Five ways you can commit to your own career development this year

LinkedIn recently coined a new term for the latest trend to hit workplaces: ‘career committing’. While the aftermath of the pandemic saw record levels of burnout and dissatisfaction with established ways of working, culminating in disengagement and ‘quiet quitting’, the current gloomy economic climate is making people think again, and start really investing in their careers. 

LinkedIn’s research saw that nearly 60% of employees are making positive changes at work in the face of darkening economic skies, including proactively taking on new projects (39%), networking more (35%) and making more of an effort with colleagues (30%). And a whopping 74% are looking to invest in new skills to improve their careers.

But figuring out how best to actually invest in your career success can be tricky - especially when you’re having to tighten your purse strings - so we’ve looked at five easy ways you can commit to your own career development this year.

Commit to your values and motivators

Understanding who you are and what really makes you tick is vital to committing to your career. Identifying and analysing what you value, what motivates you and what your strengths are can help you understand whether your current role and focus is aligning with what gives you energy. 

If it’s not, then having a clear idea of what motivates you and where your strengths lie can help you plot a different career path, for example reaching out to people in roles you find interesting to find out more about what they do, or volunteering for new projects or initiatives that allow you to flex more of your motivators at work. 

Commit to adopting a growth mindset

Having a growth mindset means being open to learning more and challenging what you think you already know. Not dismissing ideas and opportunities because you think they’re wrong for you or because you don’t think you’re good enough, but instead looking at them as possibilities for learning and development. 

Committing to have a growth mindset means being a work in progress, to approaching new challenges without fear, and to not being afraid to ask for help or to admit what you don’t know. And when you approach learning new skills with an open mind, you’ll be more likely to absorb what you’re being taught and take that knowledge and expertise forward.

‍Commit to building your career community

Work, like pretty much everything in life, is more rewarding and enjoyable when done with other people. Fostering a sense of community makes us feel more engaged in what we do, and helps us find more purpose and energy. 

Luckily we have a really easy way for you to find like minded people to help build your personalised community… Yes, you guessed it, joining Voco! We’ll connect you with relevant peers to workshop your career challenges and opportunities with, helping you build your own perfect career community. Investing time in impactful conversations with others can help you unleash your potential and commit to your career growth. Boom.

Commit to celebrating your wins and learning from your mistakes

Imposter syndrome can hit us all, wherever we’re at in our career journeys. But it’s more likely to take hold in times of uncertainty or just at the point where we’re ready to dive head first into the next big thing. To overcome it, commit to regularly reminding yourself what you’re good at and celebrate the wins that come your way. Make a daily list of everything you’ve achieved and every bit of positive feedback you’ve received that day; once you see everything in black and white, it’s so much easier to believe in yourself.

And in reverse, rather than overthinking and dwelling on your perceived ‘failures’, flip them round to see what you can learn from them. Maybe you’ve faced a similar situation previously and it all worked out ok, or maybe now’s the time to try something new, but the main thing to remember is that you are not a sum of your mistakes, and by reframing minor set-backs as opportunities for growth, you can commit to making positive changes to how you see yourself at work.

Commit to yourself. And others.

Accountability is a super boring word. Yep, we said it. But it’s also a really important one when it comes to career commitment. Designing a clear set of goals - and we like to think of goals in terms of outcomes not outputs by the way - and holding yourself accountable to them is one of the easiest ways to invest in your own career development.

And even better is having an accountability partner - like another Voco member for example - on board to help you on track. And when you commit to working with someone else to stay accountable to your goals, you’re also supporting them to stay true to theirs. Committing to your career is much easier when you don’t go it alone.

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