10 Professional Resolutions For The New Year

10 Professional Resolutions For The New Year

The New Year presents the perfect moment to start or restart moving your career in the right direction for you. Whether a pay rise, promotion, or a new career are among your professional resolutions, the following tips may serve as useful in your quest to make 2014 the year for your career!

1. Set Yourself Career Goals

Envision your dream job and work towards it. Work out what you need to do to get there and start a strategic journey to make it happen. You can make it come true; you just have to believe it!

2. Be Alert At Work

Make sure that each day provides a learning opportunity. Whether it be reading up on industry developments or learning from on-the-ball colleagues. Don’t just go through the motions at work. Grow and develop every day.

3. Expand Your Skill Set

Know what your strengths are but also look to develop areas which you perceive as weaknesses. A weakness can always be turned into strength! Keep your CV updated accordingly so it isn’t a headache when it comes to rewriting it for a new opportunity. Make sure your CV reflects development and strategic planning of the path you are taking towards a more fulfilled career.

4. Organize Your Personal Workspace

This will make life a whole lot easier and far more efficient! Make sure you prioritize important jobs on a daily basis. Too much time is occupied by things that keep us busy but are not a priority and prevent us from using our time in the most beneficial way. You will reap the rewards of organization!

5. Be Proactive

Attend all the possible training and professional development that is offered. Make a note of all areas you wish to progress in and jump at any chance to receive professional development in that area at work. Also, don’t just think of professional development as something that happens in the workplace. Take an interest outside of work and actively look for material and people that share your interest area and get involved.

6. Be Patient

Be aware that the job of your dreams will not happen overnight. Work steadily and patiently towards what you want to achieve making the most of every situation on the way and taking a lesson from every experience, be it positive or negative.

7. Network

It is frequently said that it is not what you know but who you know. This highlights the importance of making contacts, reconnecting with fellow professionals, colleagues, friends, and family. Through them you may hear of opportunities which otherwise you would miss. Also, keep your Linkedin profile up to date.

8. Leave A Job You’re Not Happy In

Look for tell-tale signals which show that you are not in the right job for you. If every morning is a chore and an effort to go to your job you should start making plans for an escape! Keep your eyes open for other opportunities; don’t be put off by the current slow job market, they do arise!

9. Be Willing To Take Risks

If an opportunity comes up, take it! Don’t let any inhibitions hold you back, try new things and volunteer to partake in tasks you have not done before. You will not only learn and grow from this a great deal but will also get noticed along the way.

10. Be Happy

Look and feel good. Make sure you get enough time for yourself, your hobbies and your body and make sure you rest. That way you’ll be on better form at work. Also, always dress well, it is better to be too smart than too scruffy. Remember the importance of the image you reflect in a professional environment.

Make a note of the goals you wish to achieve in 2014. Be accountable to yourself and keep track of how they are going. By the end of the year make sure that you have achieved or are on the way to achieving what you set out to do professionally. Don’t wait for things to happen, make them happen and see everything as an opportunity. Good luck!