I recently met a childhood friend who is a graduate of Mass communication from a reputable university. She has masters in language and communication. But kept telling me about not finding satisfaction in the job she was doing, and have changed jobs 3 times in 1 year (reputable companies), no happiness or growth in her career path. Though, she had acquired skills in logical reasoning and improved in her interpersonal, communications and technical skills. And it is funny how she had not been able to find happiness. She was even considering Entrepreneurship but not sure anymore because she wants to achieve her dream which is becoming an expert in Communications. She needed my advice because she was really confused.

Well, I asked her how smart her career rules were, because I don’t think she needs to quit or feel unhappy, she just has to understand how to set smart goals for her career. Once you know where you stand, it’s time to write down where you want to end up. However, working hard is not working smart. But too often, I see youths go too far in one direction. Maybe they only think of the end results without considering the smaller benchmark goals they have to reach first. Or maybe they don’t think big enough. Whatever will give you happiness has to align with the SMART rules, or else you are wasting your time.

To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant)

• Measurable (meaningful, motivating)

• Achievable (agreed, attainable)

• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, result-based)

• Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)

Ideas are not expensive, it’s not scarce either, there is just something you are ought to do that you haven’t. You can only figure out that if you start setting smart goals for yourself. When your goals are smart, your career will align with it easily.