Engineering Trends

New Year's Resolution: Taking Stock of Your Career

by Todd Yuzuriha

The start of a new year is a great time to assess how you've done on the job during the past year, what you want to accomplish this year, and where your recent-past and near-future activities and accomplishments all fit in with your long-term career goals. On the surface, this "review" may seem like a pretty mundane task, but it can actually be an exciting and rewarding way to ensure you're on track to accomplish what you really want out of your working life.

Here are some tips for taking stock of your career — and making the effort worthwhile.

Capture Your Thoughts Electronically

Performing a career review works best if you can build upon what you've learned each year. To do this effectively, you need to keep track of what you learn and do along the way. Assemble your thoughts in an electronic file so that you can continually refer back to them, add to them as new thoughts come to you, or print them out so it's right in front of you.

Define Your Ultimate Career Goal

I know, I know. Your ultimate career goal may well be that you don't need to work anymore. But if it is, what do you need to do — what goals must you accomplish — to be able to retire early?

Answer some of the following questions:

• Do you want to stay strictly in engineering or move into management?

• Ultimately, do you want to be a big fish in a small pond, a small fish in a big pond, or something in between?

• What areas of engineering do you think will offer the most job security?

In answering these questions, include details you can use. Answering "why" or "why not," "how," and "when" will clarify your responses and help you prioritize as you move along.

Think in Terms of Skill Sets

As you reflect on your accomplishments of the past year, think in terms of the skills you gained. Consider both hard-core technical skills and soft skills, such as leading projects, working with customers, supervising the work of others, and being able to quantify the financial benefit of your work.

Define the skills you'd like to acquire this year. To achieve this, evaluate the work environment you currently enjoy. Assess whether you can attain these goals with your current job, or whether you need to go after additional responsibilities to fill other skill gaps. Talk with your manager about your plans, and ask for advice.

Visualize At Least One Step Ahead

While playing chess, you need to think at least one move ahead — preferably many moves ahead. Similarly, in your career you need to constantly contemplate how your current position can lead to your next career move.

By taking time to assess where you've been and where you want to go, you help ensure that your career stays on track. Such critical reviews also give more meaning to the day-to-day tasks you undertake, and provide a framework for achieving long-term goals.

Todd Yuzuriha is the author of How to Succeed as an Engineer: A Practical Guide to Enhance Your Career. For more information, go to www.engineeringsuccess.com.