Career review & next year
The end of the year is typically a time when we all consider what has happened during the year and to think ahead to what we might want to do next year.
The pandemic certainly created additional challenges and many left their career development behind whilst they focused on getting through each day! If that was you, now is particularly the time to do a career review, consider where you are at with your career and what you need to focus on next year.
Why this matters
Good things can of course happen by ‘accident’ i.e. without assessing your career objectively and planning but usually it is better to do this and focus on some specific elements, even if things turn out differently to how you planned them.
When you spend time reflecting on your career, you are more likely to make better decisions as opportunities and potentially threats come your way. It means you are less likely to end up somewhere you are both unhappy with and didn’t intend.
What you need to consider
Here are my top suggestions for questions to ask yourself and areas to reflect on when doing a career review.
How content am I with my day-to-day work? (scale 1-10)
Am I using my strengths and skills? Are there some I’m not using? If so, is there a way I could do so in my current role?
Am I where I wanted to be at this stage in my career? If not, why might this be? e.g. different opportunities came up, I have missed out on promotions, the opportunities haven’t arisen, my technical skills need more work, my ‘soft’ skills need more work.
How would I rate my key work relationships e.g. line manager, people you manage, in terms of strength and positivity (traffic lighting can be helpful)?
How broad are my relationships in my organisation? Which additional relationships could help my day to day work e.g. cross-selling in an accountancy firm or legal practice, as well as my longer term career prospects. Read my article here on why this matters.
Do I make time to build external relationships? Clients, if relevant, but also other helpful contacts.
What feedback have I received over the last year (or even before that) that I need to consider? Does this give me clues about the progress I am likely to make or barriers I face to progressing?
Planning for next year
Once you have worked through these questions and any others which are specifically important and relevant to you, you can start to outline what is next for you in your career and the key aspects you need to work on to help you get there. Many need to make up for time lost due to the pandemic. Sketch out these aspects and then distil them into a plan.
Break down the elements you need to work on into small steps and focus on a couple of elements at a time. This will make it less overwhelming and more likely that you will take some action and make some progress which will keep you motivated.
My Nine Skills for career success is likely to help you consider some elements you need to work on, so please request that below if it might help you.
To arrange a no obligation conversation to discuss your career development in 2022, the group sessions I run for companies and firms or the speaking I do at virtual and in-person events, please contact me.