Spreading the News

Spring is a season of renewal and rebirth. But while you may spring clean your apartment, house or garden, when was the last time you did a thorough spring cleaning of your career goals?

It’s OK to say you haven’t done so in a while. After all, most adults are so busy balancing their work, personal and family responsibilities that they sometimes let their career ambitions fall by the wayside. But when that happens, it creates stagnation that can lead to long-term career dissatisfaction.

Signs it is time for a career ‘spring cleaning.’

The inspiration to spring-clean your career goals can come from multiple sources. Five of the top signs include:

• Feeling bored, unchallenged or too comfortable in your current job
• Getting bypassed for a promotion you wanted—and deserved
• Lacking an ally who can help you advance within your company
• Needing access to new technologies and tools that can help you develop
• Requiring a formal degree to reach your next desired career level

I know the signs because I’ve experienced them on my career path. I went straight into college from high school but didn’t complete my degree. Instead, I took a summer job. I enjoyed it. So I left school and accepted a full-time job at the same organization. I quickly received a promotion, and after three years, I moved into healthcare.

I was fortunate to be hired and then promoted into positions that normally required a bachelor’s degree, and while many of my co-workers assumed I had my degree, I knew I didn’t. But then I took a step back and realized that I hadn’t really planned my career. Instead, it had just sort of happened to me. That realization sparked my interest in returning to school. I wanted the personal satisfaction of achieving a bachelor’s degree and taking some control over my career options.

For the first time in my life, I was excited about learning. I eventually finished my bachelor’s degree and earned a master’s degree. And it all started with a bit of career spring cleaning of my own.

7-Step Guide to Spring Clean Your Career Successfully 

If you’ve identified one or more of the signs listed above, it’s time to start your career refresh. This seven-step process can help you chart the proper next steps.

1. Focus on your goals. 
Start by clarifying precisely what you want from the rest of your career. Do you want to improve your earning potential? Are you seeking a new challenge? Do you want to achieve a particular position or status within your current company? Do you want to move to another company? Once you know the answers, you’ll feel empowered to create a plan to reach your destination.

2. Clear the clutter. 
You’ll need space and time to complete a thorough spring cleaning. So, giving yourself that space is essential by eliminating clutter in your physical and online workspaces. Organize your offline and online files and folders. Aim to be as efficient as possible. A clean workspace often leads to a clear mind. It also positively impacts your potential employers, supervisors and managers.

3. Refresh your resume and LinkedIn profile. 
You don’t want to wait until a position becomes available to refresh your resume. You should always make time to update both your resume and your LinkedIn profile with your latest roles and accomplishments. This will help you act quickly when a fresh career opportunity presents itself. Active LinkedIn profiles also convey that you’re continually building your career. In contrast, when you don’t update your LinkedIn profile regularly, it could unintentionally signal that you’re comfortable in your current position and not interested in furthering your career.

4. Build your network. 
Create a trusted group of like-minded professionals to identify new opportunities. This may include a tight circle of your current co-workers. If you don’t have a network, consider joining business professional groups or chambers of commerce to meet people from other industries. Each new connection can help introduce you to potential new opportunities.

5. Find a mentor. 
Actively seek someone you respect to be a professional mentor. Sometimes mentorships develop organically. Other times, you have to work to find one. Seek someone you admire and who shares your professional ethics, then ask them for insights and tools you can use to advance your career. You can choose a current supervisor as a mentor, but if you do so, be careful that the person doesn’t discourage you from seeking opportunities outside of your current company.

6. Visit a Career Center. 
If you have any prior college experience, your school’s Career Center can be a valuable resource. The Career Center at Muhlenberg College offers lifetime support to anyone who studies at Muhlenberg. Career Center professionals stay up-to-date on job trends and opportunities. They can connect you to alums at area companies interested in hiring students from your school. They can also review your resume and LinkedIn profile and teach you in-person and remote interviewing skills.

7. Explore schools.
If you complete your career spring cleaning and choose to go back to school, take the time to perform adequate research. You can use online searches to understand which degree and certificate programs each school offers. In addition, I highly recommend visiting campuses in person and talking with academic advisors.

Put Your Career First

My academic advisor was one of the biggest influencers on my career spring cleaning. She wasn’t trying to sell me on the idea of attending her school. Instead, she was genuinely interested in me and what I wanted to accomplish. Today, I try to pay her kindness forward and take a personal interest in helping each prospective student at the Muhlenberg College School of Continuing Studies achieve what matters most to them. 

If returning to school is a part of your career plan, schedule a time to talk to one of our advisors today.

Are you interested in learning more about the Muhlenberg College Division of Graduate and Continuing Education?

Register for an online information session.

Set up an appointment with an advisor.