Graduating from college is a major milestone. It is a mix of enjoyment, sadness and sometimes relief. Yet, the question in every graduate’s head is the same – what now? 

For many seniors, life after college is not clear — in fact, according to a survey made by Forage, nearly half of college students (47%) in the U.S. are not even confident if they will have a job after college (Bellassai, 2023). Life after college is not a clear picture and it is normal to feel unsure. To navigate this next chapter of your life, you can use key strategies to help.

One of the best ways to have a clear path and establish your priorities is to use S.M.A.R.T. Goals. S.M.A.R.T. Goals — standing for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound — were first founded by George T. Doran, a consultant, in 1981. 

The concept of S.M.A.R.T. Goals were first established to help people and organizations to create more efficient ways to get to their goals. Since then, it has been a great use when it comes to seeing your next step clearly. When first setting goals, there can be a tendency to get distracted by the things we want. For effectful planning and creating a clear pathway, S.M.A.R.T. Goals are essential.

First, start with collecting and writing down all of the goals you want to achieve. Then, on a piece of paper or an online document, write the goal you first want to accomplish. 

Under the goal you picked, write S, M, A, R and T by putting a gap in between. 

For S, it stands for specific. For a goal to be achievable and effective, it needs to be specific. Write down the answers to questions that might make your goal more specific, such as ‘’What needs to be accomplished?’’ or ‘’Who’s responsible for it?’’ After marking down your answers under S, continue with M. 

M stands for measurable, and quantifying your goals is a must. For instance, if your goal is to increase your sales, write down by how much. This will make it easier to track how much you need to accomplish to achieve your goal. 

Continue with A, standing for achievable. Be realistic with your goal and give yourself a reality check. Is this goal achievable to start with? Are you ready to work toward this goal? 

Finish with T, standing for time bound. Write down how many days, weeks, months or years achieving this goal can take. What is your deadline? Often, setting a timeline makes it easier to start working on your goal with dedication.

Using S.M.A.R.T Goals can help make your  future clearer for you. Graduating is the end of one chapter but the start of another. By mapping the ways to get to your goals, you can confidently take the next steps to achieving them. Remember, Spartans Will.