For us, 2018 absolutely flew by. As we’re edging on to 2019, we’re thinking about our achievements and how we’re going to progress next year. You should be doing the same for your career. In order to continually progress throughout your career, planning is absolutely essential. Nobody climbed the career ladder without thinking about where they wanted to go and how they were going to get there.
Now is the time when everyone is starting to wind down, and rather than get distracted, we encourage you start setting some milestones and goals that you want to hit for career development.
But before you do so, ask yourself, “what have I accomplished in my career in 2018, and where do I see myself in 2019?” As you do that, you also need to do an objective assessment/SWOT analysis of what worked or hasn’t worked for you in 2018. This will give you clarity and focus as you plan for your career success in 2019.
We’ve jotted down our three strategies that you can start to use to achieve your career goals in 2019:
Write it down!
A recent study conducted in the US showed that describing your goals in written form contributed to at least 80% of goals success. If that’s not encouraging you to get writing, then you might not be thinking seriously enough about what you want to achieve within the next 12 months.
Writing your goals not only gives you a point of reference to look back on, but it also makes your goals seem more real. You can definitely keep on track by looking back every couple of months (or more frequently depending on your goals) to see if you’re on the right lines for your career progression or whether you need to up-the-anti. Without them written down, it’s very easy to let them slip and be forgotten about.
If you can, get a mentor
It’s important to ask for help, and that’s what we’re here for. We help people move from A-B in their career and if you’re feeling a little stuck, it’s best to speak about it. A good mentor will be able to guide you through your strengths and weaknesses and design you a clear career path that’s right for you and aligned with what you want.
Be committed!
Nobody achieved any kind of success without being committed to the cause. If you REALLY want something, you’ll work hard for it. Initially, when writing down your goals they might seem a little far-fetched, but if you want them badly enough you’ll make sure it happens.
Persistence is key
Keep persisting until you achieve what you wanted to. Make a conscious and intentional effort to not repeat the same mistake more than once, and learn from every single decision that you make.
Be ready for the setbacks you will encounter but despite the challenges, keep your eyes focused on the ultimate vision you have for your career.