Each new year is filled with hopes for making it the best year. Part of these hopes are improving your career and taking it to the next level. For some it is about finding a career that you are more passionate about. Since we are starting the second quarter of the year, it is a good time to reflect on what you can do to make it truly the best year for your career. Here are some tips to get started with:
- Find people that inspire you and schedule a time to chat with them over coffee or lunch. Take advantage of this time to learn more about them and how they got to the place they are at. You can glean some wisdom from them and get motivation for moving to a better place in your career. Maybe they have some connections that can get you moving in the right direction. With that being said, stay away from people that drain your energy or discourage you from moving in a more positive direction.
- Work on your career goal every day. If you do something to move closer to your career goals each day, you will achieve what you want in no time. This could be something as simple as revamping your resume or networking with some companies that you aspire to work with.
- Discover what your unique characteristic is. This is what sets you apart from everyone else. We all have something unique to offer prospective employers. When you can explore this, you can find out what you have to offer and how you can find the career you want. This will make you valuable to employers.
- Review and expand your LinkedIn profile. This is the best platform for demonstrating your skills and expertise. You can showcase presentations you have put together as well as the vast amount of experience that states you are the candidate for any employer. The more choices you have in 2018, the better you will feel about taking your career in a new and better direction.
- Set career goals for yourself. Sit down and write out what you want to accomplish this year in your career. Then write out smaller goals that you need to achieve in order to obtain the bigger goals. This will give you a 2018 action plan you can achieve and feel proud of. Sometimes recruiting an accountability partner helps to keep you on track. If they have similar goals in mind, that makes it even better.
- Step outside of your comfort zone. Although no one wants to do this, it allows us to grow as a person. We learn that it isn’t so bad to step out of our comfort zone. Stepping out of your comfort zone exposes one to new situations which can help us to learn what we love to do and what we don’t want to do. Who knows, you might find something new and exciting to do with your career.
Don’t wait. Get started on your 2018 career plan and make this the year you soar to new heights with new possibilities. Good luck!
