Five Ways to Jump Start Your Career
A new decade is the perfect time to take your career to the next level. If you need some inspiration, here are five ways to jump start your career:
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Listen to Podcasts as you Commute
Activate your mind by listening to top-rated podcasts. Available on just about any topic you can think of, podcasts are insightful and challenging. For business, Forbes recommends WorkLife with Adam Grant, where professionals are interviewed on the science behind “making work not suck” and So Money with Farnoosh Torabi about financial planning and managing money (Francis Bridges). More top pics for business podcasts include: The Tim Ferriss Show featuring interviews with high-achieving performers, How I Built This which describes NPR stories behind some of the best-known companies, and GirlBoss which interviews boundary-pushing women (Fortune’s Polina Marinova).
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Identify Time Wasters
If time is our most precious commodity, how much of it do we waste? Jump-start your career by taking a close look at your overall phone screen-time. For I-phones, go to the home screen and slide right. Screen time is broken down by social networking, reading and reference, and other. You can see your screen time daily average by week in a bar graph. You can also see total hours.
Too much screen time can cause problems for employee’s health and wellness according to Kelly Creighton, HR Daily Advisor. She sites studies that show diminished cognitive functioning, poor sleep quality (due to blue light exposure), impaired vision and headaches, among other effects.
Analyze how much of your day (and this new decade) you want to be looking at screens. Is there a better way to spend this time to advance your career?
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Mend Relationships with Coworkers
The new year is an excellent time to clear up toxic work relationships. Without directly addressing issues, old insecurities and disagreements will fester over time.
Apologizing or discussing a past problem within a professional relationship speaks to your personal character. “How you tackle an apology can speak volumes about your character and leave a long-lasting impression on your colleagues or your boss” (Biospace). Along with saying you are sorry, offer a plan to avoid the mistake in the future. Do this face-to-face and with sincerity. Own up to any wrongdoing instead of offering excuses and listen to any opposing point of view (Biospace).
Jump start your career by showing your coworkers you can communicate positively.
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Organize your Office
Being organized saves time. A good filing system saves hours looking for paper. Google Docs organization saves time recreating work already completed. When organizing docs, sort by date to find recent documents first.
Other office organization tips include using calendars and planners, unsubscribing from unnecessary emails, and using a tool like Dropbox to easily share documents, photos, and videos.
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Set Goals
Setting goals is one thing and sticking with them is another. Mindtools.com recommends that as goals are set, people write down why the goals are valuable. SMART goals are ones that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. When setting goals, think through precise ways to measure attainment. For example, “If your goal is simply defined as ‘to reduce expenses’ how will you know if you have been successful? In one month’s time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years’ time when you have a 10 percent reduction (Mindtools.com)?” Keep goals visible and set reminders to revisit goals periodically.
A new decade=a new you. Jump-start your career by being mindful of your time and habits.
For longer term thinking about leaving your legacy, here are some ways that may inspire you to leave your mark and make a career legacy.
If one of your goals in this new decade is to make a career change, please consider Artemis Consultants’ recruiting services. Subscribe to our Job Alerts to stay current on new opportunities with SaaS, Technology, Data, and B2B Services companies.
