7 things your wardrobe can teach you about re-evaluating your career at year-end
Year-end is when I do my annual wardrobe overhaul. You know, that dreaded time for fashion hoarders like myself, when you pick and choose between the clothing pieces you want to keep and the ones you want to keep let go of. If you’re like me, then you know you always want it all, the 60’s dress and the new mod pair of culottes (yes, there’s such a thing). But you know that in order to build a bigger better wardrobe, you need to periodically re-evaluate the one you have, re-assess what you’ve got, what you need and where you’re going with all that fashion stuff (in addition to considering you may have to ask your bestie for storage room).
The same goes with your career: every now and then, you need to take stock of where you are, what you have, and where you’re going. Except your career tends to pay the bills your wardrobe creates. But I digress….
For many of us, it’s especially timely since year-end is also when we perform our own self-assessments at work. Many employers use this time to conduct year-end performance reviews, or generously hand out year-end bonuses
(which can also be used to patch your wardrobe overhaul, but I digress again…).
Yet in the middle of all the (late) Christmas wrapping boxing (ain’t nobody got time to wrap), how do we find the time, resources and energy to re-evaluate something as big as our careers, when some of us have a hard time deciding between the mock neck black dress and the red pencil skirt for Christmas dinner (did I digress again?). How do we pinpoint exactly the aspects of our day-to-day work that keep us motivated, those that bore the heck out of us, and where we honestly picture ourselves in the next 12 months (other than laying on the beach in Punta Cana sipping on some blue shade of tequila…)
Since I do have to tick to my wardrobe re-assessment this year, I might as well share these 7 tips that all this clothing overhauling year-end business can impart on your own career. Plus it’s more fun to think of your career as a big giant closet of fashion goodies, than your own disorganized, overflowing overhead cabinet at work (you know you have one).
Thing One: Start with asking yourself this question: Is your career (or your wardrobe) still making you happy? Is it still fulfilling you, make you jump out of bed (or at least stop hitting the snooze button for the tenth time)? Or do you think of work like you think of that unfortunate handkerchief dress your aunt wore last New year’s eve? The point is, start by honestly assessing how you feel today about the work you are still doing. If this question is making you break in hives, go to Thing 2…now!
Thing 2: Review Your Career Goals. Just like your wardrobe, you must set intentions in your career (believe it or not, fashion has a purpose, including projecting an image of who you are, promoting yourself all the while having an insane amount of fun). What were the goals and intentions you set for yourself this year? Did you achieve them, or did you fail miserably? Did you modify your goals and take a different direction? Or are you planning on modifying them this year? Pay attention to what you come up with when asking yourself these questions. You may just as much realize you’ve reached a career milestone, or that your closet does not at all represent who you are today.
Thing 3: Review Your Year. Just as you may re-play in your minds all your favorite styles you’ve sported all year long, you may want to replay in your mind the accomplishments you’ve realized this year. Or the ones you’ve unfortunately missed. What new skills have you learnt? What opportunities have you taken advantage of, and which ones have you miserably let pass you by? In other words, are you better today than you were 12 months ago as related to your career? And as it comes to your wardrobe, do you like it better today than you did 12 months ago, floral prints and gladiator sandals and all?
Thing Four: Assess where you stand. You know how you look at your wardrobe, and suddenly realize you’ve been living in the 80’s for the past year or so. Yes, it happens…In the same way, take a look at your career as it is right now. Where are you in your career? Are you where you should be, or are you still living in the same entry-level world you’ve started in? Are you happy with where you are, with your current employer and your current responsibilities? Or are you noticing a load of factors that have hindered (or helped) your career growth? What strengths and weaknesses are you aware of?
Thing Five: Picture Your Future. After all the analyzing-yourself-and-putting-yourself-in-perspective, now comes the fun part. Just like you would envision a brand new, maybe more sophisticated, less 80’s, more professional wardrobe, you would envision the kind of career you would see yourself striving in. What do you want to do more of (or less of) in your career? What’s the next step in your career? Where do you see yourself in the next 12 months, 5 or 10 years?
Thing Six: Determine your career action plan. Now let’s get to work. What will you do to get the wardrobe, or the career, of your dreams? What do you need to get yourself ready for that shift? How should you position yourself to get to the career (or wardrobe) of your dreams? The same way you may need to start shopping at Ann Taylor instead of Forever 21, you may want to consider whether you need to switch employers, departments or even fields.
Thing Seven: Share the Vision. It’s one thing to have a clear vision of where you want to go, in your career or fashion-wise. Yet it’s another to really assess whether your plans are feasible or not. And part of this process is to share your vision so others can act as sounding boards to your dreams. Meet with your mentors, or even a trusted manager or colleague, to discuss your current plans and get additional advice as to how to make it all happen.
So tell me, are these 7 elements present in your Year-End Career Re-evaluation Checklist? And if you don’t have such a checklist, no worries, I’ve prepared one for you here!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR CHECKLIST!
Now do me a favor, and add a comment below letting me know if you have any additional steps to add to this list, or if you’re having difficulties with any of these.
Now I have some wardrobe analysis to go do…
With Love,
The Corporate Sis.
