8 Easy Tips for Intentionally Managing Your Career
I have no doubt you’re spending a lot of time and energy working IN your job.
But are you spending enough time working ON your career?
Working in your job is the day-to-day hustle, the tasks, and the projects.
Working on your career involves strategic thinking, skill development, and long-term planning – it's the investment in your professional future.
I get that it’s hard to keep focused on your broader career trajectory while just trying to make it through the week with your day job.
With that in mind, here are some relatively easy-yet-impactful practices you can incorporate into your routine.
Weekly
Spend 15-30 minutes on LinkedIn commenting, liking, and sending a few messages. Staying connected to your network makes it easier when you need their help in the future. One easy thing I do is I go to my Network tab in LinkedIn, then look for the Celebrations section, and send relevant birthday or congratulations messages.
Capture any wins for the week. You want to save that nice client note to tout your accomplishments in the future.
Monthly
Schedule a few coffees and lunches to build relationships within your organization and with people outside.
Ask for feedback from a colleague. Learning how others view you, your talents, and where you can continue to grow will help you better define and build your professional brand.
Quarterly
Block off time to enhance your skills. Whether it's a webinar, an online course, or an upcoming conference, get it on the calendar and stick to it. Your future self will thank you for keeping your skills sharp.
Set aside an hour to reflect and capture the quarter’s key projects you worked on, your accomplishments, and any challenges you faced. This will make your annual review an easier process and ensures you capture all your work for the year.
Annually
Do your own performance review. Synthesize your quarterly snapshots into an annual evaluation that captures your projects, accomplishments, and learning and growth opportunities. Send this proactively to your manager (ideally ahead of compensation discussions!) to manage up and mitigate your manager’s recency bias. And save a copy for your personal use – it makes updating your resume in the future far easier.
Plan your intentions for the year(s) ahead. Take stock of where you are and where you want to be. Use that to plan your upcoming goals.
By carving out a little time periodically – but consistently – you can ensure that you’re not just succeeding in your job but also successfully stewarding your career.
So don’t just nod your head and agree theoretically with these tips. Take 10 minutes and schedule these into your calendar right now.
With that action step, you’re becoming the person committed to intentionally shaping your career growth.