With all the priorities swirling around in your head and the messages you are being bombarded with out there, my guess is your brain is overrun with “self-improvement” ideas. Get more exercise. Eat healthier. Spend more quality time with family. Learn a new language. De-clutter your home. Travel to exotic lands. Buy a summer home. Meditate every morning. Host elaborate holiday parties. And the list goes on and on. So much pressure.
Here’s my question. Is your career on that list? If you are similar to most other working people, your answer is NO. Your professional relationships, promotional opportunities and career visibility are not on that “self-care” list. Your career lies neglected and it might just be time to brush off the cobwebs and put a little zing back in your work life!
Here are 5 steps you can weave into your calendar — your weekly or monthly routine — to ensure that that while you are busy managing all those other areas of your life, your career goals, dreams and imaginings do not gather dust – forgotten.
Step 1: Revise Your Career Goals.
Everyone has career goals, but when was the last time you wrote them down? How outdated are they? Do they reflect who you are today and the current life and work situation you are in?
Wait- WHAT? You have no documented career goals? STOP RIGHT THERE. This is where you begin. Right now. Read no further. Grab a piece of paper, a post-it note, a receipt from the grocery store or the notes feature on your Smartphone (It does not need to be pretty, it just needs to be done). Just start dreaming. Step away from this article and take 30 minutes to think about where you want to be in a year. Forget 5 or 10 years- things change too quickly in the world, in our personal lives and in our work environments. But over the next 12 months, where do you need to be? What do you hope to accomplish? What thinking or experiences do you hope to access? Is it time to expand or contract? Time to broaden or specialize? Think about your career trajectory as a series of baby steps leading you to this one goal a year out. How will you feel when you achieve this? Write that down, too. Ideally, you will come back to this goal list time and time again to check in on your progress.
Step 2: Update Your Story.
When was the last time you revised your resume? Is it up to date or reflective only of a position you held many years ago? Does it tell “your story” and bridge the gap between where you have been and where you are going? If not, take the time needed to update that document. You should always be “ready” just in case that perfect opportunity falls in your lap (even if you love, love, love what you do!)
Oh and that LinkedIn profile of yours. Each and every day, people you know and people you don’t are reviewing it. They are looking for you. They are discovering you. Recruiters, college friends, potential employers, collaborators, community members, and more. Are you proud of “your story” on LinkedIn? If not, log in and begin revising.
Step 3: Start Networking Again.
Don’t panic. I am not necessarily talking about the stuffy networking cocktail party with endless introductions and flying business cards. I mean, you could attend as many of those as you’d like. However, I find that if you really loved those intense networking events of forced smiles and people with whom you will never follow-up, you would already have several of them scheduled in your calendar.
Instead, think targeted. Think phone conversations. Think cups of coffee. Think planned lunches. Think weekend walks around the neighborhood. Who are the people with whom you have been meaning to connect or reconnect? They pop into your head but you never take action. Those influential industry players, former coworkers, and fun parents at your children’s school. Everyone could be a possibility. I love a great networking strategy, but I am recommending that you start simple. Plan a meeting with someone. Anyone. It’s like dating. You just have to make time and get out there.
Step 4: Build Your Circle.
Who is in your trusted career circle? When I teach clients about this concept, I am not referring to spouses, siblings and parents. Of course, those people are critical for support and love. However, I am referring to that extended circle of people with whom you talk “careers”. People who refuel you. Help you see situations differently. This group could include a mentor, colleagues in your industry, a career coach, highly motivated professionals, etc. People who can commiserate with you. Create pointed solutions. Talk through dreams, ideas and challenging situations. Practice interviewing. Explore options. In short, people who “get you” and understand where you are in your career trajectory and goals.
Step 5: Learn Something New.
The ultimate in career self-care is time to yourself to learn something new. Explore a topic. Get a certification. Delve into a new area of interest. Decide to become more of a generalist or focus in and specialize as an expert in a particular topic. Heck, it might mean just reading that pile of magazines or books on your bedside table. I am not thinking degree program. I am thinking blogs you love and articles you have bookmarked and never read.
The theme here is keep it simple. Five actions you can take to revitalize your career. Focus on your career self care and find a way to fit it into your already jam-packed schedule by taking baby steps. Forward movement in baby steps. You will quickly begin to feel the sense of accomplishment and relief.
So helpful.