November is national Career Development Month, which provides a timely reminder to review your career path. If you’re already involved in a process of exploration and decision-making, you could honor the month by scheduling activities ranging from job shadowing to interest assessments to meetings with a career counselor.
If you could set aside just one afternoon, the results could be impressive. Although a well-tended career is not a safeguard against all calamities, you’d be surprised how much disaster can be avoided with regular attention.
It’s time to look at things you can do to keep your career in shape for the next year. Although the overall concepts of career management don’t change for employed or unemployed workers, the actual steps can vary according to your employment status.
Career development tips — unemployed workers
- Confirm that you have targeted a vocation or professional field for this next stage of your career. It will simplify job search and make it easier to plan your career. If you don't have this decision made, set aside time to do so.
- Take the long view when networking: Who would be good to know throughout the next stage of your career?
- Strategize your current "time off" — can you use the relative flexibility of being unemployed to clean up any career steps? Now might be a good time to study for the next level of professional licensing, for example, or to add a skill set that will create more resiliency in your career.
Career development tips — currently employed workers
- Review your current job: Are you satisfied? Are things heading in the right direction?
- Prepare for your annual review — or get one scheduled if you haven't had one in a while. Plan to discuss your goals and how you can integrate them with the department's needs.
- Network internally: Join committees staffed by people from departments that interest you; connect with people who can tell you about "hidden" opportunities.
- Take credit for your work and external activities by updating your boss in emails; keep your resume updated as well.
- Anticipate that a career path focused on growth might mean lateral as well as upward moves, both inside the company and to other companies; network accordingly.
Career development — all workers
- Develop an expertise within your profession, to help you distinguish yourself from others.
- Take classes or webinars to stay fresh on developments in your field.
- Attend regular meetings of a professional association.
- Build an advisory team, to include a mentor from your field, a career or life coach, and a friend you trust to be honest with you.
If these lists give you enough ideas, jump in by scheduling the steps on your calendar. While you’ve got the datebook out, zoom forward to next November and save a half day for more review and list-making. Or, if you’re currently pursuing a career exploration process, schedule yourself for quarterly sessions.
The session should include some quiet time for reflection and goal-setting, as well as a review of last year’s notes if you have them — or it can include a “checkup” with your career counselor. End by creating a list of steps and a timeline for achieving this year’s goals, with as many as possible front-loaded on the calendar. Like everything else, goals that are tackled early tend to get done, while those that are delayed can end up reappearing on next year’s list.
Remember to bump up your career-review session if anything noteworthy occurs, such as a promotion or an alarming development at work. If you’ve already laid some foundation with earlier sessions, you might be pleasantly surprised at how much clearer your thinking is when these sudden developments occur. Clarity can be a nice side benefit of a regularly examined career path.
