It’s been a few months since the start of the year, and any goals you’ve set might be well underway. While many of us opt for lifestyle resolutions, such as eating healthily, exercising more or picking up a hobby, setting goals for your career is just as important.
What do you want to achieve within your career this year? From upskilling in a certain area to achieving a promotion, there are plenty of goals to have in mind.
How can professional goals help you in your career?
Setting clear, attainable goals is an effective way to stay committed and focused on reaching your ambitions. Without clear objectives and an end goal in mind, it can be difficult to keep yourself motivated.
Setting professional goals within the first quarter of the year provides a structured framework and timeframe. Think about where you want to be by the end of the year. Do you want to have acquired new skills? Advanced to the next position in your career? Or maybe you have transitioned to a new career altogether. Whatever it might be, working towards objectives is a great way to enhance your performance and lead to career success.
What are the top 7 professional goals for career success?
Deciding which goals to pick is often the most challenging part. With so many possibilities, it can be tricky to pick those that would benefit you the most. We’ve put together the top 7 goals for career success.
Identify your strengths and weaknesses
When did you last take some time to identify your strengths and your weaknesses? Learning to recognise what you excel at and where you need support is key to professional development. Why not make this the year that you really learn to understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie?
Gaining insight into your strengths and weaknesses is also a crucial part of developing better self-awareness. If you are aware of what you do well and what you don’t do so well, you’ll begin to better understand the way you operate. With this knowledge, you’ll learn to capitalise on your strengths to maximise opportunities while also taking steps to mitigate or address areas of weakness that may pose challenges.
Learn a new skill
No matter how much experience you have, there are always new skills to learn. It could be an area within your role, or it could be something broader, such as confidence skills or leadership skills.
Spend some time identifying a skill you’d like to learn and commit to a set number of hours a week or month to work on this skill. Whether you choose to sign up for a training session, watch webinars or take part in an executive coaching session, there are plenty of ways to upskill.
Make sure to set yourself an end target. When do you want to achieve the goal? And what measurement will you use to show you have accomplished it?
Grow your network
Professional networking is a valuable way to open doors and provide you with new opportunities. Your network can serve as a valuable source of information about potential career paths and offers access to a wide range of skills, knowledge and expertise. By connecting with individuals with different backgrounds and experiences, you can tap into their insights and expertise to enhance your own performance.
So why not make it a goal to expand your network this year? Posting more on LinkedIn, reaching out to old contacts, attending networking or industry events and joining professional associations are all effective ways to grow your network.
Improve your work-life balance
Career goals don’t have to be exclusively forced on your working life. Your personal life can, of course, impact your career performance too.
Creating a good work-life balance is essential for overall well-being and productivity, improving both job satisfaction and personal happiness. But with busy working lives, it can be difficult to strike that perfect balance.
This year, make it a goal to set clear boundaries between work and personal life. Start by establishing designated work hours and commit to unplugging work-related tasks during your non-working hours. Spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, exercising and allowing yourself to relax isn’t something to keep putting on the back burner.
The better your overall well being, the better your career performance. So make this the year that you find your perfect work-life balance.
Update your CV
When was the last time you updated your CV? Even if you aren’t currently searching for a new role, regularly updating your CV helps to ensure nothing is missed out and that you’re already prepared should you decide to find a new job.
The longer you go without updating your CV, the longer it will take to add the additional information. This year, book some time to take a good look at your current CV and decide what needs updating.
With over 30 years of experience in recruitment, here at agp, we know what makes a CV stand out from the crowd. Our career transition coaching includes support with updating your practical resources, including your CV and LinkedIn profile.
Improve your organisation skills
Organisation is a key skill for anyone, regardless of your position or experience. The further you progress up the career ladder, the more responsibilities you’ll need to take on.
From your desk to your calendar, emails to your diary, there’s plenty to get organised this year. First things first, decide if your current organisation tools are working for you. Digital task management tools such as Trello, Asana, or Todoist are all popular choices, or you may prefer a more traditional to-do list.
Or, perhaps you’d like to improve the way you prioritise tasks? Do you have a habit of completing smaller tasks first rather than those that are the most urgent? Rethink the way you structure your tasks and the deadlines you establish.
Invest in executive coaching
Executive coaching uses a highly personalised approach to help leaders better understand their goals and how to achieve them. Through executive coaching, you’ll be provided with a challenging yet supportive environment to develop your skills.
Executive coaching can range from confidence coaching and transformational coaching to career coaching and entrepreneur coaching, to name just a few. These sessions are great for those wishing to enhance their skills, develop their own leadership style and grow within their role.
Investing in executive coaching this year is an ideal way to prioritise your personal development and commit to whatever professional goals you want to achieve.
For more information on our executive coaching, or to find out how agp can help you work towards career success, get in touch today.
