How To Get Rid Of Your Career Hangover

images-1When it comes to making your New Year Career Resolution you need to make sure you do not carry bad habits over from one year to the next. Your career hangover needs to end with the confetti clean up and the empty bottles of bubbly. What does that mean to you? Well, if you are out of work there may be a good reason for why you have not found a job-do you know what is standing in your way? If you are currently employed and wonder whether you are in the right job- what steps have you taken to evaluate your street-cred and your overall value to your current employer?

It’s easy to get lost in making a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Yes, all of that is helpful but when it comes to really making a shift in your career strategy you need to be real and ask yourself what you DON’T want from your job or from your future career goals. Some people get stuck when you ask them to make a list of what is working vs. not working in their career lives. The idea of writing down what you want sometimes is a daunting task especially if you do not know what you want or even what it will take to get it?

It’s funny, but when you ask people what they don’t like about their current job-no problem, the list is rambling litany on everything from the lousy commute to the lack of pay or career growth. It’s okay to start with the negative, because in order to know what you do want, you got to be clear on what you don’t want. The idea is that, in order to be focused on your career goals, you’ve got to get rid of what is standing in the way. Like clearing out a closet or old sock drawer, acknowledging what is not working for you is the first step in getting you to recognize what you might like to achieve moving forward.

It might seem counter intuitive to you to focus on negative issues in your career life. But, what you are doing is calling out the very things that don’t work for you so that you know moving forward you won’t repeat past mistakes. The choice is always yours to make a move and to know if you are ready and willing to do what it takes to get the job you want. If you hate your boss but know that if you stick it out for another year it will help you in the long run with your career progression-your choice do you stay or do you go? You may feel like you are underpaid but you don’t have enough experience or confidence to ask for a raise-your choice do you stay or do you go? You love your job but you hate the commute and are thinking of pitching a proposal that will make it easier for you to work from home vs. spending your time in the car- your choice, do you stay or do you go?

Having the courage to ask the tough question about what is not working for you and focus on how that makes you feel will make the decision about what you do want a lot easier. Go ahead and indulge in that career hangover because you may be much clearer the morning after.

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