Which Career Resolutions should you make in 2018?

Today is the first day of a great career for you. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been working or the mistakes you’ve made in the past, its’ never late to move in the right direction. At the start of every year, it’s natural to make resolutions to guide your career. A major error most people make is to set lofty, unattainable goals. In this article, we’ll help you target career resolutions aimed at making you more productive and efficient.

Career resolutions everyone should make in 2018

Annual career check

The first career resolution to make every new year is to evaluate your career path and actions from the previous year. A few questions to ask include

• How many of your career goals did you achieve?
• Is your current employer making you happy or is it time to look for a new job?
• Do they provide support to help you perform your job at peak levels?
• Did you learn something new from your superior?
• What skills did you set out to achieve and to what level did you accomplish them?
• Do you feel fulfilled and excited working for your employer?
• How you can use constructive criticism from the previous year to become a better employee in the New Year.

Understand your company goals

For you to contribute meaningfully to your company’s growth, you must understand the company goals and how your skill set can help the company. Is your mission to develop online brand awareness, generate revenue, optimize visibility, create business relations with other brand, delight the customers? Whatever your objective, knowing how you fit into the larger picture offers a sense of accomplishment that drives you to do more for your employer.

Read five career building books every month

Learning makes you sharp and active. No human has all the knowledge about any job. Improve yourself by reading career/leadership/motivational books. These books provide insights that pinpoint areas where you can improve, conversation skills to enhance workplace relations and productivity tips to help you reach you career goals.  Top suggestions include Build your dream Network by Kelly Hoey and What to do when machines do everything by Ben Pring.

Learn a new skill

In a highly competitive world where everyone is constantly improving, you need useful skills that make you indispensable to your employer. There are hundreds of skills for every job, find a few that benefit your career and make it a work goal to learn it. Your company might offer to pay for it when they see the impact it has on your output. Ensure that the skill you pick, either helps you move up the career ladder or closes the gap in your hiring profile.

Network More

Let’s face it, you could probably do with more networking. The problem, is you’re either scared or too lazy to get out there. Start building your network this year. Create a LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook profile. Attend conferences and networking events where you’ll meet key influencers in your industry. Try to attend one event every month, update your profile regularly and connect with five new contacts weekly.

Stop trying to do too much at once

Multitasking is great but the illusion of multitasking according to Arianna Huffington at Unleash is a major stress factor. By overwhelming yourself with more work than you can handle, you increase your stress levels which leads to many health problems. In reality, multitasking isn’t real, you’re only switching tasks. Make an effort to complete one task before moving on to the next and watch your productivity improve.

Become an authority in your field

The best way to become an industry expert is to stay informed on the latest trends and news in your field. Subscribe to blogs and newsletters from relevant industry experts and news sites. On the commute to work, read the news, in the morning or after work. The information you gain from these blogs and new sites will make you knowledgeable. Test your knowledge by offering to speak at company events, conferences or registering to teach others.

Learn how to take constructive criticism

Criticism makes you better, especially when it’s’ coming from someone who can evaluate your work and has a genuine interest to help you improve. This year take steps to accept and learn from critiques. Write down the feedback you received from your most recent job evaluation. Read it thoroughly until you understand the message. Make adjustments where necessary and schedule a follow up to ensure you’re moving in the right direction.

Conclusion

The most productive and efficient people are those who know how to get more done in fewer hours. Prioritize your tasks, concentrate and avoid distractions in the workplace. Always make time for downtime because it improves your work-life balance. Clean out clutter from your email, workstation and digital files. Make 2018 a productive year by following some of these resolutions.