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tability.ioWhat are Career OKRs?
The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.
Creating impactful OKRs can be a daunting task, especially for newcomers. Shifting your focus from projects to outcomes is key to successful planning.
We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Career to assist you. Feel free to explore the templates below for inspiration in setting your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
Career OKRs examples
We've added many examples of Career Objectives and Key Results, but we did not stop there. Understanding the difference between OKRs and projects is important, so we also added examples of strategic initiatives that relate to the OKRs.
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to determining post-high school career path
ObjectiveDetermining post-high school career path
KRConduct informational interviews with 5 professionals in fields of interest
Identify and list 5 professionals in desired fields- Prepare interview questions related to their fields
- Compose and send request emails for interviews
- KRComplete comprehensive career assessment and review results with counselor
- Set up a meeting to review results with a counselor
- Analyze the results of the career assessment
- Schedule and complete a comprehensive career assessment
- KRAttend 3 career-related workshops or information sessions
- Research upcoming career-related workshops or information sessions
- Attend the chosen career workshops/sessions
- Register for three selected career workshops/sessions
OKRs to secure a satisfying and rewarding career
- ObjectiveSecure a satisfying and rewarding career
- KRSecure at least 2 job interviews per month
- Practice and hone interviewing skills regularly
- Update resume to highlight skills and accomplishments
- Apply to at least 15 jobs per week
- KRResearch and identify at least 15 potential careers that align with my skills and interests
- Identify personal skills and interests through self-assessment
- Compile a list of 15 potential careers
- Research careers that match identified skills and interests
- KRApply to a minimum of 5 jobs weekly that match the identified careers
- Send applications to identified jobs
- Tailor resumes and cover letters for each job
- Identify 5 jobs weekly matching career preferences
OKRs to establish credibility and recognition as a successful mentor and career guide
- ObjectiveEstablish credibility and recognition as a successful mentor and career guide
- KRSuccessfully guide 10 individuals in their chosen career paths
- Monitor progress and provide regular feedback for improvement
- Develop personalized career development plans for each individual
- Provide one-on-one career counseling for individual path planning
- KRReceive at least a 4-star rating on mentorship from each individual
- Continuously enhance communication and listening skills
- Provide personalized guidance tailored to each individual's needs
- Seek feedback regularly and adjust mentorship style accordingly
- KRPromote personal brand by publishing 5 insightful articles on career guidance
- Identify key topics of interest on career guidance
- Publish and promote articles via social media platforms
- Draft and finalize five insightful articles
OKRs to establish my unique, impactful role in the organization
- ObjectiveEstablish my unique, impactful role in the organization
- KRDevelop a personalized career plan with specified growth targets by month-end
- Identify required skills and necessary action steps
- Draft a detailed timeline for achievement
- Define specific career milestones to obtain
- KRAchieve a minimum 80% approval rating on the execution of assigned roles and responsibilities
- Consistently deliver high quality work
- Implement training programs for skill enhancement
- Solicit regular feedback to identify areas needing improvement
- KRAttain deep knowledge and skills in my designated area with at least 90% proficiency
- Seek mentorship or coaching in the designated area
- Engage in daily devoted study and practice sessions
- Regularly evaluate progress and adjust learning methods
OKRs to secure employment to considerably escalate financial standing
- ObjectiveSecure employment to considerably escalate financial standing
- KRIdentify and apply to 30 relevant job openings within the first month
- Identify 30 suitable job openings in the desired field
- Tailor CV and cover letter for each job opening
- Submit applications to all identified job openings
- KRObtain a well-remunerated job offer that multiplies current income by 10
- Network intensively within the desired high-paying industry
- Optimize job application materials for high salary jobs
- Update skills through additional certifications or advanced education
- KRSecure at least 5 job interviews within the second month
- Update CV and cover letter to fit targeted job positions
- Apply to at least 20 relevant job postings weekly
- Network with professionals in the chosen field
OKRs to establish a comprehensive Career Development Program
- ObjectiveEstablish a comprehensive Career Development Program
- KREnroll 50% employees in career development courses or workshops
- KRMeasure and achieve a 25% increase in internal promotions or role advancements
- Regularly review individual performance and potential for advancement
- Implement robust employee development programs
- Define clear career progression pathways within the organization
- KRDesign a robust career development framework for all department employees
- Research successful career development frameworks in similar industries
- Survey employees to identify desired career progression and development areas
- Draft a tailorable framework focusing on development, progression, and mentorship
OKRs to enhance the career development of our team members
- ObjectiveEnhance the career development of our team members
- KRIncrease attendance at professional development workshops by 20%
- Develop inspiring guest speaker events
- Launch a promotional campaign across various platforms
- Start a referral program to encourage attendance
- KRAchieve a 30% increase in team members applying for internal promotions
- Improve communication on promotion criteria and processes
- Promote awareness of available internal promotion opportunities
- Implement training programs to enhance employees' skills
- KRImplement a process for individualized career development plans for all team members
- Develop a standardized template for individual career development plans
- Schedule one-on-one meetings to discuss and tailor these plans
- Define clear career paths for each job position in the team
OKRs to enhance career growth of junior team members through mentorship
- ObjectiveEnhance career growth of junior team members through mentorship
- KRImprove junior team members' project completion rate by 20%
- Provide constructive feedback and guidance frequently
- Establish a mentorship program within the team
- Implement regular hands-on training sessions for junior team members
- KRConduct weekly personalized training sessions for each junior team member
- Identify individual training needs for every junior team member
- Dedicate time to execute training sessions weekly
- Develop weekly personalized training plans
- KRAchieve a 15% increase in junior team members assuming leadership roles in projects
- Implement leadership training programs for junior team members
- Create opportunities for mentorship from senior leaders
- Delegate more responsibilities to promising junior members
OKRs to improve your career path
- ObjectiveProvide comprehensive, quality career path advice to our customers
- KRIncrease the number of customers returning for repeat career path advice by 30%
- KRIncrease customer satisfaction ratings for career path advice by 20%
- Monitor customer satisfaction ratings and adjust strategies to reach desired 20% increase.
- Analyze customer feedback data to identify areas of improvement.
- Create a customer satisfaction survey for career path advice.
- Implement changes based on customer feedback to improve career path advice.
- KRIncrease the number of customers receiving career path advice by 50%
- Monitor and evaluate customer feedback to ensure career path advice services are meeting customer needs.
- Analyze customer survey results to determine areas of opportunity for career path advice.
- Develop and implement a customer survey to assess current needs related to career path advice.
- Create targeted campaigns to promote career path advice services to existing customers.
OKRs to achieve personal and financial stability
- ObjectiveAchieve personal and financial stability
- KRSpend less than monthly income to create savings buffer of 15%
- Cut back on unnecessary costs
- Establish a strict monthly budget plan
- Allocate 15% of every paycheck to savings
- KRSecure steady income by landing a full time job
- Update and optimize your resume to highlight relevant skills and experiences
- Prep and practice for potential job interviews
- Research and apply to job openings in your chosen field
- KRAttend 1 personal development workshop per month to enhance emotional stability
- Register and pay for selected workshops
- Participate fully in each workshop
- Research and find upcoming personal development workshops
How to write your own Career OKRs
1. Get tailored OKRs with an AI
You'll find some examples below, but it's likely that you have very specific needs that won't be covered.
You can use Tability's AI generator to create tailored OKRs based on your specific context. Tability can turn your objective description into a fully editable OKR template -- including tips to help you refine your goals.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Click on the "Generate goals using AI" button
- 3. Use natural language to describe your goals
Tability will then use your prompt to generate a fully editable OKR template.
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Option 2. Optimise existing OKRs with Tability Feedback tool
If you already have existing goals, and you want to improve them. You can use Tability's AI feedback to help you.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on "Generate analysis"
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsTability will scan your OKRs and offer different suggestions to improve them. This can range from a small rewrite of a statement to make it clearer to a complete rewrite of the entire OKR.
You can then decide to accept the suggestions or dismiss them if you don't agree.
Option 3. Use the free OKR generator
If you're just looking for some quick inspiration, you can also use our free OKR generator to get a template.
Unlike with Tability, you won't be able to iterate on the templates, but this is still a great way to get started.
Career OKR best practices
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tip #2: Commit to weekly OKR check-ins
Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples above). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
How to track your Career OKRs
Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly in order to get all the benefits of the OKRs framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
Spreadsheets are enough to get started. Then, once you need to scale you can use a proper OKR platform to make things easier.
If you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.
More Career OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.