One Resolution to Improve Your 2014 Career Outlook

According to US 105, getting a new job is the third most popular New Year’s resolution for 2014. Our philosophy at Nexxt is that you should always be thinking about getting a new job — even if that “new job” is the one you currently have.

In other words, you can never be complacent with your career. If you love your job, then now is the perfect time to make sure you’ll still love it in the future, by continuing to learn and grow. And, if you don’t love your job — or don’t have a job — the new year is the perfect time to focus on creating a better reality. But, simply resolving to get a new job is not a focused enough resolution.

So, what should your New Year’s resolution be?

Rather than simply resolving to get a new job, commit to specific actions that will help you get a new job — or grow in the job you are in.

In a recent Beyond.com survey, 55% of job seekers said that they are going to search for jobs on sites like Beyond.com in 2014. And 56% said they would receive matching jobs in email. (If you aren’t already receiving jobs by email, join Nexxt today to set up career alerts based upon your desired job title and location.)

At Beyond.com, we’re grateful to be part of so many people’s career plans, and have many exciting initiatives underway to continue to enhance the value we provide our members. Only 47%, however, plan to update their resumes. Our suggestion? If you are going to do one thing to improve your career in 2014, start with a commitment to updating your resume regularly. Whether you are looking for a new job or not, you should always be updating and improving your resume to make sure it reflects your most recent achievements and uses up-to-date keywords related to your chosen profession and industry.

Updating your resume helps you do several things:

• Apply to jobs as soon as you find them.
  If you see a job you want to apply to, you have an up-to-date, optimized resume to submit.
• Get found by recruiters.
  If you submit your resume to sites like Beyond.com, it ensures that recruiters who are searching our database can find an up-to-date resume. Quite often recruiters only search for recently updated resumes, so updating yours periodically improves your odds of being found.
• Network more easily.
  Updating your resume forces you to think about your job, and what you have accomplished. This means these facts will be top of mind. So, if you are networking (which you should also be doing), you’ll be ready to share recent achievements.
• Focus your career.
  Reflecting on what you are (doing or not doing) in your current job is a critical step to improving your career. As you update your resume, take a separate piece of paper to write one more thing on your timeline — the job and achievements you’d like to have. Use these to focus your job search, or to plan a strategy for continuing to grow at your existing company.
• Get a head start on updating your online profile.
  In today’s world of social media, coworkers, colleagues, friends, and recruiters will often seek you out. Translating your resume updates to your online presence will ensure they see who you are today.

Whatever your New Year’s resolutions are, best of luck in 2014, and happy New Year!