Spring is upon us, and while most people focus on cleaning their house, it’s the perfect time to tidy up your business connections and career essentials. Spring cleaning your career includes many different elements from updating your resume to establishing your reputation online.
Performing these simple tasks regularly will save time and energy for when it’s really important.
1. Update your resume
Make sure it is current, including your present job and volunteer experiences. Often we forget to add to our resume when we are secure in our careers; however you really never know when it will be important. If you update as soon as you take new training or volunteer, it is easier than doing it when you really need to.
2. Establish your reputation online
Social media and marketing is the way business will be conducted in the years to come. Establish your reputation online to enhance your business contacts. Make a commitment to update and connect with your contacts online on a regular basis. Today you must use technology as a business tool. Try creating a Twitter account, Facebook page or LinkedIn profile to start out.
3. Develop your skills
Learning is a life long commitment and there is no better time than the present to enhance your skills and abilities. No matter what your current position is, there is always some way to educate yourself and build on or access new skills to better succeed in the workplace. Effective communication, up-to-date knowledge and adding a variety of volunteer experience will serve you well and will look great on your resume - not to mention you can meet new people and have some fun!
4. Network
It’s not only getting your name out there and making sure people know who you are. It’s about relationships. People do business with people they know, like and trust. Make sure you stay in touch with past colleagues and join professional associations to meet new people.
5. Be creative and flexible
Know your real strengths and find ways to showcase your talents. Ask for work projects or volunteer in areas that allow you to shine. Create goals that make you stretch. Talk about your successes in a way that is not bragging but showing of your passion for work that you enjoy.
6. Be trendy
Know your industry and what the projections are for the future so you can always be ahead of the curve.
7. Think outside the box or outside the job
Start a company on the side and be ready for the day when you might be in search of work. And who knows, that side job you started based on your interests might turn into a runaway success.
8. Assess your current situation
This is a perfect time to look at what you’re doing in your current career, and decide if you are ready for more opportunities. Now that you’ve brushed up your resume and developed your skills, you may discover that you’ve got the qualifications for a promotion or the confidence to ask for more responsibility. Or maybe it’s time for an even bigger change. Whatever you decide, being prepared will make you ready for any opportunity.
9. Edit and update your work wardrobe.
It’s amazing what your clothes and how you dress says about you. Go through you closet and purge clothes that no longer fit or have gone out of style. Spend some money on quality items that will last and won’t go out of style.
10. Polish your presentation and negotiation skills.
Presentation skills are an area many people lack confidence in.Join a program like Toast Masters and learn new tricks to help you stand in front of a room and speak with confidence. Learning new negotiation skills will serve you when you approach your employer about a new contract.
The spring is a time of renewal and growth. Use the momentum of the changing seasons to update your career and allow yourself to shine at your current or future job.
What Clients Are Saying
“Working with Colette provided me with personalized one-to-one coaching enabling me to focus on my strengths and weaknesses. By identifying and eliminating the less effective ways to build my business, I was able to concentrate on what worked best and subsequently felt more in control and more effective. After completing a three month session with Colette, I've consistently placed in the top four percentile for new business growth in Atlantic Canada!”
Let Us Help
Do feel like you’re stuck in a rut at work? Not sure how to get your career back on track? We can help. Our team of will provide you with valuable career coaching that will allow you to realize and understand your goals. Check out our website for more information.
Read More
Did you enjoy this newsletter? Did you know that we have many more like it posted on our website? If you’d like to learn more, click here for a great article on business card basics.
The Empty Nest Gets Refilled
Spring is in full swing, flowers are starting to appear, the snow is melting, and life feels fresh and full of possibility. It’s also the time that university ends and many students head home for four months of vacation
Organize Your Life with you Mobile Device
You already use your phone for more than just calling someone, you text and tweet and take pictures. But do you take advantage of all the fantastic ways a cell phone can keep you organized on the fly and simplify your life?
Seven Resolutions to Avoid
Making New Year’s resolutions is a wonderful tradition to help you reflect on the past year and set your goals for the upcoming year. But are you setting yourself up for failure? The average person breaks their resolution within 3 weeks of setting it.
