Tag: resolutions

Making resolutions is usually an effective way of creating self-improvement goals. Regardless of your professional field, making career resolutions can help you plan out your career and determine how you intend to achieve your goals.

Knowing which career resolutions to make can be an important part of your future. In this article, we discuss why making career resolutions is important and list 18 potential resolutions that you can use.

Why is making career resolutions important?

The main reason that making career resolutions is important is that it appeals to the human brain’s executive function, which is a set of cognitive abilities that helps people set and achieve objectives. This means that consciously setting goals provides people with a clear vision and direction for achieving them, significantly improving the odds of success. Making career resolutions is also important because it can help you prioritize your goals based on how valuable you perceive them to be for your career.

Consider making some of these 18 career resolutions:

1. Learn a new skill

Regardless of your experience level, there are always more work-related skills you can learn. Try to identify the areas where you can improve and then acquire new information about how you can gain those skills. Depending on the situation, your organization may be willing to finance various training courses.

2. Improve your professional social media profiles

Advancing in your career may depend on the size of your professional network. One of the most time and cost-efficient ways to network with relevant colleagues and stakeholders in your field is by contacting them via a professional networking website. Doing so effectively typically requires you to update your profile with your latest achievements and actively seek to expand your network.

3. Clean out your desk and file cabinets

Having a well-organized workspace can improve your efficiency. Besides making things easier to find, it also helps you eliminate various documents and objects that you no longer use. Resolving to clean out your workspace regularly is a relatively easy way to improve workplace productivity.

4. Join a professional organization

Most professions have associations where fellow professionals can meet and share ideas. Joining one not only helps you expand your professional network but also helps you stay up to date with the latest industry developments. If you’re not sure which professional organization to join, you can ask your colleagues or search for one online.

5. Reassess your work-life balance

Being unsatisfied with how you split your time between your personal and professional lives can affect both negatively. When assessing your work-life balance, the first step is to determine what your ideal situation is and how it differs from your current one. You can also ask for feedback from friends and family, so you can get an outside perspective.

6. Get a new certification

Advancing in a career typically requires learning new skills or improving existing ones. Getting a professional certification can be a good way of doing so and it’s also an effective way of showing others you possess certain skills. Although earning a relevant certification can be expensive and time-consuming, the benefits certifications can offer your career are important to consider.

7. Stay active at work

If you work in an office setting and you’re not required to be physically active during the time you spend at work, you may risk various health issues in the long term. You can combat this and gain more energy during your work hours by finding small ways to stay physically active. Some things you can plan on doing are taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going for a walk every day on your lunch break or working at a standing desk.

8. Update your resume

Even if you’re well-established in your role, updating your resume regularly can prove beneficial. You can set a career resolution to review and update your resume once every year, even if you aren’t currently planning on changing jobs. The main benefit of this resolution is that if you ever consider applying for another job, you can have an updated resume available for the application process with your recent information already included.

9. Improve your communication skills

Communication skills are some of the most transferable professional skills, as they’re useful for any profession that involves interaction with other people. Improving the way you communicate with colleagues, supervisors, clients, suppliers and other people you work with can have a positive effect on your career. You can do so by making minor improvements, like being quicker to respond to emails, asking people what the status of their projects is, thanking those who help you and being more widely available for communication at work.

10. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness refers to focusing on the present time instead of worrying about the future or being concerned with something that happened in the past. Being mindful can help you make better decisions, as it can help you avoid letting irrelevant factors influence you. You can also use it to increase your happiness levels, as practicing mindfulness can help you avoid work-related stress.

11. Read more books

One effective way of increasing your knowledge base is by reading about the things that interest you . If you’re having trouble finding the time to read, making a career resolution and setting aside time for reading every day or every week can help you learn new things and develop your skills. You can use audiobooks to learn while doing other things, like driving to work or exercising.

12. Plan a tech-free weekend

Although modern technology usually helps your productivity, too much of it can cause burnout and a loss of focus. Spending a weekend away from any electronic device from time to time can help you regain focus and clear your thoughts. If you find it hard not using your electronic devices at home, consider spending a weekend somewhere close to nature.

13. Define your next career step

Although it may be difficult to plan your career because of several unknown factors, you can make a resolution to figure out your next step. Having an immediate career goal can help you focus and motivate you to improve your skills. One way to find the next step is by asking your manager how they foresee your professional advancement. If you discover that there aren’t many ways in which you can advance at your current job, you may see it as a sign that it’s time to look for new career opportunities.

14. Research your company’s goals

Advancing in your career often depends on the success of the organization where you work. Understanding what your company needs to do to expand its operations can help you determine how you can help it achieve its goals. Also, knowing what your job’s impact is on the company’s future can act as a motivational factor.

15. Improve your physical fitness

Although working on your fitness is mostly a personal goal, it also provides career benefits. Having a healthy body gives you more stamina and energy to perform your professional duties, and exercising also helps you gain confidence and clear thoughts. A fitness resolution usually has higher chances to succeed if it’s specific, meaning that it may help make a schedule for various physical activities.

16. Get your dream job

If your current job differs from your ideal role, making a career resolution and setting a timetable for when to reach your ultimate career goal can help you achieve it. Research the requirements you currently lack and make a plan to consistently work toward them until you reach the level you want. You can then inquire about job openings and recruiters that may help you get opportunities in your desired role.

17. Track your achievements

Having a positive view of your career can help you improve and plan for the future. You can make sure you remember all your achievements by making a resolution to track them in a notebook or computer file. Reviewing them once a year can help you gain more career satisfaction.

18. Take on a challenging project

You can help advance your personal career goals if you constantly attempt to challenge yourself. By doing so, you can expose yourself to various complex situations and attempting to resolve them can lead to self-improvement. You can make a career resolution to volunteer for the next challenging opportunity at work.

By: Indeed Editorial Team

Source: 18 Career Resolutions To Help You Improve Professionally | Indeed.com

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