I don’t have to tell you that January is quite the kick-starting month. One perfect example. Have you noticed how packed your gym suddenly gets every January due to fitness-related resolutions? We call them the ‘resolutioners’…
But it’s also a big time of year for careers. We enter January feeling motivated to make a change—whether it’s to go after a new job, a new company, or a new field completely.
When you’re not happy at work, making a New Year’s career resolution is easy: Get a new job or, get a raise, maybe a promotion. But when things are going well, you should still be setting work-related goals for yourself. And what better time to do it than the New Year.
Now that you are in the mid-January and your business goals are starting to settle in, it’s not too late to set some career resolutions. Here are some tips to help set you up for success!
Review Your Job Description
You probably think about your job every day, but when was the last time you really thought about it? Start 2019 by taking yourself out to lunch or coffee, and writing down what you do day-to-day and how you’re feeling about your job. What makes you happy, and what would you like to change? Is your current job really what you want to be doing? Or, at the least, is it helping you reach your goals? Also, do some independent consultant market research. Is this a new avenue you’d like to explore? Is your salary or day rate meeting your day to day work?
Consider this a process an annual check-up for your career health. If you feel good about everything—great! But if there are things that could be improved, think about how you can fix them this year, whether that’s taking on new responsibilities, working towards a promotion or keeping your eye out for the next position.
Update Your Resume (and Everything Else)
Keeping your resume up-to-date is important for several reasons. For one, if a recruiter or a client calls with a great job opportunity, you’re going to want to have it ready to go. Plus, it’s a lot easier to update your accomplishments periodically, when they’re fresh in your mind, rather than trying to add in a couple of years of experience all at once.
And while you’re getting your resume in shape, go through the rest of your documents too—refresh your Oomple profile, keep your references up-to-date, edit Splice availability, Linkedin profile and add any new skills or certifications that you have gotten which brings me to my next point.
Add to Your Skills Section
Even if you’re not adding a new job to your resume this year, you can still add to the other sections! Make it your goal in 2019 to add at least one new bullet to Skills, Certifications or Educations. Are there technical skills that would make you more competitive in your field? Tools that could make your job easier? A management class that would better position you for a promotion?
Tap Into Your Network
And before you say “I hate networking” and move on to the next resolution, remember that there are plenty of ways to make new connections outside of hitting the recruiters for coffee dates. You could ask your boss to pay for a meetup, event, professional development conference that looks interesting, ask a former co-worker and her new co-workers out to a happy hour.
Make a Work Routine
There are plenty of techniques out there to help people find a routine, stick to it and result in more productivity. So, make it a goal to try at least four new ones this year, and see what works for you. (For bonus points: Organize your inbox, utilize your Google Calendar or use your phones tasks/reminders features. (it’s free!)
Career advancement is a year-round process, but why not let the momentum of January help kick-start your success? Here’s to continuing to have a great year!
What career resolutions will you be making this year?