Your 4 step annual career checklist

The New Year is in full effect and you should know it goes by faster than we expect. Use this career checklist to get ahead and start the year off right by doing these 4 things.

Every year, I like to start as strong as I can and take care of a few career focused tasks. Today, I’m sharing 4 things to do for your career this month to get you off to a good start. No matter what goals you’re committed to, these few things can give you a good boost to kick the year off. The great thing about this career checklist is you can do this at any time but why not give yourself a beginning of the year boost!

REVIEW YOUR GOALS

Remember those goals you set this time last year? Take a look at them if you haven’t and do a little personal review. If things went great, good job! Maybe there’s a second phase. There’s always room to level up. If things didn’t go as you planned. Go easy on yourself. Things happen but we only fail if we don’t try again. Decide what didn’t work for you and set a better plan in place, and check it off the career checklist. You got this, girl!

CONNECT WITH YOUR NETWORK

Networking is so important no matter what industry you’re in. Reach out to a few contacts on LinkedIn and see if you can set up time with them before the month is over, or at least plan something for the future. This is a great time to connect with someone from a previous team or company and learn about their wins from last year and of course what they’re looking forward to in the future.

Pro-Tip: Keep your message short, sweet, and direct to make sure that you lead with intention. Whether you’re just looking to catch up, switch roles, or need help on a business problem come to the table prepared to get things done.

GET SOME FEEDBACK

This should always be on your career checklist. If you haven’t had an annual review, or it’s been a while since your last one, set up some time with your manager to reflect. Were there skills that you wanted to develop and didn’t get a chance to? Or maybe you were on track for a promotion and it’s time for a follow up. Have that conversation and come prepared to share your thoughts on next steps. If you have big plans for the year, a change in role or even a management position, find out what you can do to really stand out against your peers. If you end up getting some not so great feedback, do your best to take it in stride and consider what you might want to focus on.

If this sounds intense for you, try having it over coffee or lunch off-site to lighten the mood, but still be professional and come ready.

UPDATE YOUR RESUME

The last item on this career checklist is to update that resume! This should be a quarterly routine for you no matter what, but in case you’re a bit behind, a New Year is the perfect reason to give your resume a little love. Take a look at the past few months and jot down any big accomplishments on milestones. Think about tasks you’ve gained experience in, or more importantly, any results you can share. Maybe you created a more efficient process or drove a specific amount of sales, add those things to the list. You can check out our full list of tips here if you have more work to do instead of a few updates. This way, you’ll be prepared if anyone asks to see it.

What else is on your career checklist?