New year, new career is a commonly used phrase. In fact, job websites often report a spike in activity over the New Year period and into January as people look for new opportunities. Whether you are thinking about changing jobs or not, the New Year is an ideal time for an exercise that we should all do more regularly – taking time to reflect.
This can be reflecting on any aspect of life, but for this blog, we are going to focus on reflecting on your career.
Assess How Far You’ve Come
There are many things that influence the direction of our careers. The economy is one, including the differing nature of the economy in various parts of the country. Technology can also influence career direction, particularly in industries like the one we work in at SL Controls where the pace of change is incredibly fast.
Personal ambition, changes in society, and personal factors also have an influence. Then there are times when career events happen because you were in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time.
The above makes it important to assess how far you have come in your career. Some questions you can answer include:
- What goals have you achieved?
- What goals are you still working on?
- What knowledge have you acquired?
- What new skills have you learned?
- Are there any good habits you have gained or bad habits you have dropped?
It is also helpful to answer the above questions in relation to the past year alone.
Other things you can reflect on include:
- What were your biggest challenges over the past year?
- What are the main positives you take from the year?
- What do you want to change or leave behind?
This reflection on your career to date and the past year specifically will help clarify what you want to do in the future.
Where Do You Want to Go?
Where do you see yourself at the end of the coming year and beyond? You might want to change job to work in a different field or different type of company, or you might want to move to a different part of the country. Maybe you are living abroad and want to return home.
It is then important to believe that you can do it, and you can do it now. One of the biggest differences between those who achieve their career goals and those who don’t is simply getting started.
So, get started by setting goals for your career and developing a plan. Maybe you need to acquire new skills or request an increased level of responsibility from your employer. Maybe you need to reach out to your network for new job opportunities or identify companies currently recruiting. The New Year period is the ideal time for making these plans.
Careers at SL Controls
If you decide you want to change jobs or progress your career at another company, we might have the position you are looking for here at SL Controls. Visit our recruitment page to find out more about the benefits we offer, what it is like to work here, and the vacancies we currently have available.
