Developing an Effective Answer to, ‘What Are Your Short-Term Goals?’

Short-term goals are the professional targets you set for yourself that can be achieved in a brief period of time. Typically, these objectives can be achieved in the near future, such as in days, weeks, months, or within a year. They differ from long-term goals that require several years to achieve. The targets you develop over the short term can help you to develop professionally, and they can help you to systematically achieve your objectives over the long term.

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There are several reasons that make setting short-term goals important, such as:

• It orients you toward career development. Setting realistic, short-term goals is a positive behavior that motivates you toward professional development.
• It can help you plan ahead. You can use your short-term goals to identify the activities needed to achieve them.
• It can start the process of achieving long-term targets. It’s usually necessary to achieve your short-term targets before your long-term ones. By deciding on what you want to achieve in your career over the next days, weeks, months, or even the next year and setting goals to achieve what you want, you can begin the process of achieving them. Achieving these short-term goals can help you work toward what you want in the long term.

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The “What are your short-term goals?” question can be asked by an employer for several reasons, including:

• It can be used to evaluate a candidate’s drive and ambitions. Setting achievable, short-term goals indicates that a professional is ambitious and determined to succeed. As these abilities are usually found in high performance workers, the hiring manager is likely to be pleased with an answer that contains realistic professional goals.
• It can show an employer a candidate’s compatibility with job opportunities. Short-term goals show what a candidate wants to achieve professionally in the near future. In an ideal candidate for a job, these professional targets are compatible with opportunities the position and the company can provide.
• It can indicate whether a candidate complements corporate interests. Employers prefer candidates whose goals align with their goals or values. A suitable applicant for a job will have short-term targets that complement the objectives or values of the employer.
• It can communicate your positive personality traits. Increasingly, employers are hiring for soft skills that emerge from specific personality traits because it’s easier to hire people with these abilities than to develop them via training. Setting professional goals that are achievable over the short term indicates that a candidate has key soft skills such as being a self-starter, being goal oriented, being motivated, and being committed.

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Consider the following steps to develop an effective answer to this interview question:

1. Identify the changes you want to achieve in your career in the short term. A short-term career goal is based on a professional change you desire in the near future, so start preparing for the question by identifying what these changes are. These desired changes can include becoming more skilled, developing an innovation, becoming a better leader, or showing appreciation to a hiring agent after an interview.
2. Set goals for achieving these changes. Formulate measurable and specific targets for achieving the career changes you want. For example, professional goals achievable in the short term can include learning a new hard skill, developing a computer program, going to a leadership seminar, or writing a thank-you letter after an interview.
3. Develop a plan for reaching these goals in the near future. Each target will require you to perform specific activities. Make a list of the activities you need to achieve for each goal. For example, to increase your daily productivity by 20%, you may need to keep a daily schedule, minimize distractions when working on job duties, document the start and end time of each task, and evaluate progress.
4. Align goals to the position and values of the company. Usually, employers prefer workers with short-term goals that are relevant to the opportunities available in the company instead of others with irrelevant goals. Research the position, employer, and corporate values. Then, choose suitable goals. For example, if your objective is to learn a new manufacturing software, choose one for which training is already provided by the employer.
5. Develop a structure for your answer. Ideally, your answer should specify each short-term career goal, summarize what you have already achieved in relation to them, and articulate your next steps.
6. Write and edit your answer. Carefully write your answer to the question about your short-term targets. It’s important to provide a comprehensive answer that demonstrates communication skills. Then, proofread it to eliminate errors.
7. Deliver your answer on short-term goals with confidence. Practice your answer until you get it right and can repeat it confidently. Improve your answer delivery by talking to yourself in front of a mirror or role-playing the interview situation with a friend.
8. Communicate your answer. At the interview, clearly inform the hiring manager about your short-term career goals.

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Consider the following answers when preparing for a question on your short-term goals:

Example 1: Entry-level junior accountant

One of my short-term goals is to develop a strategy for minimizing mistakes in data entry tasks that involve entering customer financial data into devices because maintaining my accuracy is very important to me. Another target I’m aiming to achieve over the next year is to improve my awareness of the legislation, industry practices, and company policies that apply to my job. 

Currently, I read peer-reviewed journals and follow industry publications to keep up-to-date on industry news. With my supervisor’s permission, I also plan on participating in on-the-job training on handling some of the senior accountants’s responsibilities because I want to be able to work independently when necessary and to position myself to transition to an accountant position in the next year.

Example 2: Entry-level hotel front desk clerk

In the short term, I aim to evaluate my customer interactions and determine areas in which I can improve my service skills because ensuring service quality and building client loyalty are key parts of my job. Another short-term goal is to evaluate three bachelor’s degree programs in hospitality management, and choose the best one to pursue while working. I believe that studying toward an academic credential in this area will help me become better at my job.

Example 3: Mid-level production supervisor

One of my short-term goals is to learn how to use the Hubstaff manufacturing software because it provides some great services for production supervisors such as employee monitoring in real time, invoicing, payroll processing, and improving project budgets. I also aim to develop an interactive manual in the next three months on the personal protection equipment needed for the various tasks on the production floor to address the lack of compliance to regulations on wearing equipment, employee awareness about what to wear for various jobs, and difficulty in accessing the necessary information while working. 

I’m also planning on attending seminars on team building and handling conflicts among team members in the near future. As resolving interpersonal conflicts among my subordinates is one of my job duties, I’m committed to maintaining and improving my skills in this area. 

Example 4: Mid-level billing clerk

A key objective I seek to achieve in the short term is to develop a proposal for transforming the invoice sending process to one that uses only electronic delivery methods instead of a combination of electronic methods and mail to improve the speed, cost, and effectiveness of the process. Another goal I’m eager to achieve is improving my expertise in medical billing by learning to use a new software for handling patient records and invoicing, such as the program for which you provide a training program. I would also like to improve my strategy for promoting accuracy in relation to developing, maintaining, and updating customer and service data by using more digital tools.

Example 5: Senior chief information officer

As chief information officer, a key short-term goal is to improve my practical knowledge of the Lean Practices project management methodology because in my experience in overseeing IT projects, I have focused on PMI’s PMBOK, Agile, Six Sigma DMAIC, and PRINCE2. Additionally, encouraging employee compliance to the new data security policies I proposed in the next 6 months is another important target. Based on what we discussed, I would also aim to evaluate your information analysis system and suggest improvements.

Setting objectives that are achievable in the near future can help your career. Additionally, answering “What are your short-term goals?” effectively can improve your chances during the hiring process.

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