For many of us, the traditional New Year resolutions are often health based – e.g. eat, smoke or drink less and exercise more.  However, often one of the areas in which we are most dissatisfied in is work. New Year is the perfect time for undergoing major changes and advancing your career.

Taking the next step in your career either means changing the direction of your career or the company you work for, or progressing and getting promoted in your current company.
In planning your next career move, you will need to set your goals in order to identify the shape of your career to date. Try to answer some of the below questions and find answers that could help you evaluate your performance:

1. What are those skills that have been developed throughout your career?
2. What are the additional skills that you should develop in order to achieve your goals?
3. What are your weaknesses that you need to overcome in the coming year?
4. What are your strengths that have improved your performance, and how would you maintain them for the coming year?
5. What are your career ambitions in the medium to longer term?

After answering these questions you will be able to help achieve your goals by developing your skills with training, reading career or personal development books, or finding a mentor.

Remember that simply making a resolution to leave a job, train for a new career or set up a business is always a good intention but the decision to change can get put on the back burner as soon as you are back at work after the holidays. We get caught up in the stress of everyday life and all thoughts of a new life are forgotten.

When a brand New Year rolls around, it can be inspiring: a time to look at our lives and assess where we are, what we’re doing and how near we are to reaching our goals. This is also true when it comes to our careers. Throughout the year, we’re often too engrossed in our daily lives to step back and ask ourselves if we are happy in our work.

Remember, if you haven’t yet made any career resolutions, it is never too late!

Claire Frith – Consultant

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