Do you feel pangs of anxiety when you think about the direction your career is taking?
Do you experience envy and regret when your friends/co-workers are promoted or land plum new jobs?
Are you unhappy with your work, compensation, work relations or position?
If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are obviously unhappy with the state that your career is in at the moment. But your career can take a new direction, provided you sit up and work towards it. Here is a little information that will help you in switching gears of your career in the New Year:
How To Reach Your Career goals In 2010?
"Well begun is half done", they say. So making up your mind to reach you goals is the most important step in this journey. The rest is relatively easy:
Review: Start by sitting down and reviewing your career moves and achievements in the last year. Are you in the place where you'd wanted to be? Are you satisfied with what you have achieved so far?
Set Goals: Based on your achievement in the last year and your expectations, set some goals for the New Year. Sit down and think where you'd like yourself to be a year from now. What are you looking for? A new job, a new career, better salary, better position, work-life balance?
Get Set & Go!: After you finish with the planning bit, it is time to act. If you are looking for a new job/career, work towards that immediately. Speak with your superior if you are looking for better salary or position.
Sell Yourself: To land a plum job or switch careers, you need to market yourself well. This involves working intensively on your resume and covering letter. Work on your interview skills and read books to develop your soft skills. If looking for better compensation/position within your company, make yourself get noticed. Make sure that everyone notices your contribution, and make yourself indispensable.
Network: To further your career, build contacts within the industry. Join professional organizations and networking websites. Use professional sites like linkedin to get to know about new opportunities within the industry etc.
Professional Development: To further your career within the same industry, keep evolving with time. This means that you should keep yourself updated about industry news and events. Get trained on all the new technologies and concepts that you should be armed with. Attend conferences and seminars and use these opportunities to add more people to your professional network.
If you follow these steps, you can achieve new heights in your career. All that is required is a dedicated approach towards career growth and professional development.
