Has the new year turned your thoughts to what the next 12 months holds for you?
It’s natural to wonder what’s next, but if you’re waiting for an opportunity to land in your lap, you’re missing a trick!
If you want career success this year, there are some practical steps you can take.
1. Make a plan
Start by setting your intentions for this year.
I don’t mean new year resolutions that are almost certainly doomed to end in failure. I mean specific and quantifiable goals.
Consider what career success looks like for you. Does that mean changes to your current role? A promotion? Or a completely new role?
Once you have something to aim for, look at what needs change for you to achieve that.
SMART goals
Generally speaking, resolutions tend to be too broad and vague. Don’t fall into that trap!
Instead, set yourself SMART goals. If you haven’t come across that term before, it means they should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
- Instead of: Improve my career.
- Try: Update my CV to reflect my current skills and experience by the end of February.
You may even have a bigger goal like ‘Secure a new role in my chosen field by the end of this year’. If that is the case, consider subgoals that will help you achieve that. For instance, do you need to improve your interview skills? Do you need to update your LinkedIn profile?
Remember to review your progress against your goals regularly too. This will keep you on track and focused on the end goal.
2. Create an effective CV
When it comes to creating career success this year, updating your CV is likely to be part of your plan. This process helps you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and consider your overall career story.
So what should you include in your CV? You can find a detailed breakdown here, but if you are making a career change, you should cover:
Transferable skills
Make use of your skills section to show how relevant your skills are. You may not have direct experience in this field, but you can still highlight your suitability for the role.
It is also important to relate this to the job description. Use keywords in your CV and be sure to use the job description terminology.
If you can make your CV sound like the job description, it is easier for the reader to see that you’re a good fit for the role.
Career gaps
If you have had any significant gaps in your employment, acknowledge them.
Explain the reason for the gap and any skills or knowledge you gained during this time. Often, this is an opportunity to show off your transferable skills.
For more detail on explaining career gaps in your CV, you can read my article on this here.
Changing career path
If the key to your career success is a change in career, you may also want to acknowledge this. The ideal place is in your profile section.
You can showcase your relevant skills and experience and explain why you are making a change. Remember to keep this relevant to the role you are applying for.
A professional CV writer can also help you position your CV effectively. If you are struggling to explain your career story, working with a professional can help.
3. Get to grips with LinkedIn
One of the most effective routes to creating career success is networking.
You never know where your next opportunity is going to come from. To stack the odds in your favour, make connections with people in your field. The more people you know, the more chance there is one of them will know about an interesting opportunity!
You can do networking in person where there are local opportunities. If that terrifies you, or there aren’t local events, LinkedIn is a useful alternative.
So, take some time to look at (or set up!) your LinkedIn profile. Make sure that it showcases your skills and achievements. Pepper those keywords across your profile too.
For more detail on how to set up your profile, you can read my article here.
Actively using LinkedIn
But here’s the thing. Having a LinkedIn profile isn’t enough, you need to be active on the platform to make the most of it.
Don’t panic, you don’t need to post daily, and you don’t need to put yourself out there if you’re not comfortable.
Here are some things you can try, even if you’re an introvert:
- Follow companies you might like to work for. Read and engage with their posts.
- Connect with people in your field. Read and engage with their posts.
- Use the job search feature to find interesting roles. Make a note of keywords from the job description.
- Share posts or articles you find interesting.
- If you’re feeling brave, share some posts of your own.
As you do these things, consistently, you let the algorithm know what you are interested in. You will then start to see more of these posts in your feed and you will discover more connections.
It takes a little effort, but you never know what opportunities it could uncover.
4. Build interview confidence
The final practical step for career success, is building your confidence for interviews.
Obviously, if you’re applying for new roles there is a good chance that you will need to attend an interview. Even if that isn’t the case, working on your confidence is still useful.
Preparing for a performance review or salary negotiation follows the same principles. The key to preparing for interviews, or performance discussions, is to prepare.
Be prepared to talk about:
- Your key achievements throughout your career.
- Your key relevant skills.
- Your career aspirations.
- Relevant qualifications and professional development.
- Any career gaps, with focus on skills/knowledge gained.
- Why you are pursuing a career change, if you are.
In short, spend time thinking about how great you are and what you have to offer!
If you have already created a standout CV, a lot of the hard work has been done. You will have a coherent outline of your achievements, providing the basis of your interview preparation.
Let’s face it, few people excel when they are ‘winging it’! Take time to prepare and practise your talking points/answers. Go into your interview or career discussion with the confidence to achieve career success.
Next steps
Whatever your career goals are for this year, it’s very unlikely that it’s just going to fall into your lap.
It’s time to take action. Start with a plan, then create your CV. Next look at your LinkedIn profile and interview confidence. You’re ready to go!
If you need support or direction along the way, let’s talk. My job is literally to help you with these steps to career success!