New Year Career Resolutions for 2014

What career goals have you set for 2014?  It's important to take stock of what went well, what didn't, and what you'd like to see different in your career this upcoming year. Some questions to consider:

1)  What do you want to do more of, less of, or differently in your career this coming new year?
2)  How robust is your network? Who would you like to add to your network? How can you stay in better contact with your network?
3) Are you seeking a promotion or a raise? It's important to know your market value so you have a basis for discussion if you find that you're being underpaid.
4) If you rated your satisfaction level in your current job from 1 to 10 with 10 being high, where would you fall? If you're not as satisfied as you'd like, what steps can you take to improve that number? Do you need to learn some new skills? Can you find a better fit within your current company? Do you need to look for work elsewhere?

Invest some time to take a career inventory for this year and set goals for next year. Just the simple act of writing down your goals increases your chances of achieving them.

Grab a copy of my free ebook, Get a Job, Keep a Job, or Move Up- faster!

Increase Job Satisfaction through Seven Stories Exercise

Here's a great exercise to help examine the most satisfying activities over your life and discover those you will want to use as you grow older. The key in using this exercise is to identify things you did well and also enjoyed doing. You can include activities when you were younger and throughout your life. For example, perhaps you earned a merit badge in Girl Scouts.

Here are some additional examples:

• Got media coverage for a new product launch.
• Coordinated blood drive for company's division.
• Came in third place in tennis tournament.

For each accomplishment, describe what you did, i.e., the role you played and your relationship with others (member of the team, working alone, leader, etc.), the subject matter, the skills used, etc. Next, notice the threads that run through the stories to discover things you do well and also find satisfying.

Next, you will want to analyze your Seven Stories. Answer the following questions for each of your Seven Stories:
Story #1: __________________________________________________________
1) What was your main accomplishment?
2) What about it did you enjoy the most?
3) What did you do best?
4) What was your key motivator?
5) What led up to it?
6) What role did you play?
7) What was the environment like?
8) What was the subject matter?

Next, identify the skills you used in each of your Seven Stories. Here are a few examples to get the juices flowing: administration, analyzing, client relations, coordinating, fundraising, leadership, organization, research, teamwork, training, troubleshooting. Tally up how many times you selected each skill that you identified in your Seven Stories. Do some skills show up in many of your Seven Stories? That will be key in determining which activities you would find the most satisfying going forward.

Source: Navigating Your Career: Develop Your Plan, Manage Your Boss, Get Another Job Inside by Kate Wendleton.

Staying marketable through networking

Being and staying marketable is important for every careerist today. What are your career goals and what steps can you take to get a job, keep a job, or move up?

One of the most important keys to success for careerists today is to build and maintain your network.  It's vital for job seekers, folks that want to advance, and even those who want to keep your job.

It's easy for job seekers to sit behind your computer all day responding to job postings. While that should be one your job search strategies, networking should be a bigger piece. And when you do find a job online, always take it a step further and see if there's someone in your network that either works at that company or knows someone that does. Remember, employers like to hire people they know and people that come referred to them. Job postings can provide some valuable insight into what companies and industries are hiring.

If you're looking to advance in your career, be sure to develop and nurture your internal network. Keep your boss and your boss's boss apprised of your accomplishments. Once a week go out to lunch or coffee with a colleague. Volunteer to work on special projects. Don't gossip about your co-workers.

Let's say you're working for a company and you want to make sure you're doing everything you can to keep your job. Be sure to network with folks in your department and also from other departments. At some point, there may be an opening you want to go after in another department.

Determining Your Ideal Work Environment

How satisfied are in your current job? If you were to rate your satisfaction level on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being high, where do you see yourself? Get clear on where there may be some gaps in your current job. Take a look at the following list of questions in different categories and jot down your thoughts:

Physical surroundings/location:

• Are you in an office or are you moving from one place to another?
• If you are in an office, describe its appearance.
• Is it a formal or informal environment:
• Are there distractions or is it quiet?
• Are you is isolated or surrounded by people?
• How do you get to work?

People:

• What kind of people do you work with, e.g., creative, energetic, technical, or mechanical:
• Do you prefer to work with many people or a few?
• Do you socialize with your colleagues outside of work?

Activities:

• Are are you working with other people, equipment, or information?
• Are you managing or directing people?
• Are you reading reports?
• Do you attend meetings regularly?
• Are you responsible for complete tasks or are you responsible for a piece of a task?
• Do you attend meetings of external professional associations?
• How much do you travel?
• Are you a decision maker?
• How much freedom do you have to carry out your responsibilities?

Style:

• Are people formal or informal in how they relate to each other?
• What type of management style is typical?
• Do people prefer to communicate mainly through talking or in writing?
• What are people wearing?

Recognition/rewards:

• What types of recognition do you receive?
• How are you rewarded?
• Are monetary rewards based on individual or team performance?
• What are your work hours?
• Do you have flexible work hours?

The above questions will help you determine what area or areas might be causing you to feel less than satisfied in your current job. Having this clarity can help you determine what steps you can take to improve those areas in your current job or move on to another job.

Source: Navigating Your Career: Develop Your Plan, Manage Your boss, Get Another Job Inside by Kate Wendleton.

Are you promotable?

Are you looking for a promotion? If so, what steps are you taking to climb the proverbial career ladder?

The first thing you'll want to do is develop a career development plan. If you don't know where you're going, how are you going to get there? Take time to take stock of your strengths and where you would like your career to take you. Knowing your long-range career goals can help you stay on track and position yourself for each next rung on the ladder. Do you need to acquire some new skills? Do you need additional training or certifications?

Be visible at work. Be sure to keep your boss and your boss's boss apprised of your accomplishments. Throughout the year, keep track of you "career kudos." This will make it much easier for you to "sell" your idea of a promotion when you have a discussion with your manager.

You also may want to consider receiving feedback on your personal brand. The 360Reach personal branding survey is an excellent tool that allows you to receive feedback from friends, family, colleagues, and others that know you well. The beauty of this type of 360 tool is that it is a true 360 because you receive feedback from more than just your work colleagues. Having this external feedback will allow you to see how you are being perceived by others and take steps to expand those areas you want to be seen as and work on diminishing those areas that may get in the way of your career success.