It might be too late for your gifts to arrive in the mail before Tuesday (although I hope not), but the world isn’t going to end tomorrow, whatever the Mayans may have said. It is never too late to change your thinking and it’s never too late to find the perfect job.
As the US economy slowly recovers, creating more new opportunities, it’s worth reviewing how you think about your career or job search. With this in mind, what can you do to make yourself more successful in 2013?
- How long have you been using the same resume? Career advisors are telling us to edit our resumes for every application, with special thought to keywords from job descriptions for which screening technology specifically searches.
- How long has it been since you updated your LinkedIn profile? Even if you are in the same job, you probably have some new accomplishments in the last quarter or 6 months that you haven’t added yet. Now is the time to include them.
- Are your skills up to date? A new year is a great time to take a class and get back on the cutting edge if you have been doing the same things for a while or are in between roles.
- Reconnect. The holiday season is a great excuse to get in touch with people we may have neglected for a while. A great new year’s resolution: contact 5 people in your network every week just to find out how they are doing. A little note of congratulations or encouragement can go a long way.
- Make a long-term plan. Especially when we are so busy at this time of year, it’s easy to get into the habit of thinking day-to-day. Where would you like to be in 6 months? A year? 2 years? Planning for the future is the only way to know what you need to do tomorrow to make it happen.
The Artisan Team will be taking some time off next week, but we wish you all a very joyous and peaceful holiday season!
Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative