Have you immersed yourself completely in work that you can’t remember when you thought about all those career goals you had a few years back when you were fresh out of college? It happens all the time. You become consumed by work and with ‘grown up’ responsibilities that your life has become a routine with no plans or goals whatsoever beyond the present.
This checklist will help you get back on track and set you on course for your career goals.
Revisit your career goals
It’s time to go back to those goals you wrote down years ago. You probably have them at the lowest drawer under the heaviest books that’s why you’ve not seen it in a while. Bring it out and make a not to always keep it handy and within reach
Track your progress
Going by the goals you’d written before now, how far have you gone in achieving your career goals? Where you are currently, is it where planned to be? Have you had any accomplishments at all no matter how small? Take note of accomplishments and failures. Acknowledging them is a great step forward.
Set fresh goals
Now that you know what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve not, you also have a firsthand idea of the real life business world, it’s time to set new goals. Break it down to short and long term goals so they’ll be much easier to attain. Keep your goals challenging yet realistic.
Update your skills
Over the years you’ve been working with the same skills with the excuse of not having time for new skills. You have to figure a way to manage your time because the world is moving and if you fail to keep up with the pace you’ll be left behind. It’s time to get your skills up to date. If you’re getting too cozy with your current job you might be stuck there for a while with no chances of promotion.
Changing jobs is an option
You’ve probably been working so long at your current job that you’ve become blind to the various opportunities out there. If there has been no visible progress in achieving your career goals, your present job could be holding you back. It’s time for a change. Don’t make the mistake of quitting the job you have at hand for ne you haven’t secured yet. Discreetly apply for jobs while holding on to your current job.
Update your resume
If you’ve decided on a change of jobs, you need to update your resume. There are skills that might have become redundant since you last used your resume to get a job that you’ll need to strike out. Also check for old and irrelevant job experiences you need to strike out as well. Give our resume a total overhaul for it to get the attention it needs fast.
Don’t be daunted if your progress has been really slow or perhaps you didn’t even make any progress at all. Rather than wallow, allow this turn of events to motivate you into pushing yourself the hardest you can.
