Happy New Year from MeaningfulCareers.com

Resolutions to Boost Your Career All Year
By Dan King and Mark Guterman

And once again, the ball drops! We've been here many times before. It's a time of plans and promises, of fresh starts and new beginnings. It's also a time when health clubs abound with ambitious aerobicizers -- when diet centers bulge with hopeful heavyweights -- and when career counselors and coaches are besieged by "less than happily-employed" legions of weary workers in search of a new calling. "To everything there is a season..."

If you're one of the many who have proclaimed that 2009 is going to be the year that you finally acquire the job of your dreams, congratulations! You've taken an important first step. Now what are you going to do to ensure that this promise you've made to yourself survives long enough to see the light of Ground Hog's Day? Redo your resume? Call a headhunter? Scan the job boards? That should take care of the first week. Then what?

Wise career decisions are made by moving toward something -- a vision of work that makes you happy and fulfilled. Career success is a creative process. When a composer sits at her piano to write a song, she is not trying to solve a problem -- she is creating an audio representation of an idea that exists only in her imagination. The same is true of the painter who goes to canvas. He is not trying to solve a problem, but creating an image fueled by a powerful inner vision.

Likewise, your career is not a problem to be solved. Unless you shift your focus to a more "creative" approach, your career problem will come back, another year will pass, and the cycle will begin anew.

If your career management is to be an ongoing, creative process, your resolutions need to continue throughout the year, month-by-month, day-by-day. You'll accomplish more if you track your progress regularly. Buy a journal that you can use to jot down career thoughts and ideas throughout the year, and review it frequently.

Here are some suggestions for navigating your career throughout 2009 and beyond:

January: Don't let "auld acquaintance be forgot." The relationships you build are as important to your career advancement as the skills you possess. No one can make it on skills alone. The new year is an ideal time to organize your database of friends and acquaintances. Take an inventory of everyone you know. If you haven't been in touch within the past six months, then call or write to wish them a happy new year. Bring them up to date on what's happening in your career, and record the notes from your conversations in your journal.

February: Take stock of your skills and accomplishments. Talk to friends and colleagues about your strengths -- maybe even invite them over for pizza -- and let them brainstorm about your career. Let them do the talking while you just write down their ideas in your journal.

March: Create a professional mission statement -- one that emphasizes what you want to do. Describe your goals in terms of the skills you want to use. Then update your resume with your mission statement clearly in mind, focusing on the value you can bring to an organization.

April: Find a mentor, someone who exhibits the traits and qualities you would like to possess. Ask if he/she would be willing to meet you once or twice a month over coffee or lunch to engage in conversations with you about your career development. You can build your discussions around the notes from your journal. You'll be amazed how honored your mentor will be.

May: Join a professional organization, even if your company doesn't foot the bill. You'll gain access to other people in your field, first-hand knowledge of job opportunities and continual learning activities that will be important to your growth -- with or without your current employer. Identify local chapters that hold regular monthly meetings. Just by attending one meeting, you'll learn something. And even if you're not a good "schmoozer," you can always partake of the free snacks!

June: Create a six-month progress report on your career development. Review your journal and describe how you've grown during the first half of the year. Celebrate your success with your mentor, or hold another pizza party with your friends and colleagues. Wallow in the knowledge that most others will have defaulted on their resolutions by now.

July: Schedule an informational interview with someone, inside or outside the company, whose work you find interesting. Ask about likes and dislikes, skills needed, future opportunities in the field and salary expectations. Make it an information-gathering mission, not a job interview. Record what you learn in your journal.

August: Volunteer to serve on a task force or committee within your company, your community or your professional organization. This will give you a chance to make new contacts, become more visible and acquire team skills. The more people get to know you, the more opportunities will come your way.

September: Take advantage of opportunities to learn which trends will have a significant impact on your field in next two years. Register for a course or seminar in an area of interest to you. Listen closely to introductions during workshops to learn what others do and where they work. Keep the notes in your journal.

October: Clarify your relationship to money. Ask yourself "how much is enough?" Arrange a meeting with a financial planner if you're not sure. Conduct a salary survey to learn the going rate for your work. Your professional organization may be able to provide data and point you toward helpful salary information for your particular field.

November: Set a time to discuss your career development with your boss. Describe your accomplishments for the year along with the results achieved. Share your desire to acquire additional skills to help you grow. Make your career goals known. Even if you don't have a particularly sharp boss, your request for feedback and advice will massage his/her ego, and that alone will increase your value in his/her mind.

December: Evaluate your career over the past year. Record your thoughts about what worked well and not so well. Discuss your progress with your mentor (presenting him/her with a gift would be a nice touch). Assess how your view of your career has changed. What gains did you make? Where did you find the most satisfaction? What do you still need to do? Develop a list of career management actions for the new year.

When January 2010 rolls around, you can take satisfaction knowing that you didn't "drop the ball" on your career!