Understanding organizational goals

Demonstrating that you have the necessary skills and qualities will help you in the right direction towards getting a new job- but that gets you only part of the way. To secure a hob, you need to demonstrate that you can use your skills and qualities to help employers to achieve their goals. Most organizations have goals that are some combination of the following:

• Making money
• Reducing costs/ saving money
• Getting things done more quickly
• Making work easier
• Growing the size of the organization
• Developing people within the organization, for example by coaching and mentoring them.
• Attracting new customers or clients
• Retaining customers or clients
• Promoting a message or the brand and image of the organization to people outside the organization.

Not all organizations have the same goals.  For example, an investment bank may be highly motivated by making money, while a children’s charity may be more interested in promoting its particular message. But if you can figure out the goals that interest different employers, you can quickly learn how to make yourself a lot more attractive to them as an applicant.