We are fast approaching that time of year where we reflect on the year that was and set our New Year’s resolutions for the coming year. It’s no surprise that career related New Year resolutions rank highly on people’s resolution priority list and it won’t come as a surprise that many people’s New Year’s resolutions fail and are long forgotten within a few weeks or months.
Whether your resolution is to change jobs or find a new career path; get a pay rise or be promoted, how you go about setting your New Year’s resolution will have a huge impact on your success in achieving it. If all you do is simply set a New Year’s resolution, you’ll be destined to fail.
Where do we go wrong when setting a New Year’s resolution?
You don’t write them down or share them
Are you guilty of setting New Year’s resolutions and letting them float around in your head? When we write down our resolutions and share our resolutions with our colleagues, friends, a coach/mentor or even our manager; we greatly improve the chances of achieving them. By writing them down you can keep them somewhere visual so they are front of mind every day. By sharing our resolutions we can enlist the help and support of others to help keep us motivated, on the right track and accountable.
You don’t understand your real motivations
Many people decide over the Christmas holiday period that it’s time for a career change. The thought of being in the same job, or environment, or with the same company or industry for another 12 months makes you nauseous. Hence, your New Year’s resolution is to change jobs. But will a new job really give you the satisfaction you are seeking or will it be great for the honeymoon period and will you be back feeling the same way once the novelty wears off? You might not need a change of job; maybe you need a decent holiday or a new project or a new challenge in your current role. Are you feeling this way because you are burnt out? Jumping ship doesn’t always solve the problems and understanding what is motivating you and driving you to set a particular News Years resolution is crucial for success.
You fail to put in place a plan of attack
Let’s say your New Year’s resolution is to get a pay rise. You can ask your boss at any stage throughout the year for a pay rise and maybe you’ll strike it lucky and they’ll agree. However if you really want to increase your chances of being given a pay increase, you need a plan. In this scenario, your plan might include talking to your manager and getting feedback on your current performance and what you need to do to exceed expectations and be eligible for a pay increase. You need to do your market research to see how your salary compares to your industry, job responsibility and market rates. Your plan will have clear timelines for when you are going to complete each stage of the process. Having a plan will give you direction, clarity and arm you with the information/data needed to give yourself the best shot of achieving your New Year’s resolution.
Instead of setting New Year’s resolutions this year, reframe it in your own mind and set SMART Goals instead. SMART Goals are Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Relevant – Timely. You’ll have much better clarity around what you want to achieve, a detailed roadmap for achieving success and a much greater chance of achieving your SMART Goal New Year Resolution.
