Monday, December 14, 2020

4 Steps to Achieving Career Goals During a Pandemic



During the pandemic, your career goals may have withered a bit. At this point, you're just trying to keep your job and cope with everything life has thrown at you.

But it's not a good idea to just forget about your career goals, and in fact, you can take this time to think more deeply about what you really want and how to go about getting it.

Consider:

1. Your resume. Give it a good look and try to be impartial. Does the resume show how you've grown? How you've achieved results? Or, is it just a laundry list of job titles and company names? This isn't what gets you noticed, either by hiring managers or those in your industry. You need to be able to constantly show that you're taking that next step, either through key projects in your current job, educational or training efforts or even through professional associations.

2.  Your boss. What does she think about your performance? You're not asking for a performance review, but rather a conversation about whether your boss thinks you're progressing in the right areas or whether she believes that you're stalled. What can you do to get more responsibility? What needs to happen for you to be in charge of the next project? While you may not always agree with your boss's assessment of your skills, you're not going to progress at your current position without your boss's support or input. 

3. Your network. You might find it challenging to maintain your network during this time of social distancing, but really, that's just an excuse. You can still interact with people on a phone call, during a Zoom meeting or -- if they work in the same town -- at a meeting in a park or other outside venue. Your network is critical in growing your career, and people are longing for contact now more than ever. By reaching out, you're helping to seal a relationship that will be beneficial now and in the future.

4. Your initiative. When was the last time you read a book that really challenged you? Or listened to a podcast concerning a subject you know nothing about? Have you tuned into a webcast that has speakers that are unfamiliar to you? These are all things that force you out of your box and introduce you to new ideas. That's an important step when you're growing yourself as a professional.

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