New Year’s Resolutions to Skyrocket Your Career in 2018

Writing a New Year’s Resolution is easy, especially if you’re not happy at work. Your resolution could be to get a new job, get a raise, or make it through a week without complaining about your boss. You have plenty of ideas about the things you want to improve.

Setting a resolution isn’t so easy and straightforward when things are going well though. If you had a good 2017, this isn’t an excuse to go easy on yourself this year. If I were you, I’d set new work-related goals for this year to build on the success of the previous year. You know, to keep the ball going.

Here is some inspiration for good a New Year’s resolution, beyond the typical goals such as getting a raise or a promotion. Pick one or two goals, or do all of them one by one. Whatever you pick, these goals will set you up for success this year.

Pay Attention

It sounds like a no-brainer, but can you honestly say you don’t sometimes come to work like a zombie just going through the motions of the day? Pay attention. Treat every day at your work as if you were at school.

Ask your boss for a new task or volunteer for an easy task in a department you’d like to work in someday. Learning shouldn’t be limited to your college education or your current job description. In fact, it’s better for your career if you cross-train in different subjects.

Do Your Own Annual Career Appraisal

Your boss may have their own template or method for conducting annual appraisals, but those appraisals are mainly concerned with how you’re contributing to the company. It’s not designed specifically for your personal growth or career.

Go out for lunch and write down everything you think about your current career. Below are some questions you might want to ask yourself:

  • What made 2017 a good year for you professionally? What could be improved?
  • Are you still happy with your job?
  • Did you learn anything new last year? Or have you learned everything that you could at your current job level?
  • Is your current job what you really want to do, or is it just to pay the bills?
  • Is your income in line with your job title and experience?

Answer these questions honestly to get a holistic view of your career and what you could do to improve.

Level Up Your Skills

Have you had the same job for four years? If you’re still on the same job, while almost everyone in your office has moved on, it’s a sign that you need to learn new skills. Getting rejected on several promotion opportunities suggests you’re not as skilled as you think.

Look at the LinkedIn profile of your peers, then identify the skills or certifications they have that you don’t. Sometimes, you don’t even need to learn something new. You just need to brush up on new trends.

Manage Up

Talk to your manager to confirm if you’re aligned with your major projects for 2018. If you haven’t already, you should also confirm your manager’s preferred communication style, and clarify whether you’re meeting his expectations regarding the quality and quantity of your work.

Your manager has a lot on his plate, so you can’t always expect him to pay attention to what you’re doing.