Renew Your Career With These 3 Easy Tips

For many of us, the new year becomes a time for unleashing a better, healthier, more efficient, gym-friendly version of ourselves. If you’ve pinpointed your career as an area to work on, keep reading. Here are three instant ways you to give your career a makeover.

1. Learn a New Skill

Learning a new skill is a fast way to raise your game, especially when you’ve decided it’s something you want to do versus being required to do so.

Use your initiative to brainstorm areas you’d like to develop that interest you and will enhance the work you do. It’s likely there could be opportunities for professional development at your company if you research or ask.

In addition, there are plenty of online resources at your fingertips if there’s something you want to learn in your own time. For example, Udemy provides a global marketplace of over 80,000 online video courses, with new additions published every month. In addition, Coursera has partnered with top universities from around the world, including Yale University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Edinburgh, to provide hundreds of online courses, from computer science to financial accounting and beyond.

According to Harvard Business Review, 87 percent of Coursera students reap the rewards in the form of a raise, higher paying job or starting a new business. Making the decision to learn something new will keep you stimulated at work and demonstrate to your bosses that you’re a self-starter, so it’s a win-win all round.

 2. Update Your Bio

Whatever stage you’re at in your career, you need to have a bio. If you don’t have one, now’s a great time to start. Trust me, you can’t anticipate when you might be asked for one and producing one from scratch in a hurry isn’t any fun at all. If you already have one, fantastic, but don’t rest on your laurels. It’s smart to update your bio at least once a year.

I advise my coaching clients to have two versions of their bio always on hand. The first one should be a short, succinct version that would be no more than a paragraph, or two max. The second version will be more detailed, but no more than one-third of a page.

Less is more. I always reinforce this. The most compelling bios are the ones that are short and impactful. You need to showcase who you are and your talents, but that doesn’t mean using your bio to recount every single achievement or job you’ve held in chronological order. Use short sentences to share your biggest accomplishments and summarize your career highlights.

Make sure you have a great headshot on file, too. This does not a include the selfie that generated a ton of likes from one of your social media accounts. If you’re serious about your career you need to invest in professional photography. Make sure your image is a high-resolution image file, that way it can be used in print if needed as well as online.

3. Reorganize Your Workspace

Creating a workspace you love can transform how you work. Even better, it’s super simple to do. Investing the time to create an organized space that looks amazing will motivate you every time you use it.

Think strategically about the tasks you need to complete at your desk and make the space for them. Create a home for your essential items that you use throughout the day. If you don’t need it at your fingertips, create a place to store it neatly away. Take pride in your workspace and cut the clutter.

You can also have fun at the same time, by injecting your personality into your workspace by introducing your favorite color combinations. Treat yourself to new desk accessories, stationery and supplies to fit with your desk design theme. Introducing curated accessories, a beautifully framed print or a potted plant can transform a desk from drab to a space you’re proud to work in.

Finally, make it a habit to tidy your desk at the end of each day. That way you’ll start each day with the perfect platform to do your very best work. There are bonus points to be gained, too. Without saying a word, maintaining a, sleek, organized workspace will instantly project a professional, polished persona to everyone around you.

Tell Us What You Think

Have you made a small change that had a big impact on your career? We want to hear from you. Share your story in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter.

Octavia Goredema is a career coach and the founder of Twenty Ten Talent. Find her on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @OctaviaGoredema.