If you’re like many people, you made some new year’s resolutions to start off 2018. For many, those resolutions involve getting fit or eating healthy. Other people, like yourself, used the occasion to set some career goals for 2018.
Much like fitness goals and other new year’s resolutions, however, career resolutions can quickly and easily get off track. You may have been off to a great start, but complacency is starting to set in. Maybe you missed a deadline to apply to a course or it’s been taking you longer than you wanted to get started on your career search.
If this sounds familiar, there are a number of simple things you can do to get your career resolutions back on track and finish 2018 strong.
1. Are Your Goals Realistic?
The first thing to do is check in with the goals you set. How realistic are your career resolutions? The #1 reason people break their resolutions is that their goals weren’t realistic.
Revisit your resolutions. Are these goals achievable and realistic? You might dream of someday becoming the CEO of your own company, but it probably won’t happen overnight. It likely won’t happen within 12 months, especially if you’re just entering the job market.
Realistic goals are achievable. You can set a timeline for them, and you may even be able to devise a step-by-step plan to get from Point A to Point B. If your goals aren’t realistic, think about revising them.
2. Create a Plan
Another reason people tend to get off track with their career resolutions is a lack of planning. You set a goal and left it at that. Did you stop to think about how exactly you’d get from Point A to Point B? If you’re feeling a bit lost, it could be because you don’t have a road map.
Create a step-by-step plan for achieving your career goals. You’ll find the road to your accomplishments much more clearly illuminated when you have a plan in hand.
3. Track Your Progress
Setbacks and delays are frustrating. They can cause some people to abandon their career resolutions altogether. You may be a little more resilient, but if you face enough challenges, you may become discouraged.
Keep your plan close by and actively track your progress toward your goals. People have a tendency to focus on the negative rather than the positive. As a result, the little triumphs you have often go unnoticed. This leads to the perception you’re not any closer to your goals than you were before. This often isn’t true.
By actively tracking your progress, you can take the time to recognize and celebrate each milestone along your journey, no matter how minor it may seem. This will help you keep your career resolutions on track and stay upbeat as you work toward them.
4. Take a Risk
While it’s probably not wise to quit your job and start your own business on a whim, taking a calculated risk could be just what you need to keep your career resolutions on track.
Risks can counteract roadblocks or setbacks you encounter on your road to success. Maybe the course you wanted to take was full or you missed the deadline. Is there another course you could take instead? Go ahead and apply to the job you don’t think you’re quite qualified for. Every job application is a chance to practice, and every interview is preparation for the one that lands you the job.
If your career goals involve finding a new job or switching career paths, engage a staffing firm like Liberty Staffing. It could be just the motivation you need to stay the course on your way to career success.
