In the world of business, it’s crucial to keep your skills up to date and invest in your personal development. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 10 ways you can improve your personal and professional career in 2023.
1. Take a new class.
Improve your career prospects by learning something specific—like coding—that will make it easier for employers to see why they should hire you over someone else who has similar experience but lacks the skill set required by the job description.
Or sign up for an adult education class that isn’t related directly to what your job requires—but still helps boost overall professional development skills (e.g., presentation skills or networking tips). This can also be good if there is no formal training provided within your company already!
2. Set up weekly career coaching sessions.
We’re sure you’ve heard of career coaching before, but just in case, here are some points about what it is and why it’s so useful for your development.
A coach will help you to identify and define the best career path for yourself. They’ll also teach effective strategies for achieving your goals, including how to prioritise and organise them in order to stay on track.
Coaches can also help you identify strengths that aren’t being leveraged properly at work. They can also help prepare you for interviews by providing feedback on interview skills like communication style, body language and more.
3. Create a mission statement, goals, and values.
A mission statement is a simple and powerful tool for your work life. A mission statement gives you clarity on what matters most to you in the world, and it can help guide your day-to-day decisions. It’s something that will evolve over time, but we believe it’s an important starting point for defining who you are as an individual working with others toward a shared goal.
4. Evaluate your career plan.
Every year, it’s a good idea to take some time to evaluate your progress and assess where you are in terms of your personal and professional development. In 2023, this is especially important as you’ll want to make sure that you’re on track with your job search goals and that they align with the skills that employers are looking for.
To do this, ask yourself:
- What is my goal?
- What are my skills?
- What have I accomplished so far?
The answers to these questions will help guide the next steps in your career plan.
5. Take something you love and turn it into a work or business opportunity.
If you have skills, interests, ideas or passions that you would like to turn into a business, this is your time to do it! The internet has made it easier than ever for people like us to make money doing what we love.
Turning your passions into a viable income stream is one of the most rewarding things in life and can also help teach you lessons in both your personal and professional development.
6. Identify your “why” in work and life.
Another way to focus on personal and professional development is to identify your “why.”
When you know your purpose, the rest of your goals naturally follow. It is easy to become distracted when you aren’t sure why you are doing something or if what you are doing will achieve any results. By identifying the “why” behind a goal, it becomes easier for us to prioritise our actions and make decisions about what matters most in our lives and careers.
7. Learn how to network effectively.
If you’re looking to build your network, you have to be prepared. A good rule of thumb is, if you don’t know why someone would want to connect with you, then they probably won’t.
So what should you do?
First, make sure that your professional brand is consistent across all networks (social media accounts, LinkedIn profile, resume). Then prepare for any networking event by reviewing the guest list and researching some people before the event. Once there, keep in mind that this is not a job interview; be able to share accomplishments and goals but also be ready to ask for help when necessary. Finally—and perhaps most importantly—make sure that the conversations are two-way streets: listen carefully as much as talking!
8. Prioritise your personal health and wellness.
To give your personal and professional life the attention they deserve, you need to maintain a balanced lifestyle. If you’re not taking care of yourself, it’s much more difficult to focus on anything else in life. This can mean taking time off from work to relax and re-energise or establishing a regular exercise routine that provides physical and mental benefits. It also involves making sure you eat well and get enough sleep—both are key components of maintaining good health!
9. Update your resume with new skills and accomplishments.
Even if you’re happy in your current job, you should be updating your resume every few months to keep it fresh. You don’t want to be caught off guard if a job opportunity comes along and have to scramble to update your resume at the last minute.
You should also update your resume when you’ve made significant changes at work or added new skills or accomplishments that aren’t represented on your current resume. This can include promotions and salary increases, as well as any professional development courses or certifications related to your field of work (or even life in general!).
10. Don’t lose sight of yourself while building your professional life.
You’ve probably heard the saying “don’t lose sight of yourself while building your professional life.” Well, it’s true.
If you’re focused exclusively on one area of your life at the expense of another, you’ll be less effective in both arenas. In order to focus on personal and professional development in 2023 and beyond, it’s important to maintain a balance between work and home—and sometimes that means making sacrifices for your career or for family obligations. But this doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing endeavour: even small shifts in how you approach each aspect of your life can make a big difference overall.
The key takeaway here is investing in your personal and/or professional development can come in all shapes and sizes. Don’t let the year get you caught up in the routine and try and focus on a few of the above suggestions to help you continue to grow and flourish in whatever you choose to do.
