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Amid the bustle of the holidays, this time of year reminds us that a new year is around the corner -- and that means it’s time to begin setting our career goals for 2024.

However, December is also the ideal time for taking stock of what happened with our careers in 2023, especially when it comes to evaluating our accomplishments and even assessing what we would have liked to have gone differently. Taking this step now will help you set clear goals for 2024.

But how do we tackle this during SUCH a busy time of year?

Instead of: Jumping to set your new career goals for 2024…

Try: Taking stock of your career in 2023 now to get even greater clarity on what you want for your career next year.

1. Pick a time and place to reflect. It’s that most wonderful time of the year…and you are very busy. That’s why you need to intentionally set a time and place to reflect on 2023. Maybe it’s a quiet spot at your local library, or a coffee shop with a peppermint latte. Maybe it’s a weeknight when you are done working. The most important thing is to set a time and pick a place – and commit to it – allotting 30 minutes to an hour to reflect.
2. Start with evaluating your 2023 career highlights. 

   What comes to mind when you think about your career highlights? Maybe you won a promotion or got a new client. Maybe you got a new job! But what else? Dig deeper. Make sure you recognize and take ownership of things you deem a success – even if others didn’t. The small stuff is equally important as the big wins.

   Maybe you helped a team member get promoted, or had that difficult conversation with your boss, or asked for feedback even when you were super nervous to do it. Maybe you went to a networking event (and you hate networking!) or you made new contacts at the conference you attended, or you did an exceptional job in a high-stakes meeting. Keep the wins coming – you will be in awe of how amazing you are!

3. Capture what you would have liked to have happened differently. 

   Reflecting on what you would have liked to have gone differently this past year is different from capturing your career losses or focusing on your weaknesses. These are learning opportunities for how you might change up an approach to solving a problem, or how you might communicate something differently, or how you might address a team member in a different way.

   If you find yourself beating yourself up (I wish I had spoken up during that meeting! I should have left my job right then! I KNEW I should have asked for that promotion when I had the chance!), you are wasting energy trying to change something that is in the past. If you find yourself getting into this frame of mind, reposition these failures as learning opportunities. Write down what you learned, which is a gift.

4. Assess your reflections for themes and even “ah ha!” moments. Congratulations, you did it! You reflected on your 2023 career. What can you take away from this exercise? Spend some time answering that question. Maybe it was a better year for you than you thought. Maybe you are feeling it’s time to make that major career change you have been noodling. Maybe you want more from your role and feel you can make a bigger impact. All of this insight is invaluable. You now have data that you can use to set your goals for 2024 in a much clearer, more deliberate way.

Goal setting is always a great idea when it comes to our careers – it’s how we drive career happiness. Reflecting now on your 2023 career year will help you get clear on what you really want for yourself professionally – and personally – in 2024!

We’ve all been there: waiting to hear if you got the job (or not). These moments may rank as some of the longest you can remember. Will you be penning your resignation, or did you lose out to another candidate?

Instead of: Waiting anxiously for the call to come in…

Try: Putting this time (and your nervous energy) to good use.

1. Take stock of the situation. When exactly are you supposed to hear from the recruiter or HR contact? Do you have a timeline? Sometimes you don’t get a firm date by when you can expect to hear about an offer. This means days and weeks can go by with no word. Does that mean you didn’t get the job, but the recruiter didn’t close the loop (ghosting, it happens!)? Or is there an unexpected delay on their end? All this time you spend worrying, you may be missing out on other employment opportunities.

If you don’t have a clear timeframe, call or email your point of contact and ask: When will I know when you have made a decision? By taking charge you will feel more in control, and be better able to plan your next move if it doesn’t work out.

2. Evaluate other opportunities. While it’s a good rule of thumb to not put all your eggs in one job-hunting basket, it’s very easy to forget this (or throw it out altogether) when a job offer seems imminent. While you wait, take some time to keep the career momentum going.

Schedule concurrent interviews, explore a potential opportunity or company that interests you, or reach out to someone in your network for a long-overdue coffee date. This will remind you that you are an ideal candidate for many employment opportunities – not just one – and that many employers (plural!) would be lucky to have you.

3. Work on your personal branding. You are in charge of the perception you want others to have of you, and developing that perception requires consistent attention. Now is one of the BEST times to tend to your personal branding. You have worked on your resume, polished your answers to interview questions, and probably put some work into your LinkedIn profile. So why stop now that (maybe) your job hunt is coming to an end?

Evaluate your marketing tools and how they tell your career story. Make sure your skills, strengths, and recent accomplishments are on full display. Chances are you have learned (a lot) about who you are, or at least something new, when job hunting. Put that newfound knowledge into your personal branding tools now, while it’s fresh.

While waiting to hear about an offer can be the hardest part of job hunting, there are so many things you can do to use this time wisely. Take charge of this phase of your career, like you would any other. You may not only feel better, but actually come to enjoy the wait. Good luck!