This is about the time of year when many organizations conduct mid-year reviews in order to audit your performance for the first part of the year and set goals for the second half of the year. Rather than leave it to your boss, I think it is also a good idea to do a personal mid-year career review, so that you can proactively drive your career forward as you see fit, especially if your individual career goals are not aligned with that of your employer.
In order to conduct your own personal mid-year career review, I would recommend looking back on the year so far. Here are a number of questions that you can ask yourself;
What career goals did you start the year with?
How successful were you in meeting them?
What mindset, strategy and systems enabled you to hit your career goals?
If you were not successful in hitting your career goals, why?
What could you have done differently to hit them?
What have you learnt about yourself?
Once you have taken stock of the first six months of the year, it is time to set goals for the rest of the year. You can do this in either three or six month increments. I personally prefer setting three month goals (or ninety days) because it creates more urgency in my mind.
Questions to consider when making career goals for the rest of the year include;
What are your long term career goals?
What are your 2019 career goals?
How happy are you in your current role, company and industry?
Do you see yourself doing what you are doing now for the next few years?
If you are happy in your current role, how could you upgrade, deepen or expand your skills?
If you see yourself transitioning into a new career, what courses, organizations or expert help could you leverage to help move you in your new direction?
What could stop you from achieving your goals?
What could you do about these potential limiting factors?
Who or what could help you achieve your goals?
Who would you need to become in order to achieve your career goals?
Are your goals SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely?
Have you scheduled the times when you will work on your goals in your calendar?
I would add another step to setting your goals for the next three or six months and that would be to make it visible. If your goals are not visible or smart or scheduled, then it is unlikely you will hit them as the challenges of everyday life take over.
What other strategies are you using to ensure that the rest of your year is productive?