One month from now Christmas will be over
and we will be two days into a new year, so now is a good time to look at your
career goals for 2016 and to be ready to start work on them.
It will help if the goals and plans are
realistic to begin with, therefore try breaking them down into immediate, short
and long term goals. Career goals may well be easy to express in a few words,
get a job, but to do so is made more likely by good planning for your search,
such as being sure that you have a good resume that shows you in the best light
it can. Starting with steps such as identifying your skills, preparing your CV
or resume and circulating it to job boards is a sound first step but expecting
to go on holiday, or buy a home will be a goal too far too soon and will be a
longer term plan. Some time ago I attended a course for budding entrepreneurs,
where we were being instructed to make short, medium and long term goals for
building a business, while we have a tendency to want a quick fix.
Short-term objectives are points which will be accomplished within the next few days, weeks or even few months...like having a de-cluttering clear out, ready for spring cleaning. Such a plan is achieved bit by bit, e.g. one room at a time. Working through the stages step by step completes the goal.
Short-term objectives are points which will be accomplished within the next few days, weeks or even few months...like having a de-cluttering clear out, ready for spring cleaning. Such a plan is achieved bit by bit, e.g. one room at a time. Working through the stages step by step completes the goal.
In the case of job searching, an example is
to first identify your skills, list your experience and career history and qualifications,
then make a generic CV and build up a set of job specific CV's for the roles
you're going to apply for.
Have
you identified a lack of skills needed for the current workforce? If so, it may well help you if you do some
training and get a qualification. This
begins with finding the courses of study you need. It is true that the past
years have seen many financial cuts to adult education but there are excellent free
online courses from reputable organisations and I would especially
recommend in the UK, vision2learn
.
Long-term goals typically require a variety
of steps and do not happen overnight. An example was my realisation that I
might use my experiences as an older and disabled person looking for a job to
write and create an income. I won’t be a well-known writer and be rich overnight
but it will grow, starting any business is never an overnight process.
Of course you may have listed your
resolutions and goals somewhere, even just in your head, however career goals
tend to be recorded more formally. This can be because you're a part of a
government employment programme, such as being on Job Seekers Allowance in the
UK, and have to record your job search activities. Even if not officially
required to keep
a record of your job search activities, it is very helpful to do so.
Keep a record of your goals, and use the
excellent and often fun on-line ideas to help you. Bucket lists are a popular idea over the past
few years and have all kinds of ideas from small to very grand plans. Enter a Google search for free bucket list
templates and ideas and enjoy making plans You can even make a career specific
bucket list. Just Google
Career bucket list for ideas to get going.
Of course, many people have no alternative
other than for work related goals to take precedence over personal ones,
getting a job is often a very urgent matter, but you will adapt as necessary,
and don’t be too hard on yourself if something does not work out, keep your
plans realistic and achievable. Goal
setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable,
realistic and time-targeted (SMART) goals….and remember to celebrate your achievements !!
*** if you have a web site or blog, get it
up and running, place content on it regularly and monetise it with e.g.
affiliate programmes, i.e. merchandising supporting your niche...children,
computers, weddings etc. etc. Most people looking for a job would benefit from
having a website as a place to illustrate the skills and experience they have,
a website shows ‘your brand’. It need not have any cost involved as a simple
website and or blog, can be set up at no cost and certainly be adequate at
least to start with. While demonstrating your ‘brand’, who you are and what you
can do, you may even find that your website and/or blog leads to a new career
in itself, perhaps as a writer, an affiliate marketer selling products and
services online or selling your own goods and/or crafts.
http://www.websitetooltester.com/en/blog/best-free-website-builders/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/best-web-builders-create-free-website/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/best-web-builders-create-free-website/
Not all of these are free but some of the
sites have a free version e.g. Weebly
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