Great Time to Take Stock in your Career
The New Year is underway and many people are trying to stick to the resolutions they pledged as the ball dropped in Times Square. Most people try to exercise more or attempt to cut back on bad eating habits, but the new year is also a great time to get yourself in position to bolster your overall career skills.
10 Ways to Enhance Your Career in 2024
The following are ten ways in which you can increase your status as an attractive and sought after hire when looking for your next adventure.
Develop and Refine Your Skills
Are you a good writer? Do you have professional coding skills? These are both abilities that can grow over time, but can also wane when out of practice. Continually challenge yourself to write every day or take on a small development project here and there. Your mentality needs to be “bolster my skills.” This will force you to stay sharp, read up on new trends, and most importantly increase your confidence.
If someone approaches you about a new job offer, you will look them right in the eyes and say “I’m qualified.”
Spruce Up Your Résumé
This document is a reflection on you. If it does not look professional, you will give off the impression that you lack attention to detail. Many people have not looked at their résumé in months or years, so it’s always good to keep it up to date and sharp. Start the new year off by giving yourself peace of mind – “my résumé is complete and impressive.”
Network Actively and Seek Recommendations
Maybe you had a spectacular year in 2015 and are looking to prove that you are a top notch candidate. Make it a point to spend some time and effort to ask for recommendations on your LinkedIn profile. Many people would be happy to endorse you, but don’t think to do so. If you had asked someone previously who offered to help, remind them again if they have forgotten. Always try to let your work do the talking, but a few five-star ratings here and there can’t hurt!
Improve your Social Media Profiles and Add New Ones
There are so many social media profiles to be claimed it can be dizzying. Most people just use the standard options such as Facebook and Twitter. But in some cases, there are niche-specific profiles that you can set up that let you get a better and more niche-specific web presence. For example – if you are a developer, are you on Github? If you’re a designer, are you taking advantage of Behance? Many of these sites allow you to stand out and shine in a specific industry. Spend some time looking around for the best option for you.
Organize and Optimize Your Workspace
Over time things can get pretty messy and disorganized around your workspace. Notes are everywhere, files and folders aren’t in the right place, and new gadgets aren’t setup properly. Point your desk so that you are facing an open area rather than a wall. Some people have even tried a standing desk to shake things up. After some solid organization, you can feel more motivated and potentially increase your working efficiency when you have a lot on your plate.
Stay Aggressive on the Job Hunt
Many people go through long stretches of unemployment. It happens to the best of us. But are you truly putting in that extra effort to get your portfolio in front of the right people? If you were sending out five résumés per day, make it ten. If you were scanning three job boards, make it six. The new year is a time to change your attitude, too. It goes back to a previous adage mentioned above that your mentality needs to be “bolster my skills.”
Find a Mentor
Some people reach a roadblock in their career, where it feels that they simply are not improving or seem to lack any real change from month to month. Maybe it’s time to invest in yourself by approaching and hiring a mentor. If you get really lucky, someone might take you under their wing for free. In many cases, you can start the year off with a bang when you have someone giving you solid direction or advice that can shave months off of your level of advancement.
Connect with One Person Each Week: In-Person or Virtually
Building and nurturing a robust professional network remains essential in today’s ever-evolving career landscape. While in-person meetings over lunch or coffee have traditionally been invaluable for forging deeper connections, recent times have ushered in new avenues for person-to-person interaction. Face-to-face encounters provide the opportunity to establish authentic bonds, read body language, and cultivate trust, creating memorable and meaningful interactions. However, with the rise of remote work and global networking, adapting is crucial. Embrace virtual coffee chats, one-on-one video calls, and participate in online networking events to connect with professionals worldwide. Striking a balance between in-person and virtual interactions allows you to strengthen your network effectively, regardless of the medium, while saving time and navigating the logistical challenges of our modern work environment.
Wardrobe Overhaul
The new year can be a time for a new look. Have you recently been promoted to a managerial position? Are you the owner of a brand new company? It might be time to step out of the sweatshirt and jeans and into something more professional. When you are out in public, you never know who you might encounter, and having the right look sends off the signal that you walk the walk, not just talk the talk. And yes, think of wardrobe overhaul as bolstering skills.
Never Give Up
When the first of February rolls around, most people have already failed their resolution! If you are really serious about bolstering your career, then you’ll want to live and breathe your new habits every day. If you are looking for a job, keep going. Persistence will pay off.
Kane Partners is able to help job seekers and businesses looking for those candidates. If you are committed to success, please contact us right away and partner up with a staffing agency that works hard to get powerful results.
