Tuesday 29 October 2013

Intern Opportunities: 29 October 13


Graduate opportunities

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Saturday 26 October 2013

SMART Goal Setting

Ever heard of SMART goal setting? If not, I recommend that you read on. 
Without a doubt, goal setting, particularly early on in a career will give you much needed direction and something to work towards/achieve. Unfortunately, not all managers can be relied upon to set goals or objectives, so instead check out this quick guide and set them for yourself! 

SMART goals are:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time bound

As a guideline use SMART to set your goals, meaning specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. I’ve found goal setting to be integral to the early stages of my career. Every six months I set myself goals, aim to achieve them and review them. In my role particularly, I have found it important to set goals. Unlike other media roles, a PA doesn’t have an assumed progression like say a marketing assistant to a marketing executive. Instead, I set myself goals, to give me some direction and encourage my thoughts about how I would like to progress in the future. Even if your role is not like mine and does have a specific career path to follow, goals are still important to progress and develop in an organisation. 

However, if you're going to start setting yourself goals, you need to ensure that you set them correctly (using SMART). If there’s one thing you need to understand about SMART goals it's that they need to be specific and should be based on the ‘how’ not the ‘what’. That is the difference between goal setting and SMART goal setting. Here’s an example of what I mean. A goal that wouldn’t be considered SMART is ‘I would like a career change’. It is not specific enough as it only starts with the ‘what’. Instead think about the ‘how’ you are going to get there, e.g. ‘to work with people in departments x, y and z, to establish myself and get my name recognised’, could be one aspect of how you are going to achieve that greater long-term goal of a career change. Thus, aim to make your goals as specific as possible.

Once you have a specific goal, the rest of the criteria should be relatively easy to check off. Next, measurable just means how are you going to measure your goal or how are you going to know that you’ve achieved it. Then, as long as the goals are achievable and realistic there’s only one criteria left to cover - time bound. It’s vitally important that each goal set is timed. As I’ve already said, I like to set my goals every six months, so after six months I review them, check them off if I’ve achieved them, or cross them off if they’re no longer relevant.

Once you're happy with your goals (don't set yourself too many), commit to them and don't forget about them!  After your chosen time period, review them, celebrate any achievements and then create more goals. The great thing about setting SMART goals is that they give you something to aim for and achieve. It encourages you to think about the direction of your career, which is crucial to starting out in any organisation.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Intern Opportunities: 22 October 13


Paid internships

Graduate opportunities

Opportunity of the week...
Endeavour Press is currently running an internship scheme for people interested in publicity and editorial. Placements will run throughout the year lasting for one month (applicants will have to be available for at least three days a week).The offices of Endeavour Press are in the area of St Paul's in central London.
Applicants will need to show proficiency in using social media, love of reading and ambition to work in publishing. Position will involve helping to run promotional campaigns for books (both in terms of online publicity and contacting traditional media outlets), as well as giving feedback on submissions. The position will also involve working with authors directly.
Experience is preferred, but not essential. Reasonable expenses covered.
To apply for a placement please contact Richard and enclose a CV plus a short cover letter.

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever
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Tuesday 15 October 2013

Intern Opportunities: 15 October 13


Paid internships

Graduate opportunities

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever
Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook. 


Tuesday 8 October 2013

Intern Opportunities: 08 October 13


Paid internships

Graduate opportunities

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever

Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook. 

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Intern Opportunities: 01 October 13


Paid internships

Graduate opportunities

For more intern opportunities follow me on Twitter @steff_lever

Like Diary of a Publishing Professional on Facebook