3 Steps to a Successful 2015

We are a week into the New Year and some of the "newness" is rubbing off but don't let that diminish your enthusiasm and energy to make 2015 a great year personally and professionally.

This is a good time to assess where you're at in your life and career and begin to develop new habits to ensure more happiness and success. Work on the following three steps in the next week and you'll be off to a productive start for the year.

1. Update your resume and LinkedIn profile: The beginning of the year is a good time to go back over that resume and tweak it to ensure it highlights your strengths and successes, including those from the past year. Also update your profile on LinkedIn.

2. Work on your self-talk: If you haven't yet, watch the video we posted Monday on stopping negative self-talk. You have the ability to be your greatest supporter or your most severe critic. How you view yourself goes a long way toward how others view you and it starts with your self-talk.

3. Find a mentor: If you don't have a mentor, someone you can meet with on a monthly basis to discuss your career plans and goals, use the next week to consider who you might approach about this. It could be your boss, a former supervisor, a professor from school, or a business leader from your community. Once you've identified someone contact them and invite them to meet you for a coffee.

You might also be interested in this article highlighting 6 ways to start 2015 on a high note.

What are you doing now to make 2015 a success?

Your Career To-Do List for a Successful 2015

A recent article noted 35 Things You Should Do For Your Career Before You Turn 35, and while 35 might be a little intimidating, we've broken the list down into something more manageable: 5 Things to Do For a Successful 2015.

1. Understand your strengths. To be successful you should know exactly what it is you're good at and be able to share those strengths with others, including at a job interview.

2. Know your weaknesses. It's also important not to be blind to areas of weakness. However, instead of spending too much time trying to work on your weaknesses learn how to work around them and delegate tasks to others who might be stronger in these areas than you are.

3. Clarify your elevator pitch. Be able to tell someone in 30-45 seconds what exactly it is you do and what your skills and strengths can offer. What message about yourself do you want to leave others with?

4. Clarify what you want. Be sure to understand as clearly as possible what you're looking for in a job or in your career.

5. Build support. There are others out there who can help: mentors, friends, previous employers, current managers. Don't be afraid to let others know what you need and what you're looking for.

What is on your career to-do list for 2015?