Newsletter - January 2008
10 Career Resolutions for 2008
January 10, 2008 - William Morin
It's time to make your New Year's resolutions. You can list the tired old promises you have always made to change some errant behavior or you can make resolutions this year that will change your career and maybe your life. If you are bored with your job, fed up with your boss, lost your motivation or feel you are not valued in your present work, the ideas listed here may help you get back in the game and regain the passion you once had for your career.
- Starting today I will stop and seriously reassess my career. I will rethink and reevaluate where I've been, where I am and where I'm going. I will take a mental break and create my plan.
- I need to find out now if my career is heading for a dead-end. I will list three action steps to improve my dead-end situation. I will share my plan with at least one other person and ask them to hold me to my plan.
- I refuse to become a victim or allow others to make decisions for me. I will accept responsibility for my own well-being and will not allow myself to feel inadequate or bullied. I will take control of my career and my life.
- I will learn to reinvent myself and be prepared for change. I will master those skills my company values. I will be visible and take a stand when necessary and will not be afraid to toot my own horn to get attention.
- Must I adapt to my company's culture and if so how much? What behavior patterns will I have to change and what resources will I need to assimilate? Is adapting to this culture worth it? Will it compromise my core values?
- To cope with corporate politics I will develop a support group of peers and superiors and identify and cultivate company stars. I'll spend 80% effort on my job and 20% on marketing myself to influential supporters.
- I will learn to manage my boss by assessing his or her strengths and weaknesses and determining his or her aspirations and expectations. I'll make my boss need and value me by helping him or her achieve their career goals.
- I will study my company's criteria for competitive success then measure myself against that model. I will determine what skills I'll need to compete successfully but if the competition becomes destructive, I will not cross that line.
- Romance in the workplace is dangerous. I will be aware of my company's code of conduct and understand that my behavior must always be professional. I will remember that perception can be just as damaging as reality.
- Career change demands planning. I will self-assess, define my opportunities, prepare a safety net, use my network and then execute. If I really want to change my career, I will bite the bullet! I've made a good plan. Now get on with it.
Excerpts taken from Driving The Career Highway - by Janice Reals Ellig and William J. Morin - Thomas Nelson - 2007 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Morin