Has anyone asked you about your New Year's resolutions? It's not too late to scare up a few, although it is January already. Aside from really sticking with that exercise program this time, maybe you should think about your career and plot out a few objectives to achieve this year.
1. Revisit Your Resume
Even if you're not planning a move any time soon, take a look at your resume. When was the last time you updated it? If you're like most people, it was just before you took the job you have now. You heave a sigh of relief and put it right out of mind ... until the next time you're ready to start hunting again. Then comes the struggle to capture what you've done in the meantime. If more than 12 months have passed since you've thought about your resume, do it now.
What have your achievements been in the past year? Before you feel any impending job search pressure, set aside an hour or two to review. Make a bullet list of your wins - the proposal you wrote that was funded, the router problem no one else could solve, the test script you wrote. Don't forget to include group projects, or participating in interdepartmental efforts.
Coming up blank? Does it seem like a blur of day-to-day activities? Try reviewing your calendar. Sometimes your record of appointments, meetings and deadlines can jog your memory. Still nothing? This is the best reason to make the next resolution. And while you have the calendar in front of you, pick a date six months from now and schedule yourself for the next review.
2. Learn Something New
Most of us in technology learn new things all the time. It's like being a shark; swim or die. But I'm talking about something more deliberate for your career growth. Make the commitment to take a formal course or move towards certification in your area of specialization. Or get some training in a developing technology. Stretch yourself beyond what feels comfortable.
You might choose to learn more about your industry sector. Who are your company's competitors? What do you know about them? How does this affect me, you might think? Well, IT is increasingly strategic, though it may not be evident in your enterprise yet. You may be surprised by how easy it is to find out about the ways your competitors are using technology to extend their reach into the marketplace or increase their production efficiency. All of the big equipment companies extol the miracles achieved by installation of their products in various vertical industries. You can read about it on their websites. Or in the multitude of magazines we all receive. The trick is to pay less attention to the technology and more to the company being profiled.
While the "Me Too" model isn't always right, it can get you into the conversation. The IT press reports that, increasingly, decisions about technology are being made by business users. Meeting these folks halfway by learning their language and objectives will open up doors for you. It also will help when you try to enlist support for spending scarce dollars to keep up with new developments. I'm sure you've noticed how business types get that glazed look when you get excited about some new techno-thrill that's been announced for the next quarter. If you can explain how it can produce a competitive edge in terms that non-IT people understand, you'll have a better shot at getting your point across. (Look for a column on the pitfalls of geekspeak later this year.)
3. No Whining
Job satisfaction is not a right. It's not even a given. You have to work at it like you would any other relationship. There are expectations on both sides. If you're lucky, you work in a place where they tell you what they expect, they tell you how you're doing and they listen when you tell them what you expect and how they're doing. So ... do you feel lucky?
Or are you in full complaining mode? A couple of jobs ago, I was there. Poor me, overworked and underappreciated, surrounded by fools and parasites. I carried on like this for two years. It took a lot of energy to keep the pity party going. My manager sat me down several times and told me to knock it off, but I didn't. The right thing to do would have been to ask me to move on. I wish he had; he would have done me a favor.
As a general rule, if you are griping, others probably are as well. It feels bad for everyone in a department without enough people to handle the workload or a clueless manager. This is no excuse. Misery certainly loves company, but you are responsible for yourself. You can take the effort you put into complaining and redirect it one of two ways:
- Devote yourself to improving the working conditions where you are; or
- Leave
That's it. Very simple. You're not a victim. You have choices. No one is making you stay in a situation that you hate. Resolve to do something about it. I'm not advocating that you declare your freedom in a dramatic exit, but I am urging you to quit whining and make a decision. Be quick to commit to the process of change, but deliberate over what you will do to make the actual change.
First, stop complaining. Listen to yourself and quit complaining. Second, stop listening to other people complaining. Change the subject or walk away if you have to. Vow to yourself that you won't be dragged back into it. Third, try to look at your situation with fresh eyes. Pretend that you're a new employee or find someone who is and ask for his/her viewpoint. Make a list of the pros and cons of your current situation. Find a neutral third party who doesn't work where you do, hasn't heard your sad stories before and isn't related to you to review the list. Listen to the opinion and don't argue if it's not the same as yours.
The point here is to try for objectivity about the situation and then make a plan to change it. How you change it is up to you. The important thing is the plan, and then how you proceed with that plan. Your resolution is to get moving and keep moving. (See #1 and #2, above).
If you decide that it's time for a job change, don't whine about the search process either. Finding the right job is hard, even in a gung-ho IT market like we have now. Lately, I've heard people complain that it can take as long as a month to get to an offer, what with the holidays and all. Or that no one wants to pay $75K for a web designer with a year of experience and two sites that are actually live. My resolution this year is to keep my sarcastic comments to myself.
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What are your resolutions? Email me at jamie@jobcircle.com and let me know. If I get some good ones, I'll be happy to share them next month along with some FAQs about Negotiating. Later this spring, this space will feature a Career Checkup. Would you like to be our subject? We'll keep all details confidential to preserve anonymity. Send a brief description of your situation to this address. We'll respond to all submissions and highlight one or two.
Enjoy this article? Read more of JobCircle.com's Career Coach articles.
Jamie Fabian spent more than 15 years as a human resources executive before changing careers to become a senior project manager for a growing IT consulting company. Now in management consulting for a large Pharma company, Jamie would like to be seen as a hybrid of Tom Peters, Tom Jackson, and Tom Wolfe, but spends too much time working, driving carpool and watching mindless TV to write more than this column. You can contact Jamie with questions and comments at jamie@jobcircle.com.
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