Do you set New Year’s resolutions? This is a powerful time of year to think about the changes you want to create in your life. It’s also a powerful time of year to revisit, revise, or redesign your career vision.
Related:Top 8 Job Search Trends For 2015
A career vision is different than a set of New Year’s resolutions. It’s a big picture perspective of what you want from your career, not just this year, but for the rest of your working life. But beyond an overall career vision, it also helps to think about what you want from your career for the balance of this year. The following 20 questions will help you do exactly that.
What do I want to achieve in my career this year? Are there specific stretch goals I would like attain or areas of career growth I would like to explore?
What do I want career-wise by the end of 2015 that I don’t have now? Do I plan to pursue a promotion, career advancement, or new assignments this year?
What would career success look like for me in 2015? What is my personal definition of career success and what do I want it to look like this year?
Which aspects of my gifts or talents do I most want to leverage this year? How can I deepen my focus on my gifts in 2015?
Which new skills do I most want to learn this year? What do I need to learn to improve my work performance or position myself for the next step in my career?
Which skills do I most want to improve this year? What do I need to do next to improve skills I have learned in the past but am ready to take to the next level?
Which of my skills do I most enjoy using? Of all the skills I possess and use in my career daily, which ones are the most important to me to keep using?
Which weaknesses do I most want to lessen this year? What can I work on to reduce the likelihood my weaknesses will cause problems for me in 2015?
Which aspects of my career do I most enjoy and want to do more of this year? If I could sculpt my job around just a few functions, what would they be?
Which aspects of my career do I least enjoy and want to do less of this year? If I could remove just a few functions from my host of responsibilities, which ones would I most want to ditch?
What do I need to do this year to stay on track with my 5-, 10-, and 15-year career goals? How can I advance my mid- to long-term career goals over the course of the next 12 months?
How would I like to evolve my personal brand in 2015? Which specific aspects of my career brand can I enhance over the next year?
What specific quantifiable impacts did I have on my employer in 2014? How did I influence revenue, profitability, productivity, cost containment, or efficiency?
What were my most significant achievements in 2014? Which accomplishments have been most meaningful to me personally?
How do my impacts and achievements influence my career brand? In what ways do these impacts and achievements expand or strengthen my brand?
Which of my career passions most demands my attention now? In what directions are my career passions taking me these days?
How have my values changed in 2015? What shifts have I noticed over the last year in what I value?
In what ways do I need to alter my career this year in order to remain aligned with my values? As my values continue to evolve, how I can continue to honor them in the year ahead?
What upcoming opportunities do I wish to take advantage of in 2015? What do I see coming down the pike? How can I get ready for it?
What threats much I be prepared to rebuff this year? What problems do I see emerging in my role, my company, my industry, or my geographic area, and how can I resolve them proactively?
Can you see how your responses to these questions can help direct your career growth in 2015? Coincidentally, they can also help shape and influence your job search strategies, should you elect to launch a search this year.
If you’d find it helpful to have these questions in a handout that includes a worksheet for organizing your responses, feel free to download my complimentary 2015 Career Vision Planner.
A 15-time, award-winning resume writer, Cheryl Lynch Simpson serves mid-career to senior executives as a credentialed resume writer (ACRW), LinkedIn strategist (COPNS), and Get Clear, Get Found, Get Hired (G3) coach. Like her advice? Check out her website, ExecutiveResumeRescue.com for a complimentary copy of her popular Polish Your Profile LinkedIn presentation, or follow her on Twitter!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.