Aiming High / Self-Motivation

Are you able to set clear, tangible goals and devise a robust route to achieving them? This requires you to aim high and to remain motivated.

How you're aiming high and developing your self motivation

You may not notice it, but you're probably already doing a lot of things that show you're aiming high and that you're self-motivated. If you're not, then here are some suggestions of how and when you can start aiming high and develop your self motivation.

• Understanding when you find something difficult

• Knowing what it looks like for you to "do well" - it will not be the same for you as it is for someone else

• Working with care and attention to detail

• Taking pride in your work when you meet the success criteria

• Keeping a positive approach to new challenges

• Setting goals yourself with an understanding of what you need to do to succeed

• When you set goals, understanding how to prioritise tasks

• When you set goals, making sure you have and make use of the resources you need

• Asking for critical feedback to improve your work

• Developing long-term strategies taking into account strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (for example when planning what career you'd like to pursue)

• When developing long-term strategies, planning regular milestones to check progress

develop your Self motivation

Is there a project that you'd like to do but you're putting it off? Maybe you think you don't have the time or maybe you just can't be bothered. Think of the bigger picture and how you will benefit from that project in the long run. Set your mind to it and plan. Use the strategies above and some of the links below to help you prioritise and organise your time.

You can keep track of anything you do to develop your employability skills on UNIFROG.

Time management and Productivity Training Video

Managing your priorities

Analyse Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Setting SMART goals

Build your evidence

You need to be able to prove to future employers or universities that you have the skills they want. Try preparing an example answer to the question: "Can you explain a time when you have worked to reach a goal you set yourself"

Situation

• Explain the situation you were in.

• Aim to answer the questions ‘what/where/when’, for example, “In the third year of my business studies degree” or “when I was working as a retail assistant in a shop last summer”.

Task

• What did you do, and what did the task or role involve?

• Explain your tasks and responsibilities briefly.

Action

• What did YOU do to meet the objective of/complete the task?

• You might want to cover what you did and how you did it, including what skills you used.

Result

• What was the outcome?

• Did you make a difference?

• Can you quantify this?

Reflection

• What did you do well?

• What didn’t go as well as you’d hoped?

Strengthen

• After reflection, what would you have done differently?

• What could have been improved to achieve an even greater success?