Tell Me About a Goal You Set and How You Achieved It

Setting and achieving goals is a vital skill in almost every job, which is why interviewers often ask behavioral questions like, “Tell me about a goal you set and how you achieved it.” Your answer can highlight your ability to manage tasks, overcome obstacles, and deliver results, making it a powerful way to stand out from the competition.

In this guide, we’ll break down what interviewers are looking for, provide tips for structuring your answer, and share sample scripts to help you impress any hiring manager.

What hiring managers look for in your goal-setting answer

Even if your resume highlights impressive achievements, interviewers are more interested in how you approach challenges than in the specific outcomes. So, if you’re just beginning your career and don’t have many major accomplishments yet, that’s okay.

When asking about goal-setting, interviewers are looking to understand how you define success and whether you can take a goal and break it down into manageable steps. This skill is especially important for roles where goals have long timelines, such as construction projects, or involve complex tasks, like developing new technology.

How to answer, “Tell me about a goal you set and how you achieved it”

1. Choose a professional goal relevant to the job

When selecting a goal to discuss, pick one that aligns with the skills or responsibilities required in the role you’re interviewing for. A relevant goal demonstrates your ability to excel in a similar context, making it easier for the interviewer to picture you in the position.

For example, if the job involves project management, you might discuss a time when you successfully managed a complex project under tight deadlines. If the position emphasizes problem-solving, you could describe a situation where you innovated a solution to streamline a process or improve efficiency.

If you don’t have a professional goal directly linked to the job, consider choosing a goal that highlights transferable skills like leadership, teamwork, or time management. Even personal goals—such as completing a marathon or organizing a community event—can work if you connect them to the job by showing how the skills you used apply to the role.

Key tip: Thoroughly read the job description to identify key skills or attributes the employer values, and choose a goal demonstrating your competence in those areas.

2. Break down your plan to achieve the goal

After presenting your goal, the next step is to explain how you approached achieving it. This is where you show your strategic thinking and organizational skills. Walk your interviewer through the specific steps you took, emphasizing how you prioritized tasks and created a structured plan.

Describe how you assessed the goal, identified the key tasks involved, and set a timeline to meet milestones. If you used any tools—such as project management software, spreadsheets, or other resources—mention those to show your technical proficiency and organized approach.

Example: “When tasked with improving our department’s customer satisfaction scores, I started by analyzing feedback from past surveys to identify common pain points. Then, I broke down the goal into actionable steps: improving response times, enhancing training for customer service reps, and creating a follow-up procedure. I set deadlines for each phase and regularly reviewed our progress to ensure we stayed on track.”

Key tip: Focus on how you proactively tackled the goal, highlighting problem-solving, adaptability, and planning. Mention any collaboration with others, as teamwork is a critical skill in most workplaces.

3. Highlight specific actions taken and the positive outcome

Once you’ve explained the planning process, dive into the actions you took to achieve the goal. This is the part of your answer where you can showcase your initiative, problem-solving abilities, and determination. Be specific—mention any challenges you faced along the way and how you overcame them. This gives the interviewer insight into performing under pressure and adapting to unexpected changes.

When discussing the outcome, emphasize the positive results of your efforts. Did you exceed expectations? Did the project or goal have a lasting impact on your organization or team? Quantify the results if possible, such as increased sales, improved customer satisfaction, or reduced costs, as this adds credibility and impact to your answer.

Example: “To implement the customer satisfaction initiative, I created a comprehensive training program for our reps and set up an internal reporting system to monitor response times. One challenge we faced was a high volume of customer inquiries, which was overwhelming the team. To address this, I implemented a triage system that prioritized urgent requests. As a result, our average response time improved by 40%, and customer satisfaction scores increased by 15% over three months.”

Key tip: Be sure to close your answer with a strong, positive result. Whenever possible, quantify your results to give your answer more weight. If you can tie this result back to a requirement from the job description, it makes your answer even stronger.

Common mistakes to avoid when discussing goals

Picking an irrelevant goal: Talking about a goal from your personal life can work–if you can connect it to the job. A goal that’s too far afield or too superficial (buying a fancy sports car or losing twenty pounds) won’t add anything to your candidacy.
Giving vague answer: The best answers to this question are specific and detail-oriented, so be sure to give it some thought ahead of time to avoid being caught off guard.

Sample answers

Example #1

“At my previous job as a marketing coordinator, I set a goal to increase our email marketing open rates by 20% within six months. At the time, our open rates were stagnating, and I knew improving them would directly impact lead generation and overall sales.

To achieve this, I started by analyzing our email campaigns from the past year. I identified key factors that influenced open rates, such as subject line length, personalization, and the timing of emails. From there, I developed a detailed plan, which included A/B testing different subject lines, experimenting with sending times and segmenting our audience based on interests and behaviors. I created a content calendar that tracked each email’s performance and made weekly adjustments based on the data.

One challenge I faced was resistance from the sales team, who preferred sending more frequent emails. To address this, I presented them with data showing how over-sending was actually contributing to lower engagement. By collaborating with them, I was able to implement a more strategic, targeted approach without increasing the frequency of emails.

As a result of these efforts, we exceeded our original goal—within six months, our open rates improved by 28%, and the quality of our leads increased significantly. This project not only helped boost our revenue but also strengthened my ability to analyze data, communicate with cross-functional teams, and implement changes based on feedback.”

This answer:

Chooses a relevant professional goal (increasing open rates)
Breaks down the plan (analyzing past performance, A/B testing, creating a content calendar)
Describes specific actions and challenges (resolving the sales team’s concerns and implementing changes)
Highlights a positive, quantifiable outcome (a 28% increase in open rates)

Example #2

“During my final year of college, I set a goal to improve student engagement in our campus sustainability club, where I served as president. Attendance at our events had been declining, and I wanted to increase participation by at least 25% before the end of the semester.

To achieve this, I first surveyed students to understand why attendance was low and what types of activities they’d be more interested in. Based on the feedback, I revamped our event lineup to include more hands-on activities, like workshops on sustainable living and volunteer events at local farms. I also worked with the communications team to improve our social media presence and created a digital calendar so students could easily see upcoming events and RSVP.

One challenge I faced was getting students to commit to attending events, as many had busy schedules. To address this, I proposed partnering with other student organizations to co-host events, which helped us tap into a wider audience. We also offered attendees incentives like free eco-friendly products, which increased interest.

By the end of the semester, we had increased participation by 30%, surpassing my original goal. This experience helped me develop stronger leadership, project management, and marketing skills, all of which I know will be valuable in this role as I continue to grow professionally.”