Five career resolutions to boost your job satisfaction in 2017

Kevin Green
Kevin Green

Kevin Green has worked on recruiting workers to fill finance, accounting and other jobs for area employers since 2000 at both Unum Group and, since 2009, at Robert Half International.

While the job market has changed in those 17 years, Green said employer feedback and surveys by his employer, Robert Half, indicate that a willingness to learn and take on new tasks, interpersonal skills and adapting to change have remained the best ways to get ahead.

But what specifically should you try to do this year to better your skills and market appeal? The staffing firm Robert Half offers five ideas based on surveys of executives and workers.

Put a hard focus on soft skills. Executives polled said the top characteristic required for career success is being motivated to learn a new skill. Job seekers should choose a skill to acquire or improve in 2017, and consider making it a soft skill, like listening, communication or conflict resolution.

"More companies are trying to do more with fewer resources so being motivated to learn new skills or take on new tasks is becoming critical," Green said. "We're all operating in a leaner environment so the more versatile players are the more important you are to each employer."

Go on an email 'diet.' Executives polled said, on average, 17 percent of the time they spend on email is wasted. Workers should respond to email several times a day versus each message as it arrives. This saves time and allows for more thoughtful, relevant responses.

Green also suggests that when you send emails, keep the brief and to the point.

"As we are being inundated by more and more emails, the more succinct your communication is the more likely it is that it is going to be read and digested in the right way," he said.

Get some Zzzss. It's time for a wake up call. Surveys by the staffing firm Accountemps showed nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of U.S. workers say they work while tired, with nearly one-third (31 percent) saying they do so very often. The costs of working tired – both for professionals and the businesses they work for – are high: Respondents cite lack of focus or being easily distracted (52 percent), procrastinating more (47 percent), being grumpy (38 percent) and making more mistakes (29 percent) among the consequences.

An extra hour of shut eye or a walk or break just may improve your job performance. For managers, Green said workloads need to be realistic and not overbearing to allow workers free time to relax, think creatively and be more productive when they are on the jobs.

Find the right mentor. Eighty-six percent of executives feel it's important to have a mentor; yet only 26 percent actually have them.

"There if often a disconnect between what management sees as important and what actually is happening in many work places," Green said. "Finding a mentor is especially important if you are trying to advance your career and go to the next level. And many times, a mentorship relationship can help both the mentor and the mentee to learn from each other or often to get a different generational perspective."

Pairing up with someone who is doing what you want to be doing and commit to the relationship.

Get a move on. Over one-third of professionals polled believe relocating to a new city will help their career prospects.

"Being willing to relocate to another city and take on a different job is often a really good way to advance our career and to get ahead, especially if the opportunities where you are now are more limited," Green said.

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