Keeping your Career Resolutions

The New Year is almost here, and it is time for the annual making of resolutions. For most people, the close of the year is a great time to plan what achievements are the most important for the coming year. But, the problem with new year's resolutions is that they are easy to not follow through on.

If your resolutions are in regards to your career, the best way to ensure that you will be able to meet them, is to not only decide what they are, but make a plan on how to accomplish them. To help you make your resolutions come true, here are some of the most common career-related resolutions, along with ways to make them happen:

• I want to find a new job – If this is your goal, schedule time each week to work on getting resume and your skills polished so that you can make yourself as marketable as possible. Start working on building your professional network and keep an ear out for new opportunities.
  
  
• I want to build a stronger network – Look for at least one professional association that you can join. Start attending meetings and participating with the group. At your job, be on the lookout for opportunities to network and work with employees from different departments. Write down weekly updates in a journal to keep you focused on your goal.
  
  
• I want to increase my marketability – The best way to accomplish this is by brushing up your skills. This may mean enrolling in career courses or learning a new software. If you don't have the time or the means to take college courses, check out your local library for tutorials and books that can help you learn some new skills.
  
  
• I want to be a better employee – Try to identify areas that you can stand to improve and plan out ways to do just that. Make some career goals and keep track of your progress. This may mean looking for new projects and taking on extra assignments.
  
  
• I want a promotion – If you are looking to move up the ladder in your career, it is a good idea to meet with your manager and discuss your career goals. This will give you an idea of what you need to do to be considered for a promotion and it will let you know if it is likely to happen with your company. It may be that in order to move up, you will have to change companies.

Whatever your resolution is this year, having a strategy in place can make it less likely that you will end up breaking it. Invest in a notebook or journal to write down your progress at regular intervals. By keeping your focus on your goals, you are sure to succeed.

What are your career resolutions? Let me know in the comments.

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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.