• Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group

University Survival

  • Student Success Skills
    • Picking a College
    • Financing Your Education
    • Choosing a Major
    • Preparing for College
    • Managing the Personal Side of the Transition to College
    • Developing Discipline to Do Well
    • Managing the Social Side of College
    • Being an Efficient Learner
    • Taking Tests
    • Ensuring You Receive The Grade You Want
    • Managing Group Projects
    • Becoming a Campus Leader
    • Student Athletes
    • Navigating College Practices
    • Succeeding on Internships and Co-ops
    • Making Critical Decisions
    • Overcoming Challenges for Specific Types of Students
    • Setting Goals
    • Being an International Student In The United States
    • Using Resources
    • Communication Skills for College Graduates
    • Building a Professional Network
    • Using LinkedIn to Develop Your Network
    • Preparing for a Career
    • Understanding Job Protocols
    • Developing Essential Career Skills
    • Becoming a Leader
    • Overcoming Career Challenges
    • Planning for your Financial Future
  • Parent Connections
    • Parent Topics
      • Being a Supportive Parent
      • Making Critical Decisions
      • Financing Your Student’s Education
    • Parent Emails
  • Teacher Resources
  • Resources
  • Community
  • About
You are here: Student Success Skills » Setting Goals » Understanding Why Goals Are Important

Student Success Skills

Understanding Why Goals Are Important

by jennifer
July 14, 2015

When you have a job interview, one of the questions you will likely be asked is “What are your career goals?”  This is a very difficult question to answer.  It’s also unfair because the person asking the question is also unlikely to have a good idea of his/her own career goals.

Are goals really as important as people say they are?  To answer this question, let’s explore why people set goals:

  • They want to make an improvement in an area where they are weak
  • They want to achieve something
  • They want to create discipline and focus

You might be wondering whether you could meet any of the above needs without setting specific goals.  The answer is probably yes.  If that’s the case, then why set goals?

  • They help you measure your progress
  • They help you from getting off track
  • They help you build confidence
  • They help you gain support from others

OK, maybe now you’re thinking about what it does mean when someone says “I have a goal”.  There are many different ideas about what constitutes a goal, but the following may be useful benchmarks for you to use:

  • Goals are written down
  • Goals are things you can measure
  • Goals have a time table for achievement
  • Goals have a threshold that is to be reached

In the topics that follow, you will learn some very practical things you can do to become proficient in making goals work for you.

← Identifying Goal Dimensions
Understanding The Job Acceptance Process →

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Rate This Topic

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Testimonials

  • I have changed and adopted some things. First is my time management. I learned how to manage my time by using simple things like the what to-do-list. I never thought about using time between classes in doing useful things. I used to either go back to my apartment if that break is long or just use my phone in texting. However, I do realize how can I use that time, I usually spend my time in the engineering lab even if I have everything done, I just go and figure out what to do because in anyway its better than going back to the apartment. Additionally, I learned a very useful thing like the cheat sheet. I have never heard of this until I took this class. I think even if it’s not permitted to be used in some classes, it benefits me in reviewing before a test and quizzes since most of what is going to be covered is in there. What I like here is that everything we learn can be used in real situations or study cases. For instance, I learn some tips for studying such as flash cards and when I try it, it works quite perfectly..

Sign Up For Student Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly student emails.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Sign Up For Parent Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly parent emails.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic
© Copyright - University Survival