How to Improve Your Career in 2011

With the dawn of a new year, now is the perfect time to evaluate how you can make improvements to your current career situation. Read on to learn about how some simple practices can work wonders for your career in 2011.


Update your resume - Whether or not you are actively looking for a job, it is always a great idea to keep your cover letter and resume up-to-date – just in case – the job of your dreams suddenly becomes available. Plus, it is always a good idea to think about both your accomplishments and goals at this time of year. Also, if you do not have an online presence, now is the perfect time to create an online resume and/or a LinkedIn Profile.


Learn a new career-related skill - Depending on your career, you can take a course at your local college, learn a new computer language, keep abreast of the news surrounding your industry, or take a personal development course. Any type of learning will surely make you a more interesting candidate for promotions and just make you a more interesting and well-rounded person in general.


Take care of yourself first – before you can be a helpful employee, you must first be in excellent health – both mentally and physically – yourself. In other words then, you should ensure that you are getting adequate exercise, proper nutrition, and proper rest. It is also important that you do not overwork yourself – as this activity will only result in burn out in the long run. Further, a good work-life balance can work wonders for your career as you will find that you will be more relaxed, focused and efficient during work hours.


Find a mentor and/or become a mentor – depending on the stage of your career, you should consider finding a role model to learn from or becoming one yourself. If you are thinking of trying to find a mentor, do not hesitate to do so as a mentor can offer you excellent guidance and advice. Remember also that a mentor does not have to be someone within your company – although it could as well. On the other hand, if you are at a comfortable stage in your career, you may consider becoming a mentor yourself. After all, becoming a mentor to another person as helping another individual achieve personal and professional success can be extremely rewarding for you.


To conclude, if you resolve to make just a few small positive career changes in 2011, you can achieve amazing results.



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Larisa Redins is a full time writer and editor with degrees in both Arts and Biological Science. She writes about career issues and other topics for a variety of international websites and magazines.