Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, this is my first time posting so I apologise If I get the tone wrong on this one
I am being asked to write my objectives at work then go and have my half year review to talk about them. No Big Deal!
So why on earth am I so stressed about it. It feels like I have to write my own exam questions, answer them, then get judged on both the question I wrote and my answer to it.
I'm just expected to know how to do this because I've been given a powerpoint slide on SMART objectives
For context I dropped out of Uni and everything since, It the question needs answering in words and sentences, you can generally count me out.
Does this stuff trigger anybody else or is it just me?
Hi there,
Yeah this massively freaks me out too! We have a 6 monthly review cycle at work and once a year that involves writing a personal review (eg. a review of yourself) and then a review of your manager. It is encouraged that you set out aims for the coming 6 months too. I find it SO HARD.
I never can remember what I do in a half-year period anyway, let alone write about it and goals? My goal is to keep coming to work to get paid so I can live. That is my only goal, I don't know what you want me to say!
Try and think of it like this: What is the purpose of your job. Are you fulfilling that purpose? What other factors affect your ability to do your job? What are the points/feedback your manager has raised with you in the past and have you worked on those points since? You want to document: what you're doing, how you're doing it and why it is good.
You are NOT ALONE on this one. It's really tough!
Autumn_Trees said:You are NOT ALONE on this one. It's really tough!
I've seen this from both sides of the management / employee fence and it is actually really easy.
It is one of those hurdles that HR make management pass down to try to give you some structure and ways to measure your ambitions and progress, so it will work for you if you think about it.
I assume you were given objectives last time you had one of these reviews, so this is a case of "did you do what you said you would or were you just slacking off". That also works for promises made by management of things like training courses and opportunities (eg working in other teams for a bit).
Look at the previous objectives, work out how close you came to them and base the next terms objectives on these - make them realistic.
The SMART system is actually really good as it makes these actually achievable. Lets base my response on an IT Helpdesk role as that is what I know inside out:
Specific - You want to become Microsoft certified in Windows 11 to prove you know your stuff. There is an exam for this so it is very specific.
Measurable - You must pass the exam. Very much do-able and measurable as you need more than 50% to pass..
Achievable - You have to be given the training material and time to do this (including an element of your own time), so it should be achievable with 2 hours a week set aside to study
Realistic - 2 hours a week is realistic I would think.
Time constrained - It has to be done in the next 6 months
OK - piece of cake so far.
Look at the other objectives you had and work out if they can be adapted, evolved or otherwise made repeatable in a way that helps you grow.
Your manager should do pretty much all the heavy lifting for this but they will look on you much more favourable if you come up with suggestions, and if it helps direct your career in the direction you want then this is you taking some control of your future.
If anyone wants to DM me for help then I'm happy to do this, but I'm renovating 2 apartments at the moment so I'm not about as much as I normally am.