Want a New Job? It Starts with a New Year's Resolution

Still make New Year's Resolutions?  If you do, you have lots of company.  

Millions make them, fewer achiever them.  

What makes the difference?  

Following up your wishes - your resolutions - with action steps and deadlines.

Sounds like goal setting, doesn't it?  In fact, it is. Making a resolution, and then figuring out what you have to do, and how you have to do it, in order to achieve your resolution is nothing more than goal setting.

Resolutions in and of themselves are just dreams 
Resolutions in and of themselves are just dreams of what and where we'd like to be by the end of year.  But these dreams  - or visualizations of what success looks like to you - are important.  Because they are a step - an important step - to getting there!  

So, to have a happy, healthy, and successful 2014:
(1) Decide what you really want to accomplish by the end of the year, and 
(2) Plan what you will do to achieve your resolutions.


Here are some steps
1.  Identify the things you'd like to achieve in 2014.  Make a list.  Here are a few examples:
- winning the lottery
- learning to speak a foreign language
- losing 20 pounds
- saving money
- getting a new job
- learning a new job skill
- beginning a degree program
- running a marathon
- publishing your book
- taking a trip/vacation to Europe

2.  Separate the important from the frivolous.  Asterisk the things that are really important. Experts say it is hard to focus on more than 3, so choose 1 or 2 or 3 things that are really important.  Here are some examples: 
- winning the lottery
- learning to speak a foreign language
*- losing 20 pounds
- saving money
*- getting a new job
*- learning a new job skill
- beginning a degree program
- running a marathon
- publishing a book
- taking a trip/vacation to Europe

3. Become specific:  Amplify each asterisked item by defining it further, stating some steps -mini-milestones - you will take to accomplish each, and deadlines for the mini-milestones.  For example:
*- getting a new job may be most important to you.  So, now, do the following:
a) Amplify --
   Get a new job as a manager of accounting in a public accounting firm by September 2014.
b) Identify Mini-milestones --
   Write resume. Learn about employment market for accountants.  Attend professional association monthly meeting.  Identify colleagues and contact to network with.
c) Set Deadlines for mini-milestones 
   Write resume - by January 15, 2014
   Learn about employment market for accountants -  by January 15, 2014
   Attend professional association monthly meeting - by February 25, 2014
   Identify colleagues and contact to network with  -  by January 31, 2014.

 4. What's next?  Continue to plan additional action steps as you learn more and move toward accomplishment of your mini-milestones and your major milestone - i.e., your resolution.  Set a time weekly to review your activity, progress, where you fell short, and adjust current or set new mini-milestones to achieve your resolution. 

You can have a new job in 2014, or run a marathon, or learn a new language, or publish a book, . . . .. They are all achievable.  It's all up to you.  It starts with a dream, a wish, or in this case, a New Year's Resolution!

Happy New Year and best of luck in turning wishes for a "Happy, Healthy, and Successful New Year into reality!                                                       

For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website.

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