schedule before Exams
• Set a Target Grade for an Upcoming Test
• Attend Open Office Hours
• Actually Use Feedback as Feedforward
• Develop Effective Note-taking Skills
• Develop a Habit of Reflection
• Finish Assignments in Advance
• Regular Physical Exercise
• Efficient Time Management
• Improvement of Writing Skills
• Enhance Public Speaking/ Presentation Skills
• Master a New Language
• Develop and Maintain a Study Schedule
• Improve Academic Grades
• Start a Lecture Review Routine
• Participate in Community Service
• Aim for Perfect Attendance
• Develop Leadership Skills
• Achieve a Reading Score Threshold
• Apply for Scholarships
• Acquire a New Skill
• Regularly Visit the School’s Writing Center
• Develop Creative Thinking Skills
• Learn Basic Computer Programs
• Master the Art of Essay Writing
• Develop Networking Skills
• Volunteer for School Events
• Manage Stress Effectively
• Develop a Morning Routine
• Improve Physical Health
• Enroll in an Extra Curricular Activity
• Be Active in Class
• Improve Time Management
• Enhance Problem-Solving Skills
• Incorporate Healthy Eating Habits
• Learn Conflict Resolution Skills
• Improve Typing Speed
• Develop a Consistent Sleep Schedule
• Complete Course Reading Lists
• Improve Memory Retention Skills
• Develop Critical Reading Skills
• Learn How to Meditate to Relieve Stress
• Regularly Visit the Careers Office
• Gain Understanding in a Complex Theory
• Improve Interpersonal Skills
• Maintain a Positive Attitude
• Get an Internship (and set yourself some internship goals )
• Learn to Play a Musical Instrument
• Improve multitasking abilities
• Join a Study Group
• Develop Self-Discipline
• Learn to Code
• Develop Emotional Intelligence
• Save a Specific Amount of Money
• Develop Public Speaking Skills
• Pass Certification Exams
• Prepare for Graduate School Admissions
• Improve Study-Life Balance
• Become a Class Representative
• Pass a Difficult Course
• Start a Business
• Achieve a Performance Goal in Sports
• Organize a Study Group
• Learn Effective Revision Strategies
• Perform Better in Group Projects
• Attend All Tutoring Sessions
• Maintain a Planner
• Eliminate a Bad Habit
• Learn Advanced Writing Techniques
• Improve Listening Skills
• Develop a Study Plan
• Accomplish a Fitness Goal
• Get a Part-Time Job
• Develop an Effective Note-Taking System
• Stay Within a Weekly Budget
• Improve GPA
• Cultivate Research Skills
• Enhance Resume
• Read a Difficult Book
• Practice Regular Self-Care
• Appreciate and Recognize Personal Growth
• Learn and Apply a Problem Solving Algorithm
• Improve Test-Taking Strategies
• Reduce Procrastination
• Help a Classmate with Studies
• Improve Presentation Skills
• Set Up Regular Meetings with an Advisor
• Learn to Ask for Help
• Learn and Practice Mindfulness
• Develop a Career Path
• Attend Skill-Enhancing Workshops
• Improve Visibility on Social Media
• Improve Self-esteem
• Learn How to Relax More
• Develop Negotiating Skills
• Learn How to Use a New Software Program
• Create and Maintain a Professional Network

Improve your Short-Term Goals with the SMART Framework

I intentionally left the above list of short-term goals vague, because you need to build on them and make them specific to your circumstances by using the SMART framework .

The SMART framework turns vague goals into clear, coherent, time-bound, actionable goals. Here is what it stands for:

• Specific: A specific goal clearly describes what you want to achieve, detailing exactly where you want to end up. 
• Measurable: A measurable goal means you have a way to gauge your progress and know definitively when the goal has been reached.
• Achievable: An achievable goal is realistic and attainable, meaning it’s within your capabilities and resources.
• Relevant: A relevant goal aligns with your broader objectives and ambitions, connecting directly to what you want to accomplish in the long term.
• Time-bound: A time-bound goal has a defined timeline, which sets a concrete end-point to aim for and prevents the task from continuing indefinitely.

Examples of SMART Short-Term Goals

Here are a few of the above listed goals, turned into SMART goals , to give you an exemplar to follow:

• Learn New Study Skills: Commit to learning one new study skill every week for the next two months, starting from next Monday, using resources from the school library and educational websites.
• Set a Target Grade for an Upcoming Test: Aim for a minimum score of 85% on your science test that is eight weeks away, by reviewing class notes, completing all revision exercises, and studying for at least one hour daily.
• Attend Open Office Hours: Schedule to attend your math teacher’s open office hours for 30 minutes every week for the rest of the semester, to discuss any learning difficulties and clarify questions.
• Develop a Habit of Reflection: Start a learning journal where you’ll write a reflective entry about what you’ve learned and its implications, three times a week for this entire school year .
• Finish Assignments in Advance: Aim to complete all assignments two days before their due date, for the remaining of the term, to allow time for proofreading and revisions.

Furthermore, research suggests that setting and achieving short-term goals can have a positive impact on students’ motivation and learning outcomes (Krumrei-Mancuso, Newton, Kim, & Wilcox, 2013). Meeting incremental goals can generate a rewarding sense of fulfillment and progress, fostering intrinsic motivation and perseverance. Past studies have also indicated that incorporating goal-setting practices into teaching can improve students’ metacognitive skills (Marzano, 2010). This empowers students to become more effective learners by enabling them to set realistic expectations, monitor their performance, and adjust their strategies as necessary. To illustrate, a student aiming to improve their essay writing skills would benefit from setting short-term goals like attending writing workshops (real-world example), practicing specific techniques, or completing a certain number of essays each month. 

Asafova, E., & Vashetina, O. (2022). Goal-setting as a condition for professional self-development of Master’s students in Teacher Training Programme . ARPHA Proceedings, 5, 97-107.

Friedman, B. A., & Mandel, R. G. (2009). The prediction of college student academic performance and retention: Application of expectancy and goal setting theories . Journal of college student retention: Research, theory & practice, 11(2), 227-246.

Gurley, D. K., Peters, G. B., Collins, L., & Fifolt, M. (2015). Mission, vision, values, and goals: An exploration of key organizational statements and daily practice in schools . Journal of Educational Change, 16, 217-242.

Hidayat, R., Moosavi, Z., & Hadisaputra, P. (2022). Achievement Goals, Well-Being and Lifelong Learning: A Mediational Analysis . International Journal of Instruction, 15(1), 89-112.

Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., Newton, F. B., Kim, E., & Wilcox, D. (2013). Psychosocial factors predicting first-year college student success . Journal of College Student Development, 54(3), 247-266.

Marzano, R. J. (2010). Designing & teaching learning goals & objectives . Solution Tree Press.

Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., & Wu, C. (2012). Goal setting and student achievement: A longitudinal study . The Modern Language Journal, 96(2), 153-169.

Nordengren, C. (2019). Goal-setting practices that support a learning culture . Phi Delta Kappan, 101(1), 18-23.

Nordengren, C. (2021). Step Into Student Goal Setting: A Path to Growth, Motivation, and Agency . Corwin Press.

Shi, Z. Q. (2018). Why Is It Important for Students and Teachers to Share Goals? (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University).

Wilson, S. B., & Dobson, M. S. (2008). Goal setting: How to create an action plan and achieve your goals . AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

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2 thoughts on “101 Short-term Goals for Students”

Hi Dear, I read your article. It’s very helpful for me. Specially I like your SMART concept. Thank you and best wishes to your upcoming article. Hope it would be impressive and improving for me. Thanks again !

Hey there, I really enjoyed article especially the short term goals for a university student.

Thanks in advance

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Tips for mba applicants: the short-term and long-term goals essay.

When you're applying for a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program , the short-term and long-term goals essay is an essential element of your application. Effective creation of this essay requires a clear strategy, covering all the subtle nuances of a successful response. This is your opportunity to convey to the admissions board, intelligently and succinctly, your top-notch qualifications, your future vision, and your goals as a successful business leader. Perhaps most importantly, you must elucidate why their MBA program is the perfect one to help you reach your highest aspirations.

Read on to learn expert tips for crafting a compelling short-term and long-term goals essay that details your aspirations as an MBA student and a successful leader.

What Is the Short-Term and Long-Term Goals Essay?

The specific wording of the short-term and long-term goals essay request may vary from one graduate program to another, but all MBA admissions teams rely on this essay to help determine if you’re a good match for their program. You will be asked to explain why the MBA program to which you’re applying is essential for achieving your career goals. In many cases, the essay requirement includes several questions; you must carefully consider all of them and address all of them within your essay.

The questions you’ll see in the MBA short-term and long-term goals essay request are likely to include:

• Why did you select this MBA program?
• How do you envision this MBA program further transforming your personal and professional growth?
• What professional benefits do you hope to attain from this MBA program?
• How do you envision your post-MBA future?
• What are your short-term professional goals?
• What are your long-term professional goals?
• How will this MBA program help you achieve your short-term and long-term goals?

To answer such specific questions thoroughly, you need a clearly defined sense of self-worth: an honest view of your personal qualifications, skills, experiences, and aspirations. You also need detailed thought and communication skills. Convincing the admissions team that you are an ideal candidate requires a concise, compelling response.

Drafting the Short-Term and Long-Term Goals Essay

In order to define your short- and long-term professional goals, you must have a specific understanding of the differences between them:

Short-term professional goals help define where you envision yourself immediately after attaining your graduate degree. They offer precise indications of your intended career path, including your preferred type of industry, company, role, skills, and responsibilities.

Long-term professional goals describe how you envision your career development well into the future, perhaps 20 or more years beyond graduate school.

Gather the important materials that detail your professional history: your CV, current or previous work evaluations, awards, certificates, and letters of recommendation. Use these materials to identify your unique professional strengths, skills, past experiences, and goals.

Carefully build a list of reasons for applying to the MBA program you've selected. Examine the program's published literature, keeping a keen eye out for specified educational outcomes that are closely aligned with your personal and professional goals.

Now it's time to draft your short-term and long-term goals essay. You're well prepared, armed with a full complement of information about your own strengths and those of the program to which you’re applying . Without regard for sentence length or structure, answer every essay question as fully and clearly as possible. Consult your documents for appropriate wording, titles, dates, and other important details. Brainstorm every idea and put it in writing. The resulting paragraphs will be your rough draft, which you’ll now set out to polish.

Refining the Short-Term and Long-Term Goals Essay

Start refining the paragraphs into concise, compelling statements that speak directly to the point. It’s important to set an optimistic tone from the start. Express yourself confidently, decisively, and clearly. Weave appropriate examples into your short-term and long-term goals essay, taking care to answer the questions fully, without exceeding word-count limits.

Use these five tips to craft an impressive, persuasive essay:

Immediately Command the Reader's Attention Begin with compelling statements describing your long-term professional goals and summarizing how your past experiences inform your vision of the future. Provide a synopsis of your strongest achievements and explain how they inspire your MBA goals.

Convey the Significance of Your Goals Widen the context of your goals by explaining why they are important to you and how achieving them will serve a greater good. Emphasize your analytical skills by identifying a problem you wish to solve in your career, and describing the benefits that may result.

Highlight Your Qualifications Promote yourself as the ideal person to achieve your long-term goals. Discuss your passion for success, detailing your relevant professional skills, specific work experiences, and related achievements. Summarize how your unique history and qualifications inspire and qualify you as the right person to achieve your post-MBA professional aspirations.

Discuss Your Program-Specific Goals Focus on the opportunities offered by this MBA program: the knowledge and skills you hope to develop, faculty members with whom you hope to study, local internship and employment that this program can help you pursue, and so on—all items that are unique to this MBA program, rather than common to many. Discuss your ambitions for expanding and strengthening particular skills during your time in the program. Detail ways in which you plan to utilize the unique benefits which your chosen program can provide.

Conclude With a Call to Action Your concluding paragraph should discuss the ways this MBA program will help accelerate your professional growth. Discuss your short-term goals by describing your immediate, post-graduation career plans and the ways in which they’ll empower you to reach your long-term goals. End your short-term and long-term goals essay with a confident call to action, requesting admission based on your clearly defined passion, personal qualifications and aptitude for successfully realizing your professional goals.

Make your goals your reality

Develop your business acumen, enhance your global perspective, and build a lifelong network in CSUMB’s Responsible Business Online MBA program . The entirely online curriculum offers in-depth experiences across the full spectrum of business administration, delivered with the flexibility to fit your schedule.

Take the first step toward the success you envision. Schedule an appointment with one of our Admissions Advisors today.

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Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Personal Development Planning — My Short Term Goals

My Short Term Goals

• Categories: Education Goals Personal Development Planning

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Words: 665 |

Published: Mar 20, 2024

Words: 665 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

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Importance of setting short term goals, strategies to achieve my short term goals.

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• Applying For Scholarships

Writing Tips for a Career Goals Essay (2023)

Jennifer Finetti Mar 1, 2023

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For your college scholarship essay, you may be asked about your career goals. The scholarship committee wants to see how investing in your education will help your career. Do you have a definitive plan? Will a college education fit into that plan? These are the answers they want to see.

In this guide, we will provide some scholarship essay examples about career goals to jumpstart your essay writing.

Writing tips for career goals scholarship essays

Here are some quick tips for writing career goal scholarship essays:

• Write about career goals that tie into the scholarship. This doesn’t mean you have to lie about your career goals to make them fit. Find a way to relate them to the scholarship committee or other elements of the scholarship.
• Be precise about your career goals. Avoid vague statements that suggest you do not have a plan. Judges like to see determination because it shows they’re making a worthy educational investment.
• Discuss how your education will help you achieve your career goals. The scholarship will assist with your education. Show a connection between the two so they can see why you deserve this scholarship.
• If you mention multiple goals, indicate which one you feel most strongly about. Longer essays may allow you to mention a backup plan, but the committee needs to see where your focus lies.
• Avoid cliché statements. Describe how your specific talents, experiences, and degree pursuits will help you succeed.
• Point out solutions, not problems. You may mention struggles you’ve had in the past, but pinpoint how you will learn from them. Moreover, show how those struggles led to your career goals.
• Organize your thoughts in a fluid manner. This will most likely be in chronological order, starting with your degree and progressing through your career growth.
• Write, revise, rest, revise. This goes for any essay writing. Write the first draft from start to finish. Then read through it and edit any grammar or flow errors. Take a break, preferably overnight, and then re-read your content with fresh eyes.

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Example 1: Scholarship essay about career goals (100 words)

In a 100-word scholarship essay, you need to quickly make your point. There is not enough room for a lengthy intro or backstory. Use concise, comprehensive statements to deliver the most information in the fewest words.

I’m a sophomore at Texas Tech University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Companion Animal Science. After graduation, I hope to attend Texas A&M to become a veterinarian serving rescue organizations and animal shelters. I was born and raised in the south, where it is common for people to abandon animals in rural areas. Those animals then go into a rescue – emaciated, frightened, and confused. I want to work with rescues to provide affordable veterinary medicine to the animals they save. This scholarship would help me continue my education and potentially save thousands of abandoned animals in the future.

Word count: 99

Example 2: Scholarship essay about career goals (250 words)

With a 250-word scholarship essay, you have a little more room to discuss the details of your career goals. You can explain situations from your past that inspired your career pursuits. You could use one paragraph to talk about your short-term goals and another to talk about your long-term goals. Just make sure the big picture ties into the scholarship.

My name is Patrick Holden and I am a freshman at the University of Michigan, majoring in English and minoring in linguistics. I plan to become an English teacher, but this wasn’t always what I had in mind.  When thinking about my future, I always saw myself in some sort of corporate office, perhaps as an executive assistant or a loan officer at a bank. My father works in the finance office for a car dealership and my mother works at a call center. I assumed I would follow a similar, albeit boring, path in life. In my junior year of high school, everything changed. My English teacher inspired me in ways I could have never imagined. She got me to love writing, literature, etymology, and everything about the English language. She made me want to be a better student in all of my classes, and she helped me see the value of education. I decided then that I wanted to inspire other students just as she did for me. My parents are unfortunately not able to contribute much toward my college expenses. I have earned a tuition scholarship based on my ACT score, but I still need additional funding for books and supplies. English majors have particularly high book costs because we have to purchase multiple books for each class. With the help of this scholarship, I could afford to continue my degree and become an English teacher.

Word count: 240

Example 3: Scholarship essay about career goals (500 words)

With 500 words or more to play around with, you have plenty of space to talk about your career goals. Maintain the same theme throughout the scholarship essay. Each paragraph should connect to the next, and they should all work together to describe your career plan. Avoid making disconnected statements for the sake of word count. In the end, the scholarship committee should have a clear view of your educational plans and professional aspirations.

Internet marketing has gone from an optional method of advertisement to a vital step in business outreach. Even small businesses in remote towns look to the internet to attract customers and spread the word about their services. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing with an emphasis on Digital Marketing. With this training, I will be able to enter a profession that will only grow year by year. When I was younger, I found print advertisements to be fascinating. I loved reading the newspaper with my father just to see the full-page ads in between stories. When I got older though, those ads became less appealing because they were not adaptive. They seemed dated, static and ill-fit for changes in society. That’s when I discovered internet marketing. It was still in its infancy when I was in middle school, but by the time I graduated high school, it had become a staple in business development. I loved the way internet marketers had to constantly adjust to fit Google’s algorithms, new mobile devices, and new audiences. I knew this was the career for me. Originally, I planned to focus solely on business marketing because there were not many digital marketing degrees available. Over the last two years though, several schools throughout the country have developed internet marketing courses that explain fundamental methods of search engine optimization, website analytics, and more. These are the foundations I will build my career around. The best part about internet marketing is that there is always something new to learn. I can use my creative mind and exploratory nature to try new advertising methods that help businesses succeed. Every time they do well, I do well. This is the kind of job fulfillment most people can only dream of, but my educational plan and job prospects will allow me to achieve it. I have picked up some freelance jobs online to supplement my studies and help pay for my education. It is difficult to maintain a steady stream of income in freelance because I spend so much time on my school work. This scholarship could offset some of the costs and reduce my workload as a whole. While I will still work throughout the semester and full-time in the summers, having extra financial aid would greatly reduce my stress in college. I look forward to a future where I can use my marketing skills to help business owners achieve their career goals. I plan to spend the first few years after graduation working for a successful, long-standing digital marketing company. After I have enough on-the-job training to feel confident in my abilities, I will open my own internet marketing company in Chicago, where my family lives. I have a clear picture of where I will be in the next 10 years, and I know this degree is going to help me get there.

Word count: 481

• Scholarship Essay

Jennifer Finetti

As a parent who recently helped her own kids embark on their college journeys, Jennifer approaches the transition from high school to college from a unique perspective. She truly enjoys engaging with students – helping them to build the confidence, knowledge, and insight needed to pursue their educational and career goals, while also empowering them with the strategies and skills needed to access scholarships and financial aid that can help limit college costs. She understands the importance of ensuring access to the edtech tools and resources that can make this process easier and more equitable - this drive to support underserved populations is what drew her to ScholarshipOwl. Jennifer has coached students from around the world, as well as in-person with local students in her own community. Her areas of focus include career exploration, major selection, college search and selection, college application assistance, financial aid and scholarship consultation, essay review and feedback, and more. She works with students who are at the top of their class, as well as those who are struggling. She firmly believes that all students, regardless of their circumstances, can succeed if they stay focused and work hard in school. Jennifer earned her MA in Counseling Psychology from National University, and her BA in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Don’t underestimate the outsized impact of short-term goals

If long-term goals are the destination, short-term goals are the roadmap.

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Whether you realize it or not, you probably already set quite a few short-term goals for yourself.

You want to sort your to-do list before your morning meeting. You want to go for a walk over lunch at least three days this week. You want to land five speaking opportunities this quarter. 

Throughout your day, week, month, or year, you set small-in-scope, attainable finish lines that give you a little boost of forward momentum. Those are short-term goals. But what exactly makes these bite-sized objectives so helpful? 

Let’s explore the power behind short-term goal-setting – and how you can hack these goals to boost your own motivation and sense of satisfaction.

What is a short-term goal?

A short-term goal is exactly what it sounds like: it’s something that you want to accomplish in the relatively near future. 

Simple enough, but it’s worth digging a little further into the mechanics of this type of goal. A short-term goal:

• Can be accomplished in a short timeframe (most experts say within a year or less)
• Details a specific action to take or target to accomplish
• Supports a broader vision for your career or life

Here are a few short-term goals – both personal and professional – to get your own wheels turning: 

Short-term career goal examples

• Complete company’s three-month leadership training program
• Lead a cross-functional project this quarter
• Provide praise and positive feedback to at least one employee per week this month

Short-term personal goal examples

• Stretch every day this week
• Read two books this month
• Pay off car loan by the end of the year

Long-term goals vs. short-term goals: What’s the difference? 

So how do short-term goals stack up against long-term counterparts? It’s easy to think about them in terms of duration – short-term goals impact the near future and long-term goals look further out. But to get a more nuanced handle on the difference between short-term and long-term goals, it’s better to think about their intent :

• Long-term goals reflect your overall values, beliefs, and desires.
• Short-term goals are the specific actions you take to pursue those broader ambitions.

If your short-term goal is to complete your company’s leadership training program, that might feed your long-term goal of moving into a management position. Or your short-term goal might be to pay off your car loan because your long-term goal is to be debt-free.

Why bother setting short-term goals?

If you have your sights set on a faraway finish line anyway (whether that’s a promotion, financial independence, or something else), what’s the point of making pit stops along the way? Short-term goal setting is beneficial for a few important reasons. 

1. Short-term goals are more motivating

Use motivation theory to inspire your team’s best work

Anybody who’s ever set a New Year’s resolution (and then kissed it goodbye come February) will admit that it’s tough to muster the gumption to actually achieve a goal. Fortunately, short-term ambitions can give your motivation a much-needed boost.

You can thank the neurotransmitter dopamine for that. While it’s typically thought of as the feel-good brain chemical that’s released in response to a reward, research shows that it’s actually closely tied to motivation too. Dopamine is what pushes us to seek the reward in the first place.

Your brain knows that it feels good to accomplish things – it wants to cross that finish line. So, you’ll not only get a dopamine spike when you set the goal, but also when you’re close to achieving it . 

Basically, your brain would much prefer an immediate celebration over delayed gratification, and short-term goals offer a more instant reward. 

2. Short-term goals make the process feel more manageable

What feels easier? Going for a 30-minute walk today or training for an entire marathon? Even elite runners will likely admit that the walk requires a lot less sweat (both literally and figuratively).

Pursuing our goals often requires changing our behavior , whether that’s in big or small ways. And even on a good day, altering our habits, attitudes, and actions is tough. Short-term goals make it all feel a little more doable, not by changing your lofty and intimidating goals, but by dividing them into more attainable guideposts. 

3. Short-term goals give you an action plan

It’s easy to figure out where you want to go – getting there is the hard part. While setting a long-term goal pinpoints the target, it doesn’t actually fuel your journey.

That’s why you need short-term goals too. They detail the smaller behaviors and actions you need to take to move toward your long-term objectives. 

If long-term goals are the destination, short-term goals are the roadmap. 

4. Short-term goals allow for regular reflection and adjustments

Much like your desires and values, your goals will change over time. In addition to short-term goals serving as milestones when you can celebrate your progress, they also provide an opportunity for reflection.

How do you feel accomplishing this goal? Is it as rewarding as you thought it would be? Why or why not? Does it still align with your overarching vision?  

That’s not to say you need to sit yourself down for in-depth self-analysis every time you check something off your list. Sometimes it’s just a gut check that occurs naturally. 

If you finish that leadership program and feel drained rather than energized? That’s an indicator that you should reevaluate if you want to move into a management position at all, or if perhaps your aspirations have shifted somewhere along the way.

Better to change course now than when you’re at the end of the road.

How to set motivating short-term goals

How to write SMART goals

Short-term goals are more action-oriented than your longer-term objectives. But then what separates them from all of the tasks that you frantically scribble on your daily to-do list? Short-term goal setting requires a little more thought and intentionality than jotting down every task you need to check off that day. One of the best ways to ensure you’re investing the right amount of planning is by using the SMART goal framework .

In case you haven’t heard of SMART before, it’s an acronym to help you remember that your goals should be: 

• Specific: Be clear about what exactly needs to be accomplished. In the case of short-term goals, this should be an explicit action you want to take.
• Measurable: Include a quantifiable benchmark so you’ll know when you’re successful.
• Achievable: Especially since your short-term goals don’t stretch on forever, you need to confirm that they’re realistically attainable in a shorter time frame.
• Relevant: Remember that your short-term goals are intended to support something bigger, so they need to be relevant to your overall vision.
• Time-bound: Every goal needs a deadline—and that’s especially true for short-term goals. What’s the end date for when you need to take that action?

Most of the short-term goal examples we listed above already incorporate elements of the SMART framework, but we can expand on them further to provide more helpful details. Here’s what that could look like: 

SMART short-term career goal examples

• Complete company’s three-month leadership training program this May
• Kick off a cross-functional project involving at least three teams by the end of the quarter
• Provide praise and positive feedback in-person or in writing to at least one employee per week this month

SMART short-term personal goal examples

• Stretch for at least 10 minutes every day this week
• Read two books (one fiction and one non-fiction) by the end of the month
• Pay off remaining $4,000 balance on car loan by the end of the year

Short-term goals might not look years down the line, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of some careful thought and planning. The SMART goal framework will help you set meaningful targets, rather than hollow or trivial to-dos. 

Short-term goals: So much more than quick wins

Yes, short-term goals are objectives you set for the near future – but they’re so much more than low-hanging fruit you can grab for some instant gratification and a quick hit of dopamine.

Short-term goals give you a detailed action plan to realize your bigger ambitions and values. And they give you plenty of opportunities to reflect on whether the path you’re on is the one you actually want to stay on. 

That’s a pretty big impact for a supposedly small goal.

Advice, stories, and expertise about work life today.

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How to Write an Essay About My Goal: A Comprehensive Guide

In the ever-evolving journey of life, setting clear objectives and ambitions is crucial. Whether these goals are short-term or stretch into the far reaches of our future, they act as guiding lights in our journey. This guide will assist you in articulating and expressing these ambitions effectively, especially when it comes to writing them down.

Understanding the Importance of Goal Setting

Setting life goals is a combination of introspection and foresight. It demands an understanding of one's current standing and a clear vision for the future. By penning down your goals, you not only provide yourself a clear road map but also make a commitment to yourself to achieve them.

How To Write An Essay About My Life Goals

• Introduction : Initiate with an engaging hook—be it a quote, question, or anecdote—that aligns with your goal.
• State your main goal : Elucidate on what your primary life objective is. Be it professional success, personal achievement, or societal contribution, clarify your aim.
• The 'Why' behind the goal : Delve into your motivations. Discuss the driving forces behind this ambition.
• Steps to achieve : Provide a roadmap. Enumerate the steps you'd undertake to transform this goal into a reality.
• Potential Challenges : Highlight potential obstacles and your strategies to navigate them.
• Conclusion : Summarize and re-emphasize your dedication towards your objective.

Career Goal Essay Definition

It's essential to differentiate between life goals and career goals. While the former encompasses broader objectives, a career goal essay underscores your professional aspirations, detailing why they matter and how you plan to attain them.

How Long is a Professional Goal Statement?

A professional goal statement's length can vary but should be concise. Ranging typically from 500 to 1000 words, it should capture your aspirations succinctly. Always adhere to specific guidelines if provided.

What to Avoid While Writing Your Career Goal Essay

• Ambiguity: Always be specific. • Unsubstantiated lofty goals: Your ambitions should be grounded in reality. • Neglecting personal growth: Showcase how your past has shaped your future. • Reiteration: Stay succinct and steer clear of repetition.

My Future Goals Essay: 12 Models

• Entrepreneurial Aspirations : Launching a sustainable fashion startup by 2030.
• Technological Goals : Developing an AI-driven community healthcare system.
• Educational Objectives : Attaining a Ph.D. in Quantum Physics.
• Artistic Pursuits : Holding a solo art exhibition in a renowned gallery.
• Societal Contributions : Establishing a foundation for underprivileged children's education.
• Scientific Aspirations : Contributing to renewable energy research.
• Medical Goals : Becoming a pediatric surgeon and researching rare childhood diseases.
• Travel Objectives : Visiting every UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Sports Ambitions : Completing an Ironman Triathlon.
• Literary Goals : Publishing a trilogy of fantasy novels.
• Environmental Aims : Pioneering a city-wide recycling initiative.
• Leadership Aspirations : Becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Articulating one's life and career goals requires introspection, clarity, and foresight. This guide offers a structured blueprint to ensure your essay not only adheres to academic standards but genuinely resonates with your aspirations and dreams. Whether you're grappling with questions like "what should I write in my college essay?" or "how to draft a goal statement?", this guide is here to light the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the ideal structure for a future career essay? Start with an engaging introduction about your aspirations. In the body, detail the steps you plan to take, experiences that have guided you, and why you chose this career. End with a conclusion summarizing your determination and future vision.
• How do I ensure my career goals essay stands out? Incorporate personal stories or experiences that shaped your goals. Be specific about your aspirations and how you plan to achieve them.
• How can I relate my past experiences to my future career in the essay? Highlight skills, lessons, or challenges from your past and demonstrate how they have directed or prepared you for your future career.
• What should I avoid when writing an essay about my career goals? Avoid being too vague about your goals. Steer clear of clichés, and ensure your goals are realistic and grounded.
• How long should my essay about my goal be? This depends on the requirement. Usually, personal statements are between 500-700 words. Always adhere to the specified word limit.
• Can I include short-term and long-term goals in my essay? Absolutely! Detailing both shows planning and vision. Highlight how short-term goals will pave the way for long-term objectives.
• How do I conclude my essay about my goals effectively? Reiterate your dedication to these goals, reflect on the journey ahead, and end with a note of optimism and determination.

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The importance of setting short-term goals (with examples)

Goals help you take action on larger ideas or visions. Short-term goals specifically help you to plan and take action on tasks that can be completed in the near future. In this article, get two strategies to help you create short-term goals more effectively. Then, check out some examples of short-term goals, plus how to track and use them so they have the highest impact.

Whether it’s launching a new product with your team, building your dream house, or achieving your big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs) , it's easy to feel overwhelmed when your goal is a large, ambiguous idea. Setting short-term goals can help you reach larger objectives and make progress towards your desired outcome.

What is a short-term goal?

A short-term goal is a goal that you want to complete in the near future, such as within the next week or the next month. These are often stepping stones towards larger goals, though not always. You can also use short-term goals to take action on smaller projects or ideas. As a result, short-term goals tend to be easier to achieve. 

20 examples of short-term goals

10 short-term professional goals examples:

Manage the next quarterly project from start to finish in Q3.

Get certified in a project management tool by EOY.

Increase net promoter score by five points this quarter.

Build social reach with five LinkedIn posts a day for the next 30 days.

Schedule three networking lunches this month.

Call 50 new prospects this quarter.

Log off at 6:00 PM every day this week.

Reduce creative requests backlog by 10% in Q1.

Publish six new blog posts in the next 60 days.

Update portfolio with new designs by end of next month.

10 personal short-term goals examples:

Put 5% of your monthly income into a savings account starting next month.

Eat meat-free dinners one day a week starting today.

Read two books this month.

Reduce screen time daily average by 15 minutes this week.

Track spending for 30 days.

Call a friend every Saturday morning this month.

Walk for 15 minutes every day starting next week.

Practice daily deep breathing for the next 60 days.

Journal for 20 minutes every Sunday starting next month.

Play with your kids for 30 minutes every night starting today.

Notice that ‌these goals all have a specific time frame assigned to them. This makes your goal more actionable by connecting those actions to a specific amount of time.

What are the benefits of setting short term goals?

Short-term goals can be used to break down larger, more general goals. They don’t replace these big, overarching goals, but rather give you a path to achieve them.

Setting and working on short-term goals helps you:

Realize what you can accomplish today and take action

Get quick feedback

Get started faster

Define deadlines

Manage and prioritize tasks 

The difference between short-term goals and long-term goals

A long-term goal is your North Star. It’s the bigger objective that you want to achieve. Short-term goals are different. They focus on a smaller portion of work in a shorter time frame. By breaking a larger, long-term goal into many short-term goals, you can prevent procrastination and stay focused on the task at hand. 

Let's look at an example of a long-term goal that has smaller short-term goals built into the action plan .

Long term goal: A sales team is looking to close $500,000 in new sales in the next year. 

Short term goal: The small- and medium-sized sales team wants to close $50,000 in new sales in Q1.

You could then break the short-term goal down into even smaller, more specific goals assigned to each sales representative. For example, Areej will aim to close $8,000 in new sales during each month of the quarter.

Strategies for setting short-term goals

Being strategic about how you set your goals can help focus them—which will ultimately make it more likely that your goals pay off. Try these strategies to get more specific, actionable short-term goals:

SMART Goals

SMART goals are a common goal setting technique. SMART is an acronym that stands for:

Ensuring that your goals contain every facet of a SMART goal can help you get clear on what you want to accomplish, how you’re going to do it, and when it needs to be done.

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

When setting short-term goals, it's important to connect specific actions to your goals. By creating actionable stepping stones, you can set up a strong roadmap towards achieving your goals—both short-term and long-term ones.

You can see this approach in action with OKRs, or objectives and key results . The objective is the goal you want to achieve. The key results are the metrics by which you'll measure progress towards those goals.

Goals can be used in conjunction with OKRs to help you make progress on key results. Think about what actions you need to take to achieve the desired key results and use those to set your goals. 

Example of how to set short-term goals

Let’s say your social media team's OKR is to increase your social media following by 400% this fiscal year. 

There's no clear plan for how to get to that 400%, so the team gets together to brainstorm actionable steps they can take to increase their social media following. One team member suggests hosting giveaways twice a quarter to increase follower counts. Another team member suggests using paid ads to increase awareness. Another suggests working with different influencers every week to promote their brand. 

All three of these ideas are good options, and all of them can be set as short-term goals to achieve the main OKR. Here's what those three goals would look like written out:

Host a giveaway two times a quarter.

Gain 250 followers through paid advertisements every quarter.

Promote each account through an influencer channel once a week.

Each of these shorter goals focuses specifically on a task that contributes to a longer-term company goal. Aligning tasks with smaller team goals, and bigger company objectives is a central aspect of building a pyramid of clarity. With the pyramid of clarity, you can connect your day-to-day work to your short-term goals. That way, your entire team is working towards the same objective, bringing your organization closer to achieving it.

Tracking goal progress

Whether it’s a long-term career goal or a short-term personal one, goal tracking is essential to ensure that you’re making progress. 

According to a recent survey by Asana , only 26% of knowledge workers have a very clear understanding of how their work contributes to company goals. If your team members don’t know what goals they're contributing to, they might not be producing work that impacts those big picture company goals.

Goal tracking helps you see if the work your team is doing contributes towards a bigger goal. But how do you ensure that your team is regularly working towards those goals? Here are a few strategies:

Communicate progress clearly: When everybody sees how work is progressing, there's no confusion as to whether or not the work is contributing to the goal. 

Create (and celebrate!) project milestones : As your team progresses, it's important to celebrate incremental progress so they don't get discouraged halfway through or lose focus.

Manage goals with software: Connect your team's work with your company's goals all in one place. By using work management software like Asana , your team will have one source of truth for all work. 

One of the major benefits of goal tracking is that it gives you visibility into whether your strategies are working. If you're actively monitoring your key results and not seeing the desired outcomes, you can dig further to discover what’s missing. Does one of your team members have too much on their plate? Is one of your strategies not as effective as you thought it would be?

Monitoring your goals gives you the opportunity to pivot your strategy when things aren’t going according to plan. 

Using short-term goals for professional development

You might not be able to control everything about your professional life, but setting goals helps you take advantage of those you can control. Whether it’s prepping for a review six months away, taking an online course, or a complete career change, these short-term goals will help you zero in on how to move the needle in your professional life.

Managing team goals to become an effective manager

As a manager, it could be challenging to create your own personal goals without first looking at your team’s individual goals. Great managers help unblock contributors so that goal-achieving tasks can get done. 

Before setting personal goals as a manager, look at your team’s goals. Base your goals on the work your team is contributing to so that everyone is aligned and making progress. 

Monitoring personal professional development with short-term goals

In addition to using short-term career goals to monitor your team’s or company's progress, you can monitor short-term goals to track your own—or a team member’s—personal development. If you’re developing new skills or taking on new responsibilities, track how those skills are helping you achieve your goals. 

Let’s look at an example.

Taylor is a sales development representative at a SaaS company. They don’t particularly enjoy spending time on sales calls, but they’ve found several tools to help them create an automated email flow to reach out to their prospects. 

Taylor’s manager notices that they are not making the recommended number of sales calls, but they’re still hitting their sales goals because of how well their prospect emails convert.

Taylor’s manager sees this as an opportunity for growth, and asks Taylor if they would like to transition to a role that allows them to further create email marketing opportunities for other SDRs on the team. By monitoring how Taylor was progressing towards their goals, Taylor’s manager was able to create an opportunity for them to grow into a position that was a strong fit for their skillset. 

Setting goals for your own personal development

Goals can be used to help your personal development as well. If you have long-term life goals, you can set up short-term personal goals as you would professional ones. Set measurable goals to serve as small stepping stones for your progress. 

You can use short-term personal goals for a variety of different aspirations. For example, you can set up short-term financial goals to hit a bigger goal of reducing credit card debt. Or, maybe you use weekly goals to develop a fitness or morning routine. These shorter, targeted goals can have a big impact on your daily life.

Here’s an example of how you can break down a personal goal:

Long-term personal goal: Run a half marathon within 6 months 

Short-term goals :

Be able to run a mile without stopping by end of week 2

Run a 5K by the end of month 1 in under 35 minutes

Run a 10K by the end of month 2 in under an hour

As you can see, the short-term goals are incremental, but they all work together to achieve the big goal at the end—running a marathon.

Track short-term goals more effectively

Looking for a way to effectively track your goals, both short-term and long-term? Tracking your goals using work management software like Asana can help you break your goals into actionable tasks.

Related resources

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How Asana streamlines strategic planning with work management

What is management by objectives (MBO)?

7 steps to complete a social media audit (with template)

30 Short Term Goals for Work – Examples for Career Growth

By Status.net Editorial Team on October 18, 2023 — 15 minutes to read

• Defining Your Career Goals Part 1
• Creating Smarter Goals Part 2
• Examples of Effective Short Term Career Goals Part 3
• Setting Achievable Short-Term Career Goals Part 4
• Steps to Measuring Your Goals Part 5
• Tips for Goal Accomplishment Part 6

Part 1 Defining Your Career Goals

Setting short-term goals for work is an effective way to stay focused and motivated in your professional life. In this article, we’ll provide some examples of short-term goals that you can set for yourself to help you succeed in your career.

Short-term goals can be as short as a week or as long as a few months. The key here is to break down your bigger objectives into smaller, manageable tasks or targets that are achievable on a shorter scale.

• For example, if your long-term goal is to become a manager in your organization, then a relevant short-term goal might be to take on additional responsibilities in your current role. That could mean spearheading a new project or learning the ropes of a different department. This short-term goal will not only help you develop new skills but also demonstrate your commitment to the company and your ability to lead.
• Similarly, suppose your overarching career aim is to switch from a marketing role to a data analyst position. In that case, a short-term goal could involve taking up online courses on data analytics, attending workshops, or networking with data analysts to gain a better understanding of the industry. This will increase your knowledge and experience in the sector and make it easier for you to land your dream job.

So, by breaking down larger objectives into smaller, more manageable tasks, you can make progress towards your ultimate career aspirations. Here are more examples of how short-term goals can lead towards accomplishing long-term career goals:

• Short-term goal: Attend a networking event and meet three new people in your industry. Long-term career goal: Land a job at a top company in your industry. How it helps: Networking is a crucial aspect of building a successful career. By attending events and meeting new people, you can expand your network and build relationships that may lead to job opportunities in the future.
• Short-term goal: Take a course or certification program to improve your skills in a specific area. Long-term career goal: Advance to a higher position within your current company or industry. How it helps: By continually improving your skills and knowledge, you become a more valuable asset to your employer or industry. This can lead to promotions or other opportunities for career advancement.
• Short-term goal: Set a goal to complete a project or task by a specific deadline. Long-term career goal: Become known as a reliable and efficient professional in your industry. How it helps: Meeting deadlines and completing projects on time is essential to building a reputation as a dependable worker. This can lead to more opportunities for career growth and advancement.
• Short-term goal: Attend a conference or seminar to learn about new trends and developments in your industry. Long-term career goal: Become an expert in your field and a thought leader in your industry. How it helps: Staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in your industry is critical to becoming an expert in your field. Attending conferences and seminars can help you stay informed and connected with other professionals in your industry.

By setting and achieving short-term goals that align with your long-term career aspirations, you can make steady progress towards achieving your ultimate career goals.

Try to set realistic, achievable short-term goals tailored to your strengths and current circumstances. Assess your existing skills, take stock of the resources available to you, and plan your goals accordingly. And don’t shy away from revising or adjusting your short-term goals along the way – change is a natural part of any career progression.

Part 2 Creating Smarter Goals

When you set short-term goals, focus on making them smarter. This means they should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound . Let’s dive into each aspect and provide some examples to get you started.

• Specific: Instead of vague goals like “be better at work,” try defining exactly what you want to improve. For example, “increase my typing speed by 20% over the next two months” or “complete the company’s leadership training program within six months.”
• Measurable: Make sure your goals have a clear benchmark. This helps track progress and determine success. For example, if you aim to raise your typing speed, measure it using words per minute (WPM). If you’re learning a new software, set a target number of projects or tasks you’ll complete using that software.
• Achievable: Be realistic about what you can accomplish. Stretching yourself is great, but setting impossible expectations can lead to disappointment and burnout. If you’ve never run a marathon, don’t make your short-term goal to win a race. Instead, focus on finishing a 5K or increasing your weekly running distance.
• Relevant: Align your short-term goals with your overall career aspirations. If you want to become a project manager, for example, developing your communication and leadership skills might be more relevant than learning how to code. Similarly, if you’re a writer, improving your grammar and vocabulary would be more beneficial than mastering video editing software.
• Time-bound: Assign a deadline to each goal. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages consistent progress. You could set a target for attending three networking events within the next 60 days or completing an online course by the end of the quarter.

Part 3 Examples of Effective Short Term Career Goals

1. Improve my communication skills by attending a public speaking course and giving at least two presentations by the end of the month. Long-term career goal: Become a confident and effective communicator in my industry. How it helps: By improving my public speaking skills and practicing presenting, I can become a more confident and effective communicator, which can help me advance in my career.

2. Learn a new software program that is relevant to my industry and use it to complete a project by the end of the quarter. Long-term career goal: Become proficient in the latest technologies and software in my industry. How it helps: By learning new software programs and technologies, I can stay up-to-date with the latest trends and become more valuable to my employer or industry.

3. Attend a networking event to expand my professional network and make at least three new connections that I can follow up with. Long-term career goal: Build a strong professional network in my industry. How it helps: By attending networking events and making new connections, I can expand my professional network and build relationships that may lead to job opportunities or career advancement in the future.

4. Develop a better understanding of my industry’s regulations and standards by attending a training program and being able to explain them to a colleague or supervisor. Long-term career goal: Become a knowledgeable and respected professional in my industry. How it helps: By developing a better understanding of my industry’s regulations and standards and being able to explain them to others, I can become a more knowledgeable and respected professional in my industry.

5. Take on a leadership role in a project to gain management experience and successfully complete the project within the given timeline and budget. Long-term career goal: Become a successful manager or leader in my industry. How it helps: By taking on a leadership role in a project, I can gain valuable management experience and develop the skills necessary to become a successful manager or leader in my industry.

6. Learn how to use a new piece of equipment or technology and apply it to a project or task within the next month. Long-term career goal: Become proficient in the latest equipment and technology in my industry. How it helps: By learning how to use new equipment or technology and applying it to a project or task, I can become more proficient in the latest equipment and technology in my industry. This can lead to more opportunities for career growth and advancement.

7. Improve my teamwork skills by participating in team-building activities and successfully completing a project with my team. Long-term career goal: Become a successful team player and leader in my industry. How it helps: By improving my teamwork skills and successfully completing a project with my team, I can become a more successful team player and leader in my industry.

8. Learn a new language to improve communication with international clients and be able to hold a basic conversation in that language within six months. Long-term career goal: Expand my professional network and work with international clients. How it helps: By learning a new language, I can improve my communication skills with international clients and expand my professional network. This can lead to new job opportunities or career advancement in the future.

More examples:

9. Increase my sales numbers by 10% in the next quarter by identifying new leads and closing at least three new deals.

10. Develop a new marketing strategy to increase brand awareness and measure its success by tracking website visits and social media engagement.

11. Obtain a certification or license to enhance my professional skills and complete the necessary coursework or exams within the next six months.

12. Attend a conference or workshop to gain industry knowledge and identify at least three new trends or best practices to implement in my work.

13. Learn a new skill that will make me more valuable in my current position and apply it to a project or task within the next month.

14. Increase my social media presence to promote my personal brand and gain at least 100 new followers within the next quarter.

15. Develop a better understanding of my company’s financials by attending a training program and being able to read and interpret financial statements.

16. Improve my project management skills by taking a course or attending a workshop and successfully completing a project within the given timeline and budget.

17. Increase my customer service skills by attending a training program and receiving positive feedback from at least three customers.

18. Improve my writing skills by taking a writing course and writing at least one article or report by the end of the month.

19. Increase my productivity by implementing time management techniques and reducing my time spent on non-essential tasks by 20%.

20. Take on a new project that will challenge me and help me grow and successfully complete it within the given timeline and budget.

21. Improve my public relations skills by attending a workshop or seminar and successfully pitching a story to a journalist or media outlet.

22. Develop a better understanding of my company’s products or services by attending a training program and being able to explain them to a customer.

23. Increase my online presence by creating a personal website or blog and publishing at least two blog posts per month.

24. Learn how to negotiate better deals with vendors and suppliers and successfully negotiate a better deal for my company within the next quarter.

25. Develop a better understanding of my company’s supply chain by attending a training program and being able to explain it to a colleague or supervisor.

26. Improve my conflict resolution skills by attending a training program and successfully resolving a conflict with a colleague or customer.

27. Learn how to delegate tasks more effectively to my team members and successfully delegate at least one task to a team member within the next month.

28. Increase my knowledge of digital marketing techniques by attending a training program and successfully implementing a new digital marketing strategy within the next quarter.

29. Develop a better understanding of my company’s culture and values by attending a training program and being able to explain them to a new employee.

30. Learn how to manage stress and maintain work-life balance by attending a workshop or seminar and successfully implementing at least one stress-reducing technique in my daily routine.

Related: 60 Self-Performance Review Goals Examples

Part 4 Setting Achievable Short-Term Career Goals

Increasing professional knowledge.

To stand out in your field, focus on increasing your professional knowledge. Identify areas where you need to improve or want to expand your expertise and dedicate time to learning new skills. Attend workshops, webinars or enroll in online courses that provide valuable information related to your industry. This can help propel your career forward and make you an in-demand professional.

Improving Communication Skills

Effective communication skills are vital to achieving success in any career. Work on enhancing both verbal and written communication, which can strengthen relationships with colleagues, clients, and management. Volunteer for presentations and practice your public speaking skills, or take a creative writing class to perfect your emails and written reports. Better communication can lead to increased opportunities for promotions and recognition in your field.

Seeking Mentoring and Guidance

Seeking advice from experienced professionals is an excellent short-term career goal. A mentor can provide valuable guidance, helping you navigate various professional challenges and prevent potential mistakes. Connect with experts in your industry through networking events, online forums, or even within your own workplace. Regularly communicate with your mentor, asking for their insights and assimilating their knowledge into your career journey.

Part 5 Steps to Measuring Your Goals

Setting and achieving short-term goals is crucial for career growth. Here are some steps to help you measure your goals effectively.

Goal Tracking

Develop a system to track your goals. You can use a digital app or a simple notebook. Update your progress daily by marking off completed tasks or jotting down key details. This will help you see your achievements and adjust your goals when needed.

• Write down your goals: Jot down your short-term goals, making them clear and specific.
• Create action steps: Break bigger goals into smaller tasks, making progress more manageable.
• Monitor progress regularly: Track daily progress and stay accountable to your goals.
• Celebrate achievements: Reward yourself for accomplishing milestones and boosting your motivation.

Weekly Review

A weekly review is a valuable habit for assessing your progress and refocusing your efforts. During the review, consider the following points:

• Review your goals: Are your short-term goals still relevant? Do you want to change or update any goals?
• Assess your progress: Did you make progress on your goals this week? Which goals are moving forward, and which ones require additional effort?
• Adjust your action steps: Based on your progress, reevaluate the steps required to achieve your goals.
• Set priorities for the upcoming week: Identify the most important tasks for the following week to stay focused and maintain momentum.

Quarterly Evaluation

A quarterly evaluation provides a broader perspective on your achievements and helps you adjust your goals for the long term. Here’s a suggested approach:

• Analyze your major accomplishments: Identify the critical milestones you reached in the past three months and celebrate your successes.
• Reflect on challenges: Consider any obstacles you encountered and think about how you can overcome them in the future.
• Review your short-term goals: Are these goals still in line with your long-term objectives? Make any necessary adjustments to stay on track.
• Plan for the next quarter: Set realistic and achievable short-term goals for the upcoming months, based on your progress and personal growth.

Part 6 Tips for Goal Accomplishment

Time management strategies.

Start by setting clear priorities, focusing on the tasks that will have the most significant impact on your goals. Break down big goals into smaller, manageable tasks and create daily to-do lists to keep track of your progress. Implement the Pomodoro technique to stay focused during work sessions, taking short breaks to recharge. Delegate tasks when possible to avoid being overwhelmed and maintain a balance between work and personal life.

Embracing a Growth Mindset

Adopting a growth mindset means believing that your skills and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. Be willing to learn from your experiences, both positive and negative, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Seek out opportunities to grow, such as attending workshops, taking online courses, or networking with professionals in your field. Surround yourself with people who challenge and inspire you, as they will push you to become better.

Consistent Motivation

Maintaining motivation is vital for achieving your short-term goals. Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives to keep yourself on track. Visualize your success and celebrate your achievements along the way, both big and small. Maintain a positive work environment and eliminate distractions that may hinder your progress. Don’t forget to practice self-care and spend time on activities you enjoy outside of work, as this will help prevent burnout and maintain a consistent level of motivation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some examples of short-term goals for career growth.

To enhance your career, consider setting short-term goals like completing relevant online courses, attending skill-building workshops, and networking events. Strengthen essential skills like public speaking or time management, and try to find a mentor who can guide you in your field.

How can I set realistic short-term goals for a new job within six months?

To set realistic short-term goals within a six-month time frame, start by getting familiar with your new job’s responsibilities. Identify areas where you need improvement, and create specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. For instance, learn a relevant software program, meet with colleagues to shadow their roles, or set a target number of client meetings to attend.

What are suitable short-term goals for a student to enhance their career?

As a student, you can work on short-term goals such as maintaining a high GPA, seeking out internships or part-time jobs related to your field, or joining clubs and organizations tied to your career aspirations. You might also consider volunteering, attending conferences, or making connections with professionals in your desired industry.

How can I achieve my short-term career goals within 1-2 years?

Achieving short-term career goals within 1-2 years requires determination and strategic planning. Break your goals into smaller, manageable tasks, and prioritize them based on their importance and deadline. Develop a timeline for each goal, and celebrate small achievements to maintain motivation. Seek guidance from mentors and managers, and adjust your goals as needed to stay on track.

What are effective short-term goals to mention during a performance review?

During a performance review, you might mention short-term goals that showcase your ambition and commitment to growth. Examples include asking for feedback on your work, collaborating with cross-functional teams, or taking the lead on a challenging project. Focus on goals that highlight your strengths and align with company objectives.

Can you share a few sample short-term career goals for a job interview?

When discussing short-term career goals during a job interview, try to choose goals that emphasize your enthusiasm and dedication to the position. You could mention aspirations like mastering core job responsibilities, adapting to the company culture, building relationships with colleagues, or making meaningful contributions to team projects. Tailor your goals to the specific job and company for maximum impact.

• 15 Personal Goals Examples for Work
• 10 Examples of Career Goals [Professional Advancement]
• 5 Year Goals: Craft Your Actionable Plan
• 5 Smart Answers to "What Are Your Career Goals?"
• 20 Solid Educational Goals Examples (Smart Goals)
• Goals vs Objectives

Which program are you applying to?

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

February 29, 2024

• Writing Your Career Goals Essay

Check out all the blog posts in this series:

• Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
• Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
• Revise and Polish Your Application Essays

Your career goals essay demands a laser-like focus. A personal statement, by contrast, allows for some flexibility in its content, though you can – and often should – discuss your career goals. But a career goals essay has a particular and packed agenda. In fact, the prompt for a career goals essay could actually include multiple questions, and in such cases, you want to make sure you address each of them.

For example, in 2022, Kellogg asked applicants to its one-year program to respond to the following prompt: “Please discuss your post-MBA career goal, the current experience you will leverage to support the transition, and the Kellogg 1Y opportunities that will help you reach this goal.” 

This prompt has three parts: (1) What do you want to do post-MBA ? (2) Why is the 1Y program appropriate for you? And (3) what experience has so far prepared you to succeed in your target role? 

So, always pay close attention to your target school’s prompt to ensure that you answer all the questions within its “single” question. 

Three elements of a successful career goals essay

In addition to having a distinct theme , your career goals essay should achieve the following:

• Highlight specific career achievements. Choose from your most notable or defining experiences. These could be related to your work, community involvement, or extracurricular activities. The experiences you select should showcase your leadership skills , creative thinking, collaborative abilities, and personal reflections about what you learned or gained.
• Explain why your experiences and influences make your career goal a logical and wise choice.
• Demonstrate why you are suited to a particular field as a result of your education, experience, abilities, and enthusiasm. Ideally, the material you choose to include will also allow you to prove your knowledge about industry trends and suggest how your abilities and strengths can help you contribute to that field.

It’s a very tall order to achieve all this.

Putting these elements together to create your goals essay

Let’s take a look at a sample MBA Goals Essay and see how these three key elements are incorporated.  

You should be able to easily recognize why the writer’s opening is attention-getting for all the right reasons. The writer introduces herself as the supremely busy executive she visualizes becoming in the future. She trades large amounts of stock, rushes off to a Zoom conference, hurries downstairs, flags down a taxi, then hops on a plane. As she describes this whirlwind of activity, we can practically feel her heart pumping.

After establishing her voice and personality in this opening, she offers context for her MBA goal. Notice that in writing about her work as an accountant for a major firm, she provides relevant details, including how many years she has been in the field, her bilingualism, and her specialty area as an auditor. This information is her springboard to explain why she is pursuing an MBA: she’s bursting out of her limited role as an accountant. Her eyes and ambition are set on a larger playing field as an international investment manager.

Write an essay, not a list or CV

Outstanding career goals essays are not lists of an applicant’s roles and achievements. Instead, they have a narrative flow and arc that convey the candidate’s palpable excitement about their career choice. This writer’s enthusiastic, dreamy first paragraph achieves this, and she returns to that image at the end, where she paints her idealized (if frantically busy) future. She also proves her seriousness by noting that she registered for the CFA exam.

Connect your career goals to your reasons for choosing a particular program

Many essay questions, especially those for MBA programs , will ask why you have chosen the school you’re applying to. Be prepared to respond knowledgeably and enthusiastically. And the only way to become knowledgeable – and enthusiastic – is by visiting campus in-person or virtually, attending student recruitment meetings, participating in forums, reading student blogs, watching videos of students speaking about their experiences, communicating directly with students and/or recent alumni, and otherwise doing your homework. As part of your research, make sure you have familiarized yourself with the courses and specializations that are relevant to your goals.

Summary Tips

• Focus on answering each and every question asked in a career goals essay prompt. Often, there is more than one.
• Highlight specific achievements vividly and in a way that shows that your career choice is logical for you.
• Do the research so you can write about why the school is a good fit for you and do so with genuine enthusiasm.

In the next post in this series , we’ll explain how to take all this advice and apply it to create an exemplary first draft.

Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application. Check out our full catalog of application services . Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay.

By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools . Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related resources:

• The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay , a free guide
• Grad School Personal Statement Examples
• Focus on Fit , podcast Episode 162

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Home / Essay Samples / Life / Goals / Short Term and Long Term Goals

Short Term and Long Term Goals

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• Topic: Personal Goals

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Navigating goals: short-term steps and long-term vision.

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