It’s still the beginning of the new year, and you’re determined that this is the year it all comes together. You’re going to lose that last five pounds, go on that international vacation you’ve always dreamed of, and get the raise or promotion you deserve (how else are you going to pay for the trip?).
The path to the first two goals is pretty straightforward. Every gym worth its salt is running a “New Year, New You” promotion, and a trip to any bookstore will overwhelm you with the latest diet books. While you’re at the bookstore, skip over to the travel section and pick up a guidebook for the country of your choice and keep it at your desk for motivation.
For the last goal, here are six building blocks for strengthening your career in 2012.
1) Build your network. There’s a common saying that “you need to build your network before you need it,” and it definitely holds true. Waiting until you need a new job and then suddenly contacting everyone you know is akin to waiting until the night before a big test to begin studying.
No one likes to receive an email from an old co-worker that says “Hey there, I know I haven’t spoken to you in three years, but I am writing to ask you for a big favor and to help me get a job.” A good networking relationship is built on give and take, so if you’ve kept in contact with people, made an effort to go out for a coffee every so often, and done the little things like sending them an email if you hear that they got married or got a promotion, it will make for an easier transition if you need to ask their help.
Why should building a strong network be the most essential goal? The vast majority of jobs are found through a network connection, so this is the best way to hear about a new opportunity you might be interested in, and to be prepared if you need to look for a new job.
These days, there’s no excuse not to maintain a network: online sites such as LinkedIn.com have made it so easy to find people you know and to reach out to people you don’t. If you’re looking to make a move in 2012 and you’re just starting out on LinkedIn, make it a goal to add five to ten new people a week.
2) Assess your current situation. It’s easy to wake up each day and focus on putting in the hours until you go home, then count the days of the week until Friday arrives, and then watch as weeks turn into months. Suddenly, a year has gone by and you look up and you are doing the same exact job as a year before, which makes it difficult to ask for a raise or promotion. Treat yourself like a business by taking a full inventory of where things stand and really ask yourself some tough questions.
Are you really happy in your current job? Are you on the career path that you want to be, or have things stagnated or gone off track? Is your supervisor supportive and helping you reach the next level? Do a little homework. Visit a website like Payscale.com to see if your salary and benefits are on par with the rest of the industry.
3) Set your goals. Now that you know where you stand, map out where you want to be. Do you want to get promoted to the next level, have more creative input on the projects you are working on, or cut down on the amount of hours you work in order to spend more time with your family? Write these goals out and share them with your boss, along with a plan on how you hope to achieve them. Making sure you are both working toward a common mission will make it easier to prove that you are worthy of a raise or a change in your schedule.
4) Document your progress. When making the case for a raise, it’s important to provide a list of all the accomplishments you’ve had in the past six to 12 months, along with information and statistics to show how it helped the company.
Picture yourself sitting down with your bosses at the end of this year for your annual performance review. They ask why you deserve a raise; you try and think back. Unfortunately, you are only able to remember some of the details of the last two projects you worked on.
Now go through the scenario again, but this time, you have a document — an “accomplishments manifesto,” if you will — that lists every project you’ve worked on this year, with data showing what you accomplished. For example, say you are in charge of promotion for a website. You should detail the start and end date of each marketing campaign you launched, show graphs of the resulting traffic increases and how that drove income, provide printouts of successful banner ads and email promotions, and include some testimonial feedback from customers. Clearly that would have more impact.
Creating an accomplishments manifesto at the end of the year sounds like a huge task to do all at once. However, taking small notes and grabbing a few screenshots throughout the year whenever you reach a milestone will enable you to quickly put together a strong case for a raise. Whether you set a reminder on your calendar, choose a set time such as every other Friday, or complete a wrap-up after every project, now is the time to get into this good habit.
5) Learn something new. When you did your self-assessment and planned out your goals, was there a gap of knowledge missing that might prevent you from reaching the next level? If so, now is the time to take a new class and learn something new. It could be getting an advanced degree, learning some new software, or as simple as asking a co-worker to teach you a skill that you don’t know.
6) Balance your life. Now that you’ve done a full assessment of your working environment, use this time to make sure your job fits in well with your overall lifestyle. Go ahead and book that vacation and mark it on the calendar. How can that lead to a raise down the line? A supportive manager knows that an employee who only focuses on work can get burned-out. Convince your bosses that you will be highly motivated to get all your projects completed before you go, and that you will return with your batteries charged and ready to take on new projects.
Don’t miss Reboot Workshop, hosted by Jim, a day-long “unconference” on busting out and building a thriving business
[Photo: Gerald Bernard/Shutterstock]
