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by Vanessa Raath
The festivities have finally died down and a lot of you will be a few weeks into sober-January. It’s now time to focus on your career resolutions for 2014, or to advise your staff members about their career path quandaries. Here are a few suggestions. I suggest you write these down and put quarterly calendar reminders in place so you remember to review them.
1. Be ethical
This is of the utmost important for me in the business world as I firmly believe that ‘your word is your honour’. Integrity is something that is too easily forgotten, or pushed aside, in business and this leads to a serious break down in trust. You need to be true to yourself and your business partners at all times as this will help you build solid working relationships where you will be able to overcome any obstacles that may pop up.
2. Stretch yourself in your current role
We all know that there are ways we can go above and beyond the parameters of our job descriptions so we need to push ourselves to achieve more and take on more responsibilities in the workplace. This will be noticed by your superiors and you will also be improving your skill-set at the same time.
3. Keep your eye on the next step
Don’t become complacent and stay in your comfort zone. Always have a career path and know what your next step is. To ensure your team continues to recognise you, excel in your current position. This will lead to quicker promotions as your employer will want to keep you challenged and stimulated at all times. In some instances, you need to drive the metaphorical Ferrari during your career planning and schedule regular meetings with your boss to make certain you’re on track for the next position.
4. Communication is key
There is nothing worse than working on a team with someone who doesn’t communicate regularly and in a clear and concise manner. Make sure you have a 24-hour response time rule on your e-mails. Keep people updated about what you’re doing and when you expect to complete vital tasks. Manners also falls under this section. Remember your ‘please’ and ‘thank you’s’ in the workplace and people will be more willing to assist you.
5. Align your personal and company goals
To ensure you and the company you work for are on the same page, make certain you understand and ‘buy into’ the company’s vision. This is vitally important because if you’re not all working towards a common goal, you’ll take longer to get there - if you get there at all.
6. Get fit
I know that this is a very common resolution and is often made in people’s personal resolutions too. The importance of being fit and healthy is crucial because of the knock-on effect is has on your career. People who gym or train regularly are more likely to have a better work-life balance and will definitely cope with stress better. It has also been proven that they are even-tempered and seem to be happier within themselves.
This article first appeared on HR Pulse.
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