Think As Inc

CAREER JUMPSTART

December 28, 2009 on 9:31 pm | In life coaching | 1 Comment

There are many things you can do for your career right now and early 2010 when new-year momentum is still strong:

Send New Year cards.  Block out two lunch hours in the first week of January to get to people that you missed over the holidays.  If you were diligent about sending holiday cards, use the time to update your database with new addresses, changes in title or company, etc.

Schedule lunches for specific dates.  Instead of saying, “Let’s get together in January”, offer a specific date (“How about January 4 at 1p?)  Aim for four confirmed dates in January.  Repeat the following month.

Update your resume.  At the very least make sure your contact info is updated and all jobs are represented.  It would be ideal to make sure the job descriptions are relevant to what you’re interested in today.  Taking a few minutes each January to update will prevent your resume from getting too stale, and it will position you to take advantage of unexpected opportunities throughout the year.

Schedule training and personal development.  Look into your company’s offerings now and register for all of 2008.  This way, you reserve the time.  If you can’t register yet or your firm doesn’t offer what you need, block out at least one day each month anyway.  Use this time to catch up on professional reading.

Subscribe to trade publications.  If you don’t already, find out what publications service your industry and see if copies are available in your office.  Go online and sign up for industry ezines.  Professional publications that you pay for could be tax-deductible as a professional expense.

Join trade organizations.  At a minimum, you probably would get newsletters and announcements.  It would be ideal to also attend meetings (block out 2008 meetings now!) and join a committee.

Update your professional wardrobe.  Get drycleaning and tailoring done.  Get shoes shined and repaired.  Discard worn or out-of-date items and include replacements on your holiday sale shopping list.