Upload 3 SMART Goals for Co-op Program Participation

Students join Co-op for a variety of reasons, and participation in the program supports students professional and personal development across a range of areas. Reflect on your reasons for applying to the Co-op Program, and what you have learned since joining the program. Consider the skills and knowledge you are seeking to build, strengthen, and apply through the Co-op program. Develop three (3) SMART goals that reflect what you would like to achieve through participating in Co-op--its Career Skills classes, Work Terms, and Co-op Community participation--and what actions you plan to take to move toward accomplishing these goals. Following are components of an effective goal one that describes performance standards that will tell us what success looks like. The SMART acronym can help us remember these components.

Specific - The goal should identify a specific action or event that will take place. Measurable - The goal and its benefits should be quantifiable. Action Oriented what steps will you take to achieve this goal, describe your plan. Realistic - The goal should require you to stretch some, but allow the likelihood of success. Timebound - The goal should state the time period in which it will be accomplished.

Here are some tips that can help you set effective goals: 1. Develop several goals. A list of multiple goals gives you several things to work on over a period of time. 2. State goals as declarations of intention, not items on a wish list. "I want to apply to three schools" lacks power. "I will apply to three schools," is intentional and powerful. 3. Attach a date to each goal. State what you intend to accomplish and by when. A good list should include some short-term and some long-term goals. You may want a few goals for the year, and some for two- or three-month intervals. 4. Be specific. "To find a job" is too general; "to find and research five job openings before the end of the month" is better. Sometimes a more general goal can become the long-term aim, and you can identify some more specific goals to take you there.