It’s that time again. Christmas is around the corner, then we’ll be giving this year a send-off and the new year will begin! Does anyone else feel like time is flying by?
December is for many (sing it) the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most hectic. You’ve got to wrap up your workload as well as your presents! We all have the Christmas break to look forward to where we can put our feet up and enjoy time with our friends and family.
While Christmas is often a welcome break from work, it is also the perfect opportunity for you to take a step back and assess your career. Here are some questions that are worth asking yourself:
1. What have I achieved this year?
2. Is my career moving in the direction that I want it to?
3. What are my career goals for next year?
4. Can I achieve them with my current employer?
If the direction of your career and your goals are unclear then now is the time to really pin them down. What do you want from your career? It’s easy for all of us to settle into a routine and a job that stopped being beneficial for us a while ago.
Assess your current job by considering these key areas:
Company values and culture
Over the last few years, employers have begun to recognise how important their culture and values are to the success of their employees. People that work for a company that share their values and offer a positive environment that is well suited to them are much more likely to excel at work.
Does the culture and values of your current employer reflect your own? If not, you may not be able to fulfil your potential with them.
Your skills and strengths
Are you in a job that really makes the most of your strengths. To excel in any field and to reach your professional peak, your role should be a good match for your skill-set, personality and natural strengths. Why be good at your job, if you could be great?
Your happiness
Plain and simple, are you happy at work? Happy people are more productive people and more productive people are more successful. Did you know that it is not our success that makes us happy, it is more often our happiness that makes us successful?
Research conducted by the University of California found that happiness leads to:
- Higher income
- Greater productivity and quality of work
- More satisfying and longer marriages
- More friends, stronger social support and richer social interactions
- More activity, energy and better physical health
If you decide that a new career is on the cards for 2017, unfortunately, this is not something that Santa is going to be able to deliver. Only you have the power to propel your career onwards and upwards so make a plan of action and do it.
We’ve got plenty of job searching tips to help you out.
