Work towards your professional goals – be the best you!

Understanding aspirations and achieving them in 2017 and beyond

As we enter a new year, we are surrounded by messages encouraging us to turn over a new leaf, to set goals for the New Year and work towards self-improvement. At M&T Resources we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve success. We believe in the merit of setting goals – focusing beyond the new year towards your long-term future. Understanding your aspirations, having the drive to achieve them, and setting concrete plans can be key to achieving success, both in your professional and personal lives. Building a support structure that can help you along your path is also invaluable.

Aspiring towards your own success

Through setting goals, we become accountable for the outcome of our efforts; our success becomes measurable. This could be running your first marathon, taking that trip on your bucket list, developing your professional skills, landing your dream job, or simply achieving your optimum work-life balance. You first need to establish what you want and why you want it – next year, in 5 years, 10 years…!

Your goals do not have to be large-scale, life-changing achievements in themselves, but can be smaller building blocks towards your own personal success, and ultimately your happiness. By taking the time to consider what you really want – both in 2017 and the future – you have a much greater chance of achieving it.

As recruitment consultants, our specialty is working with our clients and candidates towards their professional success. However, we believe that success in your personal life (health, family, relationships, hobbies) is closely linked to your performance in the workplace…feeling great about yourself outside of the workplace can fuel your ability to achieve the professional level you are striving for, so it is important to look holistically.

Setting up a process

Writing down your goals is widely believed to be effective when it comes to achieving goals, providing an extra layer of clarity, accountability, measurability and motivation. The satisfaction gained through crossing completed goals off your list is a great way to prevent your efforts from being dissolved by the day-to-day…you don’t want to find you are writing the same list next year!

Under each goal, noting down action points can be useful for outlining stepping stones along your greater path. Looking for a promotion? Identify areas you need to develop and plan these into your wider approach. Benchmarking yourself against someone already in your desired position can be a great way to assess where your skills and experience sit in relation. Remember, you want to outshine the competition, so addressing your skill-gaps early and putting a plan in motion to remedy them is essential…any inexperience will soon become evident in an interview!

Thinking positively and proactively

Positivity is key and will inform the way in which you are able to build relationships and stay motivated…we all have our bad days and our failures (small and large!), but staying optimistic, proactive and focused on your goals is a great way to stay on track. Always remember that while one application or interview may not have gone in your favour, there may be other (better!) opportunities around the corner – and perhaps one more suited to your personality or working style.

Remain confident and seek feedback, actively responding to any areas for development through undertaking training, or even taking on responsibilities to build upon your skill base outside of the office. This may prove invaluable for your next interview, give you the edge over another candidate, and you may even find your hidden passion along the way!

Developing a support structure

We all know that change can be daunting…but the great thing is that you should never have to go it alone! Developing a network of people who can work with you along your path can really provide you with the support structure you need to succeed. Family members, friends, colleagues and professional contacts can all play an important role in your journey…whether putting you in touch with that vital contact, or working with you through the challenges you encounter along the way. You want to surround yourself with the right people; those that will listen to you, support you and propel you forward.

By allowing people to understand your goals you may open doors you didn’t know existed. If you want to advance within your existing organisation, don’t be afraid to make your long term ambitions clear to your employer; you may be surprised at the level of professional support and development available to you, as well as the respect they have for your proactivity. If you’re looking externally, building a real connection with the right recruitment consultant can be extremely worthwhile…you may find your biggest advocate who can work with you, both on this step of your journey and along your career path in the future! Remember that they know their clients, they know who else is in the market and where you sit in relation, in terms of experience and expectations. Use their wealth of knowledge to your advantage and let them work with you towards achieving your next big step.

Most of all, trust yourself 

Believe that you can achieve your goals. Trust that if you put in the thought, perseverance and surround yourself with the right people, you can make it happen!

If you think it’s time to focus on your path to success…

Our recruitment team are specialists in helping junior through to executive-level candidates to secure their career ambitions. Get in touch with one of our passionate team…what are you waiting for?