New year, new life! The beginning of a new year is always an important time to take stock of how the previous year was, reflections on what to change and where to improve in the year that is beginning. One of the most prominent resolutions in the list of Portugueses, year after year, is change or professional achievement.
As a rule, there is a great expectation and also a hurry to change and achieve the objectives, but often unrealistic goals are created, which end up being easily set aside, because we ignore the time and resources necessary for their execution. Learn about the 6 New Year's resolutions that can help you achieve your professional goal.
1.Set Professional Goals:
Setting goals helps us chart a path to achieve our goals.
Where would you like to be in ten years? Five years? A year? Goals help you know which direction to take for a successful career. In addition, setting goals allows you to track your performance and whether you're really evolving or whether you need to make some changes.
When we set goals and objectives to improve our personal or professional life, the SMART methodology can be a great help. This methodology allows that during the definition of your objectives, you become aware if you are able to give answers to the fundamental questions in the definition of objectives: S (specify) what I want to do?; M (measure) how will I assess if I have achieved my goal?; A (attainable) the goal is within my reach?, R (relevant), what is the importance of this goal in my life? and finally, T (temporal) how long will it take to achieve this goal.
Achieving goals requires focus, discipline and dedication so always look at it as a challenging action that will bring long-term benefits.
2.Strengthen your self-knowledge/self-awareness:
Being aware of the career requires self-knowledge in order to better understand our strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivations, values and emotions. It is essential to know what we want, what skills we can put into practice and what we lack, to understand what differentiates us and where we can improve. Being aware of the career also requires self-awareness, in order to understand how we affect others and how we are perceived. Thus, strengthening self-awareness and self-awareness should definitely be part of New Year's resolutions and throughout our lives.
3.Be an entrepreneur:
The crisis we are experiencing has created and will continue to create many business opportunities and, therefore, more than ever, we will need to develop innovative solutions that respond to the constant challenges we are experiencing. New companies continue to be born every day, driven by the desire or need to find a new source of income. There are many novelties in consumer trends and these force (open a window of opportunity) the reformulation and reorientation of the respective businesses as a way of survival and as a way to benefit from new opportunities that may arise such as the contactless delivery of meals, the deliveries shopping without entering the store or online nutrition consultations.
4.Develop your skills/bet on training:
Continue to learn new skills and become more competitive in the job market. The truth is that there is always room for progression and there will always be something to learn or knowledge to improve. Identify one or two areas that you can develop and look for training or courses to improve some competence that is useful for your current position or to reach a new role.
Currently, there are several online platforms - some even free - that allow you to acquire new skills and solidify your current ones.
5.Update your curriculum/LinkedIn:
It is advisable to always have your curriculum updated, mainly because it allows you to respond quickly when an opportunity arises. Keep a general resume on your computer so that you can update it easily and constantly and create versions (short or customized) according to the opportunities you apply for.
Continue to invest in digital, namely in your LinkedIn profile, a tool in continuous growth that makes it easier for recruiters to reach you, and if applicable, create an online portfolio, so that your work can be evaluated more easily.
6.Invest in Networking:
Whether you like it or not, networking is still one of the main strategies for strengthening your career and finding a job. That is, the growth of your professional career is based on the people you know. Regardless of your career longevity, maintain a close relationship with your contacts (colleagues, superiors, mentor - if applicable). You never know where the next opportunity may come from, be it a promotion, a new project, etc.
And remember, instead of contacting someone only when you need something, you should also be concerned with building a relationship.
