June 3, 2016
The Halfway Mark – You Better Pick up the Pace
It’s June, and the year is nearly halfway over.
So…how are those annual career goals coming along?
If you’ve already secured that raise, landed that promotion or been hired by your dream employer, congratulations! You don’t need to read this post.
But if you’re – ahem – a little behind in achieving your career goals, don’t get down on yourself. Use these tips to pick up the pace and reach your personal finish line by year’s end:
- Accentuate the positive.
You have a choice: focus on what you’ve failed to accomplish, or focus on what’s possible. If you find yourself thinking things like “I’ll never get this done,” or “I don’t have what it takes,” realize that these are just self-sabotaging thoughts – not facts! But if you believe them, they will keep you from pushing yourself during the second half of the year. So instead of thinking about what you haven’t done, focus on what you can do.
- Focus.
It’s been six months – are you feeling like you’ve bitten off more than you could chew? While setting multiple career goals is admirable, running yourself into the ground trying to achieve them isn’t. Figure out what’s most important for you to accomplish. Focus your effort there, and eliminate the rest. On December 31st you’ll be thanking yourself for hitting your primary goal – instead of kicking yourself for spreading yourself too thin and failing to hit any of them.
- Share your goals.
Tell your friends and family what you plan to achieve during the second half of the year. They’ll applaud your progress, encourage you when you experience setbacks, and hold you accountable along the way.
- Flip your thinking.
Instead of creating your action plan chronologically, try planning and working backward from the end of the year. Revisit each annual objective, starting with the final step you need to take to accomplish it. Set a deadline for that step, and then work backward to establish deadlines for completing previous steps. Working back from the end allows you to accelerate timetables without the “end of year panic” that stems from poor planning.
- Register with a staffing agency.
Want to broaden your job skills, explore a different career or gain valuable work experience? Temporary assignments with PrideStaff can help you achieve these career goals, faster. While you’re on assignment, we can actively search for direct job opportunities that match your skills, experience and interests.
