While the most popular New Year's resolutions revolve around self-care many also scream self-help and unsurprisingly increasing support for oneself coincides all-too-often with a career or job change. The foundations for being happy in a job include good pay, room for progression, and a positive company culture. When those foundations are disrupted the statistics show that our needs are not met and we begin to lack what we need to succeed and contribute.
So, if you're one of the many who find yourself seeking a career or job change why not roll it into a New Year's resolution and jump-start 2023 with the right steps toward fulfillment?
Our team sieved through countless tips online on this very topic to find you the most helpful words of wisdom.
Top Tips to Start the New Year With a New Career:
- Be Intentional: This tip comes right from Forbes magazine, and it says so much quickly. Being intentional requires recognizing that where you want to go is not where you currently are and having agency in the situation. Knowing what you need to get where you want to go gives you the reflection essential to fill the gaps and reach your new goal with realistic expectations on your progress, timing, and results.
- Take Stock: Another good tip courtesy of Harvard Extension School outlines 'taking stock' as assessing your values, interests, personality, and skills (VIPS) and seeing where these findings intersect with a career path or role you are interested in. The value you can get out of your role is related to the value you can give and some of the factors that determine this are hard-wired into who you are as a person and how you live, or want to operate, your life.
- Seek potential job prospects: Thank you, indeed! We can't forget this step. There are countless pathways to finds new opportunities online. We recommend first boiling down what your findings were from your assessment (stock-taking) and then searching out industries and opportunities who value the types of qualities and credentials you're bringing. You may find opportunities you didn't even know were meant for you!
- Rebrand YOU: You've heard it before but you are your own brand. If you're looking to make a job or career switch looking over your social presence, updating your LinkedIn profile, adjusting your resume, and writing down that which aligns you to where you want to go can help you contextualize yourself, as a 'brand', that is 'on-brand' with your hopeful new career or employer. Thoughtful tips on rebranding for a career change here.
- Stay Open: This one is from us and it's a tip that combines networking with simple social investment. This means that right now is the time to stay open and not closed off to people, events, invitations, and conversations that may support and guide you toward your new path. Don't hesitate to let your circle, and their circle, or even people you reach out to for mentorship or 'coffee chats' online, know that you're exploring new career possibilities and use your newfound intentionality (step 1) to clearly advocate for yourself and your credibility.
- Apply: Go get 'em! OCC is a place to support you in your quest to start a new career, whether it's from scratch or as a switch from previous roles. Employers on our platform are specifically hiring students and recent graduates in Canada. So, while the advice within this blog post is about switching a career or role it is also all applicable to starting a career or role right out of university or college.
If you don't see what you are looking for here, there are so many job sites to begin your journey. Please don't hesitate to tell us if you see an opportunity elsewhere that you want to see here. We're happy to reach out to the employer and make sure their next posting is here, for you, on our platform. :)