"When I have an important goal, I like to break it down into baby steps or smaller pieces. Then, I feel accomplished when I achieve each smaller goal and this allows for opportunities to adjust my bigger goal if needed. Three years ago, I made it a goal to become a certified nurse mentor with my current organization as they require educational and experiential steps to becoming a certified mentor. I broke down the requirements and set a step-by-step path to achieving the certification and ensured that my supervisor was on board with the plan. Over the next year, I worked hard to take the classes and gain the 'mentoring the mentor' experience that was required. To this day, I'm always proud of mentoring new staff."

This is a great time to showcase your problem-solving skills when faced with a personal goal. For example, if you lost weight and got in shape, the ideal answer would have the elements of being coachable, listening to guidance, developing a plan that was S-M-A-R-T, and perhaps reverse engineering your goal. This is not the time to say you bought meal replacement shakes and drank Red Bull all day to boost your metabolism or that you starved yourself. This is the time to outline the process and commitment that led to your success.