A New Year! A New Career!- By Joe Shaheen
The new year is a time for rejoicing, seeing family members you don’t get to see often, giving and receiving gifts but for some of us it’s a time to reflect on the past year and to look ahead onto the coming one.
This can be a daunting and stressing task for many as they start running through questions and uncertainties in the past and in the future. But, Fear not! We’re here for you to help answer some of those questions but we can’t answer them for you.
The New Year is a time for rejoicing, seeing family members you don’t get to see often, giving and receiving gifts but for some of us it’s a time to reflect on the past year and to look ahead onto the coming one.
This can be a daunting and stressing task for many as they start running through questions and uncertainties in the past and in the future. But, fear not! We’re here for you and to help you answer some of those questions for yourself but we can’t answer them for you.
Questions such as , Am I on the right career path? Am I doing the right thing? Should I switch jobs now or wait a little? And many others.
The key piece of information is that no one can answer these questions for you. You have to figure out the answers for yourself, but we can help you ask the right questions and give you an outside perspective on your career.
Here are five tips that you can use throughout the beginning of the year to evaluate your career:
1. Think Clearly
Don’t start thinking about your career until you’ve had a chance to clear your mind and relax. Thinking while your mind is clouded with stress and anxiety can exaggerate certain feelings and hinders your natural logic.
2. Use a Logical Approach
Try to weigh out the Pros and cons of your current profession or current job logically. Thing like “I don’t like the color of the phone they make me use at work is extreme (and can easily be solved- you don’t have to find a new profession because of something like that). A good way of doing is to take sometime and with a piece of paper and a pen create two categories, “Pros” and “Cons” and evaluate your current situation but putting the positives under pros and the negatives under cons. Try to stay objective!
3. Research Your Market
Knowing the business conditions of your market should be able to answer some of your questions. For example what is the unemployment rate in your local region for your profession. IS your industry being spurred by new advances and new technologies. Who’s expanding in your geographic region and why are they expanding and many other. Use online and offline sources, company websites, your professional and personal networks, relevant blogs and print media to get a feeling of what’s happening in your profession.
4. Discuss it with Family and friends
Your family and friends know you best and they can still provide an outside perspective on your current career situation even if they don’t understand your profession (which is a common thing). Also, consult any family members that your decision will affect to make sure that they’re on the same page as you are.
5. Consult with a career professional
Recruiters, career coaches, staffing professionals and more experience professionals in your own industry can illuminate your way. Discuss with them what your current career is and where you’d like to go. They might even have an open position that fits your goals right now. The career professional can give unbiased, outside opinion of your skills and future opportunities and help you with the skills needed to attain these goals.
Finally, enjoy the process and come out with a clearer stance on your long term career than when you started.
Joe Shaheen is a local Boston technical staffing professional and a Senior Consultant for DxDt Staffing & Professional Services working mainly in the larger Boston metro area..
This article is the property of DxDt Staffing & Professional Services and is intended as a general guide. DxDt, it’s employees or any other involved party can not be held responsible for the content of this article. If you wish to reference this article please do so and provide due credit.
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