CareerTOOLBOX: 10 Ideas to Help Advance Your Career in 2012

By Alex Sukhoy

The new year has arrived and as lower unemployment figures offer hope for American workers, it’s a marvelous time to do a career audit and determine if things are on track or if it’s time for a change. Regardless of motivation, there’s several things we can all do to advance the career path in 2012.

1. Build and Nurture Your LinkedIn Account – If there’s nothing else that you plan on doing differently this year, then get this done. And realize that it’s an on-going process. Recruiters, schools and perspective employers now use LinkedIn as a first stop to scan a potential candidate. Plus, the free version of LinkedIn now also provides a job search menu that currently has a much higher credibility of posts than the “work from home” clutter often seen on other job sites. Additionally, according to Jamie Ginsburg, Social Strategist with Cleveland Groove, “Add your social media links, at the very least LinkedIn, on your business cards.”

2. Change Perspective on Facebook – With nearly a billion members, Facebook can now connect you to just about everyone you’ve ever met, since you were a child. And all those connections know people from various industries and firms, in multiple locations, both domestically and internationally. Watch what people are posting and, mostly, watch what you post and make sure the latter is appropriate for your highest level of audience: bosses, students, coworkers, etc. People generally want to help each other out, especially if there’s a common bond, and Facebook is the perfect starting place to explore new possibilities.

3. Reciprocate Generosity – As I often tell my students, “Don’t be that guy, the person who always asks for help / favors / leads / introductions, but never does anything to step up and offer the same.” Eventually, people will catch on to which side of the fence of you fall and you’re the person on whom others can lean, then they will be much more open to lend a hand to you. It’s all about the energy exchange and about balance.

4. It’s Not What You Do Online, It’s What You Take Offline – No matter how much social media you use, realize that meeting people in person, over coffee or breaking bread, creates a much stronger relationship foundation than all the emails in the world. Challenge yourself to, at minimum, meet with one new person every single month. What can you learn from him? What can you teach her? How can the two of you help each other succeed?

5. Invest in Thank You Notes – Go out and purchase a nice box of Thank You stationery. Look for a professional look, applicable for both male and female recipients, and whenever someone does something kind for you — opens a door, introduces a key contact, reviews your resume — send them a nice, hand-written Thank You note. They won’t expect it and chances are, they’ll keep it, for awhile, which means they’ll keep you on their mind. If budget allows, print monogrammed, blank notes for a personal touch.

6. Join a Professional Organization – Whether it’s the local chapter of your university, a trade group or a new community initiative, attending on a monthly or quarterly basis will enable you to meet new people with common interests. These people often come from different backgrounds and can provide insight into new trends and directives that are unfamiliar to you. And, if you’re not finding an organization that peaks your curiosity, start one!

7. Take a Class. Teach a Class. – Technology is constantly changing. Companies often require certain skills or certifications. Students ask a lot of questions. By either sitting behind a desk, or by standing in front of a white board, you’ll learn something new that you can then apply in your job or that business you always wanted to start. And teaching forces the mind to stretch and ensures that you’re at the top of a specific subject or trade.

8. Learn a Language – The world is getting smaller. American companies are expanding into foreign lands. International firms are opening U.S. branches. They are looking for people that don’t just know how to speak the language of choice, but also individuals who understand the local culture, customs and etiquette. And, if speaking anything besides English isn’t your cup of tea, then learn how to write computer code, the universal language.

9. Start a Blog – True, there’s a million blogs out there, with a million bloggers writing whatever they want, some who have a journalism degree and some who just want to express themselves. But who is expressing your voice? Who is communicating your ideas with the world at large? It’s one more platform-building avenue and is a perfect social media compliment.

10. Set Achievable Goals – While the above ideas are all here to help you advance your career in the new year, they can only help you if you think about and then write down exactly what it is that you want to professionally achieve over the next twelve months — promotion, bonus, move. Then determine how the various tools available to you can help you in achieving these goals. Adds Jamie, “Be sure to (also) set goals for social media and track the progress quarterly or monthly. For LinkedIn, each time you connect to somebody, you are giving them the best business card of your life. How many business cards do you want to give out this year?”

[Pictured: Tri-C film students pitch their projects to Evan Lieberman and Jen Poland of Invasion Films]

Alex Sukhoy, a globally-networked creative and business professional with two decades of corporate management experience, is founder and manager of Creative Cadence LLC, a growth planning, career development and original content agency. Her career coaching skills have resulted in numerous success stories for her clients. Alex teaches Screenwriting at Tri-C, Business Environment at CSU and, in 2006, she was profiled in BusinessWeek.com.

Her five-star rated novella Chatroom to Bedroom: Chicago just became available on iTunes and Chatroom to Bedroom: Rochester, New York is currently available on Amazon. Alex is currently writing two new relationship books: The Dating GPS™, with childhood friend Anita Myers, and Diary of the Dumped™, a solo project.

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