Whether you’re planning a job change, a major career shift, or to seek a promotion, the best strategy for success is to break down your career goal into small, much more manageable steps. By breaking down your goal into smaller action steps, you set yourself up for success by not getting overwhelmed with trying to achieve everything all at once.
Your first step to success is researching your career goal and determining the key steps
You need to accomplish the building blocks that will result in achieving your goal.
Once you have determined the key steps you need to take, develop daily and weekly agendas with a specific block of time dedicated to achieving results.
Furthermore, for each daily and weekly result, reward yourself for getting that much closer to your goal.
If you have an off day or week, take time to understand and fix the problem; do NOT let the issue snowball into an untenable situation resulting in failure to reach your goal!
For Example, if you are determined to find a new job this year, you’ll need to accomplish these steps:
- Research organizations hiring for the job you seek
- Update/improve your resume with critical keywords, including a version specifically for Applicant Tracking Systems
- Develop/modify/strengthen social media profiles, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Contact your current network contacts and inform them of the type of job you are seeking
- Develop new network contacts (including recommendations from your current contacts)
- Apply to job listings
- Uncover additional “un-publicized” job openings (through networking, cold-contact)
- Follow up all job leads
- Prep for job interviews (including phone, Web, in-person)
- Prep for salary negotiation
- Succeed in job interviews
- Write thank-you notes
- Follow up all interviews
- Keep searching for new job leads
- Receive job offer(s)
- Negotiate a successful job offer
- Contact and thank all contacts that helped your job-search
Or… if you are considering a career change, you’ll need to accomplish these steps:
- Conduct self-assessment to determine new career direction
- Research prospective new careers to determine fit and requirements
- Consider informational interviews in new career field to learn insider tips and secrets
- Seek out volunteering or other work experience in new career field
- Obtain additional training/education for new career field
- Develop new contacts in new career field
- Join one or more professional/trade organizations in new field
- Complete all the above steps for finding a new job
