Your New Year Career Resolution
As we close out the first week of 2022, some of us may already be lamenting that we’ve broken our New Year’s resolutions. Plans to get healthy are sidetracked by indulgence in food and wine; decisions about keeping an organized workspace become buried under the clutter on our desks. The problem with most New Year’s resolutions is that we see them as all or nothing. Either we are 100% compliant, or we are total failures. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Making a resolution is about deciding to change a behavior, and that’s something that happens gradually over time. Here are 5 tips to making your career resolutions for 2022 stick:
Define your end goal. In other words, be specific. Don’t say, “This year, I want to focus on my career.” Make your goal something measurable and achievable.
Create a plan. Craft a plan for achieving your goals. Looking at the end goal in and of itself can seem overwhelming, much like the prospect of reading a 1,000-page book. But when you break the book down into chapters, it becomes a less staggering exercise. So break down your goal into manageable chunks.
Make small changes. Resolutions are desires to change things about our lives. Shocking, drastic changes are rarely long-lasting. Make smaller, more realistic changes and build upon them. If you want to transition to a role that will help you improve your skills and gain experience in an area you are interested in, think about what it will take to get there first.
Get to know the right people. Whatever New Year’s resolution you have for your career will only be helped by expanding and nurturing your network. That means you need to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people, either online or in person. One of the myths about networking is that it only needs to be done when looking for a new job or trying to secure new business. The reality is that both of those situations are terrible times to begin actively networking. The most effective way to network is to do it on an ongoing basis and offer people your assistance or expertise, rather than approaching networking as simply asking people to help you achieve your own goals. In other words, networking is a two-way street, so don’t make it all about you.
Give yourself a break. Your New Year’s resolution is a process, a journey that you will take throughout 2022. Don’t deem yourself a failure and give up when there are obstacles or when you do not achieve what you want to achieve. You are not a machine, and changing your behavior takes time and patience.
Happy 2022 to all of us! I hope you create a wonderful future for yourself!