Our career coaching business always gets busy in the first part of September, more than at any other time, even after January 1st! Why? Based on our 12 or more years in the school system, September seems to feel like it’s time to ‘get serious,’ after a leisurely summer of playing or procrastinating.
Whatever your feelings about looking toward the end of summer and looking forward to ‘back to school’ time, there are a few things you can do to leverage the energy to do something about your career “this school year.” If you set a goal for yourself to do something about your career in 2018, you have 1/3 the year left – and now is a good time to get ready.
Learn something new. Just like the kids and adults going back to school, now is the time to set out on a learning project for yourself – upgrade your skills, learn a new skill, work on a certification, take a class just for fun, explore a new hobby. The list of new things you could learn is endless! What will be your learning project for the next nine months?
Clarify your objective(s). Before you can do anything about your career, you need to clarify the direction you want (or don’t want) to go. This may require engaging a career coach to help you be clear on your values, interests, competences, knowledge, passions, and to translate these into career directions and opportunities. While there are many books on this topic, and it’s not brain surgery to do this, it’s very difficult to do yourself – an outsider can be invaluable.
Dust off and update your resume. Updating your resume will help you look back on your accomplishments and build your self-confidence. Now you’re ready if someone approaches you about an opportunity, and you’ll need a good resume if you network. This, again, is something that’s often difficult to do by yourself – most people don’t appreciate their strengths and gifts – and another person can help you see yourself objectively.
Update your LinkedIn profile. Most of us could stand to update our LinkedIn profile more often than we do. Look around at others on LinkedIn and find some profile summaries you like and use those ideas to re-draft your own. Is your career direction changing? Make sure LinkedIn reflects this! And while you’re there, reach out and invite some new people into your network, and join a new LinkedIn Group.
Set a schedule for building and maintaining your network. There’s an 80% chance that your next opportunity will come through your network. Think forward to the end of this school year – in nine months – who would you like to have in your network? Which relationships would you like to have stronger and deeper? You can schedule a breakfast once a month (or, depending on your sense of urgency, once a week) with someone you want in your network. (Our book, Power Your Career, The Art of Tactful Self-Promotion at Work, tells you how to do this from step one. And there is a free resource on our website, A Networking Plan for a Year.
Start researching potential employers. You may decide that you want to stay with your current employer. Terrific! Start building your internal network in the organization. If, however, you want to make a change, begin by looking at employers who might have the type of work that you want to do. Research them online, and then find people in that organization (through LinkedIn or other resources) who can give you information, and maybe help you make more connections within the organization.
September seems to be a time for a “re-set” or a brand new start, or ‘getting down to business.’ Take advantage, and figure out what you need to do to make sure your career is on track for where you want it to be.
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For more information, or to inquire about someone speaking on this topic, visit our http://www.tactfulselfpromotion.com