Professional Goals To Set For 2023 🎖️

2023 is just a month away and you know what that means? Figuring out how you are going to do things differently professionally for the new year. Every year, it pays to do some introspection to review how your career has progressed for the year. This helps you chart your growth and see what other areas you can focus on next year for improvement. Remember, goals can be short term or long term but the main thing is to have clear goals that you know you want to achieve. But the thing to do is to aim for a measurable goal that you can clearly track in terms of progress.

Not sure how to get started on what goals to focus on for 2023? Here are some ideas that are good to start with.

#1 Identify and develop a new skill
Pandemic work life is all about developing a new skill because if anything, COVID-19 clearly shows that nothing is for certain. Not even the skill you have right now that you are so good at but might be unnecessary come five years later. Developing a new skill will either open up new opportunities to expand in your current industry… or to explore other industries. If you’ve always been curious about a new industry or a new role, this is your chance to learn more and see if you have what it takes. Think of what it will take to keep you in demand. Maybe it is understanding content creation since every business today is heavily content based. You can easily sign up for online courses to learn both the creative and pragmatic sides of it. Do the research and figure out which skill will give you a competitive advantage.

#2 Think of Plan B
Again, after COVID-19, it’s clear that anything goes. Even your job security, which could be out of the window one day. So a good goal to have for 2023 is to work out what else you’re good at and how you can capitalize on that. It doesn’t have to be about finding a side gig (though if that’s how you see your future, then by all means, go ahead!). It can be about diversification whether it is knowing how to do another role just as well or having the skills to move from industry to industry. Think of what you would do or want to do should you lose your job one day. Then figure out the ways to get closer to your Plan B so that when you really need to put it into action, you’re all ready for it.

#3 Improve on a skill
You don’t always have to pick up a new skill. You can work on improving a skill you already have to be better at it! Upskilling doesn’t always mean learning something new. It can be taking your current skill to a whole new level to make you more confident and competent. Going from amateur to pro will definitely get you noticed!

#4 Read more
Whether it’s reading topics that are related to your role or just reading in general, the act itself is transformative. If you notice, all leaders are readers. So if you want to emulate that, give yourself the goal of reading a new book every month.

#5 Find a mentor
It can be someone at work or someone you aspire to be. Identify the person whom you envision yourself to be 10 years later. If it is a person at work, be upfront about the mentoring you hope to receive. You’ll be surprised how people are willing to support and share. Having that professional guidance will do your confidence – and work – a world of a difference.

#6 Have a career roadmap
This goes without saying. If you want to be somewhere in your career by end 2023, you need to map it out. Do you want a promotion? Try a new role to see if you’re up for it? Change jobs even? Then set tangible benchmarks so you know what you need to do to achieve the next level. You can discuss this roadmap with your mentor or even your manager to get a realistic point of view. Instead of that yearly review, maybe schedule it once every two months so you understand areas of improvement and get valuable input on your next steps.

What are your professional goals for 2023? Share it with us on Twitter @Graduan!

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash.