A new year gives you the opportunity to renew your career goals. Daydreaming about a new career or landing your ideal job might be based on good intentions, but without a plan, dreaming about a new start is like wishing for things to happen.
Resolutions that stick begin with clear goals and measurable actions. The clearer your goal, the easier it is to visualize it happening and your chances of reaching them increase substantially if you start with small, measurable steps.
You may want to take a second look at the significance of planning. According to one prominent study from the University of Missouri, professor Daniel Turban and chair of the Department of Management found that successful job candidates benefit from planning.
“Thinking about, acting on, and reflecting upon a plan were important early in the job search, while having positive emotions were important later in the job search,” Turban said.
Setting new career resolutions begins with awareness of what you want to achieve in 2014. Here are 10 New Year’s resolutions to consider when planning a career move:
Know your interests before you search.
List your core skills and decide on which ones you want to increase; strengthen your resume and seek guidance on rebranding your online and offline presence.
Take risks in meeting colleagues or new contacts to develop rapport-building skills.
Strengthen your LinkedIn profile and use it consistently, joining groups and contributing to active conversations.
Break out of your same routine by doing something new each day.
Make wise use of your time with job search activities that are productive, reviewing your progress weekly.
Keep a journal of your career transition, noting key learning points and positive returns.
Practice the art of follow-up and make it a habit to follow up on information you receive.
Focus on where you are going, not where you have been.
Surround yourself with people who believe in you and who are supportive.
Your career goals are obtainable if you make a commitment to work toward reaching them. The key is keeping your expectations in line and believing that every major goal starts with a series of steps.
Consider incorporating these 10 resolutions to your job search this year and see what happens.
Tags: 2014, brand, career transitions, job search, LinkedIn, New Year, planning, resolutions, resume