Its that time of year again …. In the run up to the festive holiday period, many of us take the opportunity at this time of year to reflect on our career to date and carry out a career inventory to assess if we are achieving all our career goals or to put it another way, are we happy in our workplace?
We spend a lot of our calendar year in our place of work, so it really helps us in our overall life if we are happy in the ‘day job’.
It can feel like an extra workload to even decide to change roles, move to a new organisation, upskill or whatever it takes to go the extra mile to push ourselves in order to find a new position that matches our ambitions.
So if this is your year for reflection and then action to move to a new position, where do you start?
Here are some steps that I suggest to candidates who have decided that this is the right time to make a career move
1. Decide first (and this is where the soul searching begins) what you really want in your next career move.
Is it
- Increase in Salary and Benefits,
- New Location- Ireland or abroad, with more flexibility to work (remotely/hybrid)
- More autonomy in your place of work,
- A new organisation that aligns with your beliefs and world view?
2. Who do you know right now that could guide you in the right direction?
This could be a trusted colleague from a previous company where you worked together, a boss from a previous company etc., these people have worked with you in the past, they know you better than you realise and will be able to help you understand your best talents, sometimes you may not be aware of your own best skills and how you contributed to the organisation in both your work rate and as a team player.
3. With this information gathered, now is a good time to update your resume.
Its important to keep your resume relevant to new opportunities. At this stage you might consider further studying to add accreditations to your resume that will enhance your professional profile
4. What approach do your want to take in applying to roles that interest you?
I always recommend that you record on a spreadsheet all job applications that you respond to: the date, the role/vacancy number, the feedback you received. It can get confusing if you are replying to multiple roles. When a role that you are interested in is advertised, first have a look at LinkedIn to see who you know in the organisation and if there is a possibility of contacting them for more information on the role. This gives you the opportunity to understand the top attributes required for the role and if it is a true match with your experience and aspirations for a new role.
5. And finally, its hard to put yourself out there.
It takes confidence, resilience and lots of hard work!!! So be kind to yourself, remember the right role with the right opportunities is there for you.
