Theendoftheyearisoftenatimeofmanyeventswrappingupbusinessfortheyearwhilealsowrappingholidaypresents。Thisarticlepresentssomethingyoucangivetoyourselfsomethingthatyoucangetdoneduringtheholidaylulloroversomevacationdaysaquickandeasyprocessforexaminingwhatyouveaccomplishedinyourcareerthisyearandwhereyouwanttogowithitnextyear。 Ofcourse,youmayhavealreadydoneatleastsomepreliminaryworkonreviewingtheyearespeciallyifyouremployerhandsoutyearendbonusesorconductsyearendperformancereviewsandifso,thatsagoodplacetostartyouryearendreview。 Butunlikeyouronthejobperformancereview,thepurposeofthisarticleistosuggestyouconsiderconductinganevenmoreimportantassessmenttakingstockofyourcareer。Nowistheperfecttimetoreviewwhereyouare,whereyouvebeen,andwhereyouwanttogo。 Beforeyoubeginyourassessment,takeamomenttoaskyourselfthemostimportantquestion:AmIhappyandfulfilledbymyjobandcareer?Nomatterhowsuccessfulyouvebeeninthepast11months,ifyouarefundamentallyunhappywithyourwork,spendthevastmajorityof Dontrushyourreview。Considerusingaweekendoroneormoreofyourvacationdaystoreflectonyourcareer。Youdontneedtoandprobablyshouldntcompleteallsixstepsinonesitting。Breakitupoverseveraldaysifyoulike。 StepOne:ReviewCareerGoals。Didyousetanygoalsforyourcareerthisyearformallyorinformally?Mostpeoplehavesomeideaofwhattheywanttoaccomplishnextintheircareers,suchasgettingapromotionandorraiseorperhapsachievingbetterworklifebalance。Settingsomegoalsisanimportantactivitybecausegoalshelpprovidethefocusyouneedtomoveyourcareerforwardandtoavoiddistractionsoractivitiesthatmayslowyourcareerprogress(orworse,devalueyou)。So,ifyouhadanygoalsforthisyear,answerthesequestions: DidIachievemycareergoals? AmIsatisfiedwithwhatIdidrelativetomygoals? Didanythinghappentochangemygoalsoverthecourseoftheyear? HowshouldImodifymygoalsfornextyear? StepTwo:ReviewYourCareerYear。Whathaveyoudonethisyear?Thisstepisaboutdocumentingyourcareerprogressionandidentifyingkeyachievements。Thinkingaboutallyouvedoneoverthepast11monthsorso,askyourselfthesequestions: WhathaveIaccomplished? WhatnewskillshaveIacquired? WhathaveIlearned? Whatopportunitiesweregainedandlost? HowamIbettertodaythanIwasatthebeginningoftheyear? StepThree:DevelopYourCareerSynopsis。Whereareyouinyourcareer?Reviewallaspectsofyourcareerandexaminewhereyoustandatthisjuncture。Somequestionstoaskyourself: AmIwhereIshouldbeinmycareer? Whathashelpedorhinderedmyprogression? AmIhappywithmycurrentemployer? Whataremystrengthsandweakness? StepFour:EnvisionYourFuture。Whatsyournextcareerstep?Takesometimetoplanfornextyear(andperhapsbeyond),picturingthepathyouwantyourcareertotake。Again,herearesomequestionstohelpyou: WhatdoIwanttobedoingmoreofinmycareer? WhatdoIwanttobedoinglessofinmycareer? Whatsthenextstepinmycareer? WhenshouldIbetakingthisnextstep? Whatsmyidealultimatecareerdream? StepFive:ActionStepsforYourFuture。Howwillyougettothatfuturecareer?Makealistofwhatyouneedtodocareergoalsforthecomingyeartogettowhereyouwanttobenextinyourcareer。Thesemightbethingssuchasbuildingyournetwork,gainingadditionalexperiences,changingemployers,strengtheningyourcareerbrand,orpursuingadditionaltrainingeducationcertifications。Questionstoaskyourself: WhatdoIneedtopreparemyselfforthisnextstep? DoIneedtofindanewemployertomakethenextstep? HowdoIpositionmyselfforthisnextstep? StepSix:ShareYourCareerVision。Areyourcareergoalsandactionplansfeasible?Scheduleameetingwithyourmentorsandtogetreactionstoyourplan,aswellasadviceforachievingit。 FinalThoughts Onceyouvecompletedthesesixsteps,youshouldnotonlyknowyourselfandyourcareerbetter,buthavesomespecificgoalsandactionstepstohelpyouprogressalongacareerplan。 Anotherbenefitfromcompletingthisyearendreviewisthattheresultsfrompartoftheanalysisshouldassistyouinupdatingyourresumeifyouhavenotbeenkeepingitcurrentastheyearprogressed。Evenifyouareextremelyhappywithyouremployer,itmakessensetohaveacurrentresumeforthatonceinalifetimeopportunity,orworse,ifyouremployerdecidesitstimetodownsizetheworkforce。