I spent part of my winter break thinking about all aspects of my career. Although I’ve worked in communications for many years, the landscape continues to change. I want to stay current. I also aspire to be a published author and career coach.

What  moves are you making to ensure career success? (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Here are 5 things I did to set my priorities and make changes to my career journey:

Paid my membership dues. Before I paid the dues, I considered each organization and whether I was benefiting. I elected not to renew one of my memberships because while the programming was strong it was geared toward individuals at a different place in their careers. Another group has been super encouraging, and I even received a handwritten note from one of the members encouraging me to stretch even further. I renewed that one.

Take a course (or two). I suspect I will always be a lifelong learner. Learning about new platforms, the latest apps and different management styles is important. I’m always looking for webinars, seminars, conferences and classes. I’ve signed up for a WordPress certificate course. I know the basics for my blog, but I’d like to improve my website and find out what I don’t know. For fun – and maybe to help with my mystery writing – I decided to take a course on the “FBI in Movies.” If nothing else, I think I will get to watch some good movies. Anyone for “The Untouchables?”

Network. We all know the value of networking but too often we think of it only in the context of a group setting. I try to have at least two networking lunches a month. One is with a colleague within my organization. I like learning about someone else’s position. An added bonus is that because I work in communications, I almost always also get a nugget for a story. I also network with someone monthly outside of my organization. It allows me to see how other companies and sectors operate.

Entered an awards competition. Each year I look to see if I have anything to enter in a communications contest. My colleague and I review our body of work. I’m reminded of some good work. I’m also reminded of some work I could have done better. And I get ideas for other projects. It’s a great process to prepare myself for the coming year.

Updated my resume and LinkedIn profile. It’s important to do this yearly to ensure everything is up-to-date. I note key projects I worked on in the past year and double check keywords. I also reached out to my references, updating them on my career and to find out what they had been focused on.

Are you ready to jump start your career?