A guest post today from career expert Rebecca Vertucci.
Well ladies, supposedly it is spring. Many of us are still dealing with winter weather, but hey, it’s April. And there is at least a promise of warm weather approaching. If you’re like me, you may have Spring Cleaning on the mind. Time to get rid of some old items and make room for some new fun finds!
This got me thinking about ways we can use this spring to clean up some areas in our career. Let’s get rid of those dusty, dirty cobwebs that have been holding us back in our career and “spring” into a fruitful new season.
As women, we are usually juggling so many priorities, and our ability to be successful will come down to where we focus, and where we DON’T focus. Cleaning out your career closet will be about getting rid of some things that are holding you back while helping you focus on the things that matter most. Let’s do this!
Stop second-guessing yourself.
Much of what holds us back in our career is our own self-limiting beliefs. As women, we tend to wait until we feel we have ALL of the qualifications before we try something new. Whereas our male counterparts often jump first and figure out the details later. There is something to be said for having the confidence to go for things, even when we are not ready. I would bet that you’re more ready than you realize, and the only one who doesn’t know that is you!
Clean up your skills sections.
Whether on your resume or online profiles, it’s important that you take time every 4-6 months to really update your skills section. This is the number one way that people find you online and the number one thing recruiters look at when your resume hits their desk. Skills sections should include your technical skills (programs you work in and know how to use) and your in-demand skills and titles for your industry. If you’re not sure what those are, run a google search and see what articles exist that highlight information about in-demand skills or skills gaps that exist for your industry. If you have those skills, add them to your profile and resume!
Stop putting everyone else first.
This is the number one mistake I see ambitious career women making. They put the priorities of others first: their boss, their clients, their family, their friends. And then, if there is any tiny ounce of energy left, they ‘might’ take care of their own priorities. But as we know, there usually isn’t any energy left for that! And so their priorities keep falling to the bottom of the list. One thing I’ve been working on is waking up earlier in the morning (maybe 15 or 30 minutes) and spending time deciding how I want to focus my time for that day. I am very intentional and I don’t make it about work or family or others. What are the top 2 or 3 things I need to do today so that I feel successful? I promise, if you put yourself first, you’ll be way better at helping others.
Clear out distractions.
We are great at keeping busy! And being busy can ‘feel’ really important. And so we fill up our day with lots of ‘things’ to do. And often those things even seem related to what we want but are really just distractions. Example: one of your goals is to set up a coffee date with a leader in your organization or industry. Reaching out to set up that meeting would take 10-15 minutes, max. Instead, we spend an hour online researching them, then, we feel like we aren’t smart enough to reach out to them, so we need to read up on the industry some more, and we definitely want to get some practice in before we set up that meeting, so let’s go talk to some of our friends first, and oh wait, I forgot about that person I know who knows them, I should definitely talk to them first… and then days go by, and then weeks, and what could have taken 15 minutes never gets done. (Insert all goals). Stay focused, take bold action, get things done. Stop the distractions.
Stop playing small.
We hold ourselves back. Not always because we lack confidence, not always because we know we’re doing it, but usually because we think we are not ready. We tell ourselves that we will be ready to do that big thing one day in the future. Once we do XY AND Z. Well, ladies, I’d argue that you’re ready RIGHT NOW to go for your big goals. Make 2018 the year of playing big! Go for the promotion, engage the bigger company, ask to be put on the larger accounts, get more visible, be boldly great. You can do it, and your industry needs you to do it! We need more women in the workforce taking bold action to effect greater change. No more sitting on the sideline and playing small. The world needs us.
Start focusing on relationship building.
No matter what you do, no matter your industry, no matter your role, no matter your goals… it’s ALL about who you know. Relationships are the currency of life (that’s a little quote I came up with myself). At LinkedIn, we say “Relationships Matter”… whatever your philosophy or catchphrase, we all know that every opportunity we’ve had in life came down to who we know. Relationship building is a two-way street. Think of all of those people you can help with their goals and all of the people who can help you get to where you want to go and keep those relationships a priority. Send a text, set up a phone date, meet up for coffee, check in and ask how they are doing, offer our help or support, make it matter. In life, it’s one of the only things that really does matter.
Hopefully, you’re motivated to do some career spring cleaning! I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below about which items you’ll focus on from above, or even your own ideas of how to check-in on your career goals this spring, and preparing for big success ahead.
I’m Rebecca Vertucci. I have an online business helping savvy professionals transform their career and I work at LinkedIn training recruiters all over the globe how to find and hire great talent (like you)! I work daily to try to bridge the gap between employers and employees and I thank you for taking some time to read some of my ideas on how to do that. If you’d like to learn more about my coaching programs, online classes, and workshops, you can find me online: my website, Facebook and LinkedIn. Let’s connect!
Check out Rebecca’s previous article, Five Ways To Be A Branding Badass in 2018.