Be it resolved

New Year's resolutions have become the source of many jokes. It's kind of a shame because that makes it easier for us to ignore the good that can result when we actually live up to the promises we made to ourselves.

The unfortunate reality is that a very high percentage of our "self help" resolutions do limited, if any, good. Without comment on the merit of resolutions to lose weight or to stop smoking, I would like to suggest that now is a good time to set some career development goals. None of us will seriously argue that working towards career goals is unimportant or that it isn't effective. The problem is that the process of goal setting is hard work, and achieving the goals requires discipline over a long period of time. We let our enthusiasm and energy slip away in the mists of long workdays, the need to have a private life and the dozens of unplanned daily interruptions.

But we all know the truth! We need to periodically review our career status, set specific goals for the next few months and get serious about meeting them.

Goals don't need to be elaborate but they do need to support a career direction and they need to be measurable. For those who have not given serious thought to a career direction, here is an excellent first resolution - write out your career status and set a direction before 1/31/99.

I can think of dozens of specific career enhancing goals, here are a few as food for thought.

• Identify a technology you need to know more about - attend a training class on the subject.
• Read a book on how to write resumes - write your resume in three different formats.
• Start or join a group of peers that is serious about developing career management plans and will objectively help you develop and critique yours.
• Donate a generous block of time to a charitable, civic, or religious organization that needs help in your line of work. (I will devote a future column about why I think this is important to your career.)
• Write out your current career status and your goals - review them with your boss - once before 2/1/99 and again before 12/15/99.

Laugh about New Year's resolutions if you wish. But please don't treat your career goals as jokes. If you do, the joke may be on you.

Tom Whitley and the staff of Management Recruiters of Kannapolis, specialize in recruiting information systems, telecommunications, and networking professionals at both the technical and managerial levels. If you are interested in discussing career opportunities, if you need assistance with your recruiting efforts, or if you have comments about the Career Advisor contact Tom at tomwhitley@vnet.net.

Network World's online archive of Fusion Focus newsletters on Careers.