Top Career Management Tips To Make Your 2013 Shine

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By Dawn Rasmussen, CMP

But if you really want to come up with some truly attainable goals for 2013, here are the top five ideas that you can accomplish easily in the coming year... and will help you kick start your career in the right direction.

1) Reach out to five top thought leaders. Reaching out to someone doesn’t mean that you make them your mentor. It can be simply asking them a question. Following them on Twitter. Responding to an article they wrote. Whatever the tactic, making that connection to a thought leader can help you sharpen your thinking and change your perspective on your work. Ever run across a radically new idea that you were able to put into action in work... and realize incredible results? This is a mind exercise to help you build your mental acuity and leadership. What you learn from engaging with thought leaders will leave you never thinking the same again.

2) Start a career management file. Tried to update your résumé lately? Most job seekers, as soon as they land in their next position, totally forget to keep track of their accomplishments. Then, if a sudden opportunity comes up, or the unthinkable happens, they are left trying to jam a résumé update into a very short period of time. And the worst part is trying to remember what in the world you did in the past five years. Try this instead: create a computer or hard file that you toss EVERTHING that relates to staff reports, plan of work, recaps, metrics, kudos, professional development classes, memberships, and awards into... and what you now have is a quick and handy reference for the next résumé update. No racking your brain up on that one. Oh, and by the way, make sure you update your résumé every year... better yet, every six months!

3) Sign up for three new professional development activities. You’ve got your CMP – check. But now, try to strategically think about what you could do to solve the following: skill gaps, skill updates, or getting ahead of the proverbial "8-ball" and getting into the cutting edge knowledge. Make a goal of learning at least a few new things that you can integrate in your work. It’ll make your job easier, and your boss will definitely notice!

4) Start sharing information. Going to a conference? Great. We often walk out of the many useful and informative conferences with our heads bursting with ideas. Very few percolate into the workplace, but here’s a great idea to boost your career management IQ: share the takeaways with your team. Knowledge sharing is a hot concept now, and if you can pull together a short recap of what you learned and potential applications in the workplace, that helps educate your coworkers while increasing the odds that one or more of the ideas might actually be implemented. Supervisors like this because what you learned is strengthening the team’s ability to do the work.

5) Take a "stretch" assignment. Today’s economy has meant a lot of us are doing the jobs of one, two, three or more people in addition to our regular activities. But sometimes, a "stretch" assignment pops up. Don’t be afraid to take this on... not only can you learn new things, you can also test ideas and concepts you may have already known but never put into use. Additionally, you could get exposed to a different work group, therefore exposing yourself to new ideas while growing your skill sets. Bosses tend to notice workers who take these stretch assignments and see these employees as ones who demonstrate initiative. And that can be a good case for promoting you!

Think proactively about your career in 2013 by understanding that everything you do, every minute of every day, adds into the bigger picture of who you are, what people think of you, and what opportunities come your way. Take the new year as an opportunity to work on YOU and help build up career momentum.