Setting Your Goals

[MUSIC] 0:00 There was a popular 80s TV series where one of the main protagonists 0:04 consistently said I love it when a plan comes together! 0:09 And my guess is that you love seeing your hard work pay off, as well. 0:14 Just like our 1980s protagonist, you need a plan for your portfolio. 0:19 But to know that your plan has paid off, you need to establish some metrics. 0:25 What is a metric? 0:31 A metric is a system or standard of measurement, or in the context of your 0:33 portfolio, it's your goal, the thing that you're trying to accomplish. 0:37 Without it, you won't know if you've been successful at completing your task. 0:42 For instance, you might wanna see X number of 0:48 social media impressions about your work on your favorite design blogs. 0:52 Or, perhaps, you want to see employment as a direct result of your efforts. 0:57 These are both examples of success metrics. 1:02 Whatever the case, you first want to start with that end result in mind and 1:05 work your way backwards to now, in order to plan your steps. 1:10 Failure to set metrics could easily mean a body of work that lacks 1:16 an overall message, which could certainly confuse your audience. 1:20 Let's break down the two success metrics I mentioned before, 1:26 social media impressions and employment. 1:30 If getting noticed on design blogs is your goal, then consider media outlets that 1:33 those authors frequent, and how they recognize their favorite content. 1:38 Is that content innovative in processes used, like design thinking, 1:43 or even newer co-creation methods? 1:48 Is it timely in its content, like blockchain or quantum computing? 1:51 Or is it chocked full of personality, 1:56 like it's copywritten from a very honest, human perspective? 1:58 An early metric for your social media impressions plan could be having your 2:04 work showcased on a local blog with the intention of moving up to regional, 2:09 national, or international blogs. 2:14 Either way, think about how you can start small and then move up. 2:17 Let's talk employment now. 2:22 You will immediately need to research the companies you admire and 2:25 would hope to work for. 2:29 What do they do that makes them stand out to you? 2:31 Remember that they won't be looking for 2:35 an exact copy of the folks who are already working there. 2:37 But they will care about whether you can handle processes or 2:40 methods they employ on a regular basis. 2:44 For instance, larger companies will likely wanna know how you work with a remote team 2:47 or whether you can use methods like Agile Scrum or Kanban boards. 2:53 All of that is definitely process that can be included in your portfolio. 2:58 An early success metric for future employment could be moving forward into 3:04 the first round of portfolio screenings with a local company. 3:09 With the long-term metric of making it through your 3:12 dream job's portfolio screening process. 3:17 In the end, if you want your plan to come together, 3:21 you need to have made a plan in the first place. 3:25 I'll see you in the next video. 3:29