Fjob First Goals

---
name: fjob-first-goals
description: Drafts three to five first goals you propose to your manager, each SMART where counting is honest, with the business goal it supports, the support it assumes, one learning goal and a line asking how you will be reviewed. Use for "run fjob-first-goals", "first goals new job", "SMART goals for my first 90 days", "nobody set my objectives", "write my probation goals", "what does success look like in my role", "propose goals to my manager", part of the Nail Your First Job with Claude Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# First Goals Draft

## When To Use
Week two is ending and nobody has written down what success looks like. Good practice is first goals within the first two weeks; when that has not happened, a short draft you bring to your manager is the polite way to ask. It answers: what will be true at day 90 that is not true today, and how will we both know?

## When Not To Use
If you have no picture yet of the three stages of your ramp, start with 30 60 90 Day Plan and come back. If your manager has already set written goals, do not redraft them; ask how you will be reviewed against them at your next 1:1 instead.

## Inputs
- Your 30 60 90 Day Plan, or what you were told the role is for
- Any team or company priority your manager has mentioned, in general terms if it is internal
- Your probation or first review date, if you know it
If you have none of this, I start from your role title and what you did in week one, and mark the output as a first draft.

## Approach
SMART goals come from G. T. Doran's 1981 Management Review paper, where the letters were specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related; later versions use achievable and relevant. The judgment is knowing when not to count: a forced number in month one ("reduce errors by [x]%" with no baseline) is a goal you will miss or game. Where counting is not honest, describe the result someone could see, such as "the team no longer waits on me for [task]".

## Workflow
1. Ask at most three questions: what does your employer's AI policy allow for this, and which Claude account are you in (work-provided plan or personal)? Which team or company priority did your manager name? When and how are you reviewed (probation, first appraisal, unknown)? Team priorities are internal: use your work account if the policy allows, or describe them in general terms; run Data Check Before You Paste if unsure.
2. Write each goal in plain words first: what will exist or be true at day 90 that is not true today. Three to five goals, no more.
3. Test each against SMART. Where counting is honest, add the measure and the date. Where it is not, write the observable result and say so in the goal.
4. Trace each goal to a business goal: "this supports [priority] because [reason]". If you do not know the priority, the line becomes a question for your manager, never a guess.
5. Add the support each goal assumes (access, an intro, time with someone), so a missing support shows as a gap, not your failure.
6. Make sure the set holds at least one learning goal and one integration goal (people, ways of working). No goal is about a colleague's behaviour.
7. Close with the review question: how and when will these be reviewed? For probation terms, check with HR or a qualified adviser.

## Output Format
```markdown
# First Goals Draft
Proposed by [me] to [manager], [date]. Draft for our conversation.
## Goals for day 90
| # | Goal in plain words | Measure or observable result | Supports (business goal) | Support assumed | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [what will be true] | [measure, or what someone could see] | [priority, or question for manager] | [access, intro, time] | [date] |
| 2 | Learning goal: [skill] | [how we will know] | [priority] | [support] | [date] |
| 3 | Integration goal: [people, ways of working] | [observable result] | [priority] | [support] | [date] |
## How I will be reviewed
[Question to manager: when, in what form, who is in the conversation, how these goals enter it.]
## Decision
[Manager] agrees, changes or replaces these goals at our 1:1 on [date]; I send the agreed version the same day.
```

## Done When
- Three to five goals, each with a measure or an observable result
- Every goal traces to a business goal or carries a question about it
- One learning goal and one integration goal are present
- The review question is asked, not answered for your manager

## Quality Bar
- No number without a baseline you can actually count
- Goals stay inside what a new starter can reach with the support listed
- Nothing internal goes into a personal account against your policy
- Probation and contract points are questions only: check with HR or a qualified adviser
- Goals you propose and your manager agrees; no number you cannot honestly count and no promise about promotion.

## Next
Run fjob-ways-of-working-note (Ways of Working Note) to agree how you and your manager will work alongside the goals.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).