3 Career Growth Hacks for the New Year

Here we are again, almost ready to begin 2016. Looking back, you may be wondering where 2015 went, or maybe your glad it's finally over. Either way, we're both moving on and have to make New Year resolutions. For some, maybe the focus of 2016 will be to grow in your career; attain the next level of a position or prove to your boss that you can take on more responsibilities (and are worth more). Let's talk about some hacks to improve your chances and finally achieve your career goals. 

1. Become (even) more organized

A lot of people get stuck and feel trapped because they simply don't have all their tasks and projects in efficient order. It's crucial to spend time understanding what needs to be done and when you will do them. Not only will this improve the accuracy and timeliness, but it will also improve the quality of work since.  Take time on Monday to plan out the week. Even 15 minutes in the beginning of the day to plan out the day.

Every one of you will have a different way of perfecting your routine, so there is never going to be a tell-all method. Take small steps toward achieving your organizational goal and you will be accomplishing more before you know it.

2. Create more learning time (Outside of Work)

This was a huge one for me in 2015. Randomly one day, I realized how much of my time was spent doing random stuff that didn't contribute anything to my personal development or goals. For example, I'd wake up and watch an episode of my favorite TV show before I started work in the morning. I was literally just vegging out and and I didn't really need to be. So I identified this as a great opportunity to spark some career growth and dove into a textbook for my next certification.

Now think of some time that you may have in your day where you might play video games 0r watch tv for multiple hours. Now take just a bit of that time and start something that will help you achieve your career goals. Learn some programming, do some coursera work, even start a personal project FOR work. It's important to note that removing all fun from your day is not advised, as you may quickly become depressed...and that will defeat the purpose of this article :)

3. Humbly Showcase your Achievements

This can be a very hard middle ground for some people to understand, but it's massively important to showcase your achievements without coming across as a self-centered, grade-a, jerk. Did you just fix a process or procedure that was sluggish or didn't work? Send a quick email to your team or your boss (or both) and highlight some of the stuff you did. This let's your boss know that you care, that you're actually doing your job, and you're doing it well.

On top of that, it simply let's people know you exist and are putting forth effort. The sooner you are identified as someone who invests in the business and other people, the faster you will achieve your goals.

Summary

We all have visions of where we want to be this 2016. While some may be far fetched...other's, like getting a promotion, are absolutely within your grasp. The list above are just a few things to get your mind going and to get you in the right track. I know I'll be doing the things above!

If you enjoyed this article, please 'like' it and share! I would also love to hear how everyone else is going to spark some career growth! Leave a comment!

Travis Romero
Founder, Family Data Security 
Information Security Professional