Going by the popular sentiment and all the reports, it seems certain that more jobs will be created in 2015 and newer opportunities will come to the table for all of us. New year is also the time for making new resolutions, more often than not, only few of us will make a pointed effort to sharpen their career and take benefit of the impending opportunity. Using these eleven tips, you can focus on taking control of your career and being the best you can be this year. Get going and I wish you a very happy year ahead.
Weigh life goals against career goals
Your work is a source of income, to make ends meet ? but is meant to be at a certain distance from your life’s purpose. Running behind your career goals and striving to achieve them while forgetting to fulfill your personal dreams is definitely not a sensible choice. It?s really important to try and fulfill a few of your dreams, at least, before it?s too late and you?ve lost the physical ability to do that. This will make your life wholesome , thereby infusing new zeal in your career and best part would be that you would avoid a burnout or long term medical complications.
Manage your energy not time
Employers are becoming more and more demanding and one of the coping mechanisms is to put in extra hours, this has surfaced as one of the biggest challenge for upcoming leaders. The work starts coming at the cost of family and personal life. One of the better ways to deal with extra work is to manage your energy and not time; by reducing frequent interruptions, taking frequent breaks, avoiding negative emotions that drain energy and living a healthy life style.
Take on a project
Projects can be one of the best ways to show leadership skills in 2015. You can volunteer to participate on projects or create your own opportunities by looking for steps you can take to improve a process or output. No matter what your role is on the project team, you should seek to exceed expectations. Make sure you give credit to others when appropriate and be seen as a team player.
Make your managers life easier
Most managers get tired of feeling as though their direct reports have singular focus on their own benefit, their own careers, and how their managers can give them more.? If you, as an employee, spend some time thinking about what you can do to support your manager?s success, and then extend a helping hand, you will automatically be a welcome change from the herd. Take time and think about bigger issues ? work processes that will allow your boss to delegate more or that let your team accomplish things more easily.
Be informed about your profession
In 2015, make a conscious effort to put your time and effort into staying informed about issues related to your current profession, scout internet for new trends or technology which will impact your profession. Being informed about changing trends would give you an edge during interviews and additionally you can brag about it and build followership.
Know your value and get it.
Do the proper research to figure out what you?re worth, even if it means going on interviews or online salary benchmarking sites. If you find out you?re underpaid, you can use that to negotiate an increase. Make sure you go and ask for a pay raise, remember the golden rule, if you don?t ask you will not get it.
Polish your career plan
The world economy is undergoing major changes and global cycles are shorter and deeper, it may make sense to validate some of your goals against the economic reality, industry needs and your current job responsibility. Don?t get me wrong, it does not mean changing the goals every six months; however course correction is beneficial. The trick is to keep your career plan relevant and they should reflect the skills and capabilities you want / need to build in a world that is constantly changing.
Work on the feedback you have got in 2014
Last year, you may have gained new insights into your working style that helps you see your strengths and limitations holistically. In case last years feedback is important for you to grow in your career, make sure you work on it.
Find ways to help your colleagues
Peers do not report to each other, and are further divided by their own departmental goals. The only tool at your disposal is cooperation, so don?t just ask for things to be done ? find ways in which you can provide help. There are always opportunities to help your colleagues without compromising our own interests. The idea here is not to sacrifice but to achieve synchronicity . This will help you earn social capital and support when needed.
Publish a blog
Publishing a blog that showcases your work shows that you are passionate about whatever you are working on. You can generate healthy discussions and provide insights on your experiences. People will know that you are constantly involved in your field of expertise, and that you are accumulating knowledge from diverse experiences. If you handle this correctly, there will come a time when readers will wait for your next story and choose to ?subscribe? to receive your updates.
Network more often in 2015
You need to interact with other people and build your treasury of valuable contacts. If you have not been very successful at this so far, you may have overlooked one very important aspect of connecting with others. You need to understand that to effectively connect with other people, you need to connect with yourself first. In other words, you have to gain a thorough understanding of who and what you are. Once you have this understanding, networking with the right people becomes effortless.
Thanks
Jappreet Sethi
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