At midnight when the poppers were pulled and the bubbly was broken open, were you one of the 125 million Americans who made a New Year’s resolution for 2014?  If you did make a resolution, such as to get organized, learn something exciting, or take control of your career, we applaud your effort!  There’s no better time to decide where you want to steer your career than at the start of a new year, especially if you are looking for a job or looking to develop your career.

To strengthen your resolve, it may help to know that a quarter of all New Year’s resolutions are broken within the first week, and by six months, more than half of all resolutions have gone kaput.  In fact, a measly 8 percent of the people who make resolutions actually follow through with them all year long.  Now, we’re not saying this to be discouraging, we’re saying it so you can make your resolution succeed in 2014!

Here’s how:

• Live in the now.  New Year’s resolutions tend to be pretty vague, based on a vision of the future we would like to have.  So let’s take a good hard look at the present.  What has helped you achieve your career goals up to now?  For you job seekers and up-and-comers, take a look at your resume, interview skills, and social networking profiles.  What kind of results are you getting from each?  Is your career development getting bogged down by a resume that isn’t landing you interviews?  Or are you getting plenty of interviews, but no job offers?  Do your social media contacts know you’re alive?  Are you stuck in an organization where you’ve had no success advancing?
• Shape the future.  Based on your evaluation of the present, chances are that the future you envision isn’t just going to happen.  You have to take steps to make your resolution come true!  So it’s time to reshape your career “now” into the future you want.  Take a new approach: If your resume is bogging you down, explore professional help to rewrite it into something stellar.  If your interview skills could use polishing, practice with a friend or join a career network.  If your social networking profile is less than active, research best practices to revamp it.  And if you haven’t had success advancing in your current organization, consider whether it might behoove you to seek a position somewhere else.  Don’t be afraid to ask friends, coworkers, or mentors for help.  Work smart and be persistent!
• Measure your results.  Resolutions are made in one night, but they certainly won’t come true overnight; they take time and commitment.  Sometimes it may feel like you’re working hard to fulfill your resolution but you’re not getting much of anywhere.  If that starts to happen, or if you feel like giving up, set quantifiable sub-resolutions for yourself.  Give yourself a deadline to complete that new stellar resume.  Try to land two interviews a month.  See if you can make at least one meaningful social media contact each week.  Stay focused on your results and how each step is bringing you closer to completing your resolution.  It may help you to enlist a special friend who will celebrate your results with you and help keep you accountable.

Your New Year’s resolution doesn’t have to be a pipe dream or a goal that is discarded before year’s end.  You can succeed if you stay focused.  Live in the now, shape the future, measure your results, and before long, you can turn your career-related resolution into reality!