New Year’s Bucket List For Your Career January 16, 2015My CareerOff

With the start of a brand new year fast approaching, we often all end up in a very reflective state. Now is a good time to take stock of your goals and achievements and to begin working on changing anything that you aren’t happy with.

Writing a bucket list and creating a list of goals that we want to achieve while we still can, can also extend to our careers. It doesn’t all have to be ‘jumping out of aeroplanes’ and visiting far-off countries if you would rather set yourself some career related goals.

Job security is changing, and people are finding it difficult to break into the types of long-term employment that they always had hopes of reaching. That doesn’t mean that these things aren’t achievable though. You may just have to be a little more focused and determined in order to get to where you want to be.

The first thing to think about with any good career related bucket list is your current situation. Are you happy in your job now? Possibly not if you are thinking about writing this! The next step is to think about ways that you can rectify your situation and make changes.

Working in another country?
Have you always wanted to travel for your job? If so, then you could add a potential relocation and new job to your career based bucket list.

You should think about the areas that you would most like to work in and then try to find out about the work potential and visa requirements, etc. for this area. If everything somehow manages to fall into place, you could be in a completely new country within a year.

Relocating is a huge deal though and don’t forget to think about how a career change like this may affect the lives of you and your family. If you have young children, you will need to fully research schooling options for them and consider how much time off they will need to take in order to complete the move and travel.

You should also take into account how much you might miss home and the family and friends you have already made here. You will need to be confident enough to start a whole new circle of friends and colleagues to make work and home life work in a new country.

Think about how job aspects in another country might differ to those where you live currently. If you think that you are up for tackling something very different then get yourself online and look into your options and rights.

On the other side of the coin, if you have recently lost your job or have been made redundant, then this is a great time to take a leap of faith.

Studying a new trade? Part of your bucket list goals for your career might be to start a new trade or change your career course. You could take a look at a move into the nursing field and help others. It is said that becoming a CNA can take a few years though, so be prepared to set aside time.

You could take up a more manual trade like building or craftsmanship. This could then be used either as a hobby to fill your spare time or as a full-time job when you are qualified.

There will always be a need for nurses, midwives and tradesmen, and they are usually a safe career bet for someone wanting to make a career u-turn in their life. Look into your options and decide if it is right for you.

Midwives have been especially high in demand for a long time now. If you are looking for a rewarding job then you can’t get much better than being the one responsible for bringing new life into the world.

Doing something more creative? Are you bored of having a 9-5 office job? There is nothing to say that we must stay in the same line of work forever. It may seem daunting at first, but if you have a particular skill or talent, you can usually find a way to make it work in your favor and bring in an income.

For example, if you are a keen artist, you could try creating a portfolio of your work and taking a course on design. You could even look into becoming an art teacher and helping others to learn the skill.

If you excelled at woodwork at school, then you might want to look at a career where you could build things and spend lots of time outdoors crafting from natural materials. It would certainly make a nice change from a stagnant office environment.

Earnings goals? Maybe your bucket list is focused more on the monetary side of things. If you are looking to find a job with better earning potential then start your research early and begin applying for new positions.

You could even contemplate working your way up the career ladder in the job that you are currently in. If there is room to grow, why hold back?

If extra earnings are essential this year then look at your hours and consider taking on a part-time second job. There are usually places hiring that only want staff for a few hours a week. This could dramatically increase your monthly earnings.

You may even start to like your second job more than your current position. Who knows, this could inspire a whole new career shake-up for you and your family.

The pursuit of happiness. Perhaps the most important thing that you should add to your career bucket list is to find something that makes you genuinely happy. Life is too short to be stuck in a job that you hate forever, and there are usually ways of changing the situation.

Try to weigh up all of your options and investigate alternative ways to get where you want to be in your life. Talk to friends and family about your plans as they may be able to offer valuable advice or point you in the right direction.

If you can find a job that makes you smile at least a few times per day, that is sometimes half the battle.

Photo by Jurgenfr | Shutterstock

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