Top 7 Career Goals to Set in 2024, According to Experts
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Nicole Spector
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It’s turning out to be a tough year for many working Americans as companies across the board are laying off staff to cut costs. In times like these, when morale and hope around your job can take a beating, it becomes particularly important to reboot focus and set some fresh goals for your career.
But what career goals should you set for yourself in 2024? What do they entail and how can you achieve them?
Here’s what career and jobs experts have to say.
Grow Your Personal Brand
Nowadays, companies don’t just want to know about your talents and achievements, they want to know about what makes you stand out in a crowd. Who are you, not only as a professional but as a human? What qualities do you embody? What skills do you leverage? What values do you espouse? In other words, what is your personal brand and how can it be used to magnify and empower an actual brand?
Because the power of one’s own brand is so precious, it’s necessary to make it a goal to develop yours in 2024.
“Your personal brand is so important now to showcase your skills, achievements and ways that you have upskilled or reskilled yourself for development,” said Trevor Bogan, regional director Top Employers Institute. “Building your personal brand will also help you network with the right contacts that can add value to your professional career.”
Enhance Your Digital Presence
Hand in hand with growing your personal brand is enhancing your digital presence. Hiring managers and fellow professionals want to see you active on social media and expect you to share meaningful content that resonates with others.
“By regularly publishing impactful and relevant content across a variety of platforms, we not only make ourselves more accessible to a broader audience but also open the door to unexpected opportunities,” said Dawna Jarvis, business and media strategist.
Build Your Leadership Skills
If you want to work your way up to a managerial level – or secure and grow your status within that realm – it’s important to build your leadership skills, which you can do in any job, no matter how far up or down the ladder.
“Leading can occur from any role,” said Eric McDermott, author and influencer on careers, work teams and finance at NEXTpectations. “Find out what resources, training and stipends might exist at your work to increase your leadership skills.”
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Increase Your Followership Skills
Yes, followership skills matter too — hone in on them even if you’re a boss (or looking to be one).
“There are no leaders without followers, and everything they envision can’t happen without implementation,” McDermott said. “Excellent follower skills are extremely desirable for good leaders. In fact, I’ve doubled my income twice with superior followership skills. There are books, courses, conferences and podcasts on the subject. They just don’t always get the spotlight leadership does.”
Get to Know AI
AI is here to stay, and the more powerful it becomes, the more formidable a threat it is to jobs that, until now, were predominantly occupied by actual humans [2]. Rather than hiding from this intimidating technology, embrace it. Learn as much as you can about how it works, and, more important, how you can work it.
“Artificial intelligence, and how it will impact various industries, is on everyone’s mind and will no doubt become increasingly important to hiring managers as it weaves its way into the workforce,” said Devin Tomb, VP, content and brand at The Muse. “For most workers, it won’t be so much about direct experience with developing AI as it will be about demonstrating that you are seeking to understand and familiarize yourself with it. Setting a goal in 2024 to try your literal hand at tools like ChatGPT and Bard, and developing a perspective on how they can/can’t yet be useful to what you do and what your company does will absolutely, without question, put you ahead of the game.”
Tap Your Network for Mentors
You probably know by now that it’s critical to network with as many professionals as you can to widen your circle of contacts. But did you know that networking is also a great way to find a mentor who can help you learn and grow in your career? Make networking with the purpose of finding a mentor a goal in 2024.
“Utilize LinkedIn and connect with those individuals and schedule some time to speak with them,” Bogan said. “People will love to support you and help. Also, this can expand your network to provide a potential job opportunity.”
Make Work Feel Fulfilling
Working is a must for most, and it’s easy to get wrapped in thinking of it as an obligation and a chore. When possible, look for ways in which your job matters to the world, and how it can be more than just a paycheck.
One way to pinpoint ways in which your work life is fulfilling is to write down your daily tasks and evaluate each of them at the end of the week.
“What did you love, and what did you not like?” said Megan Alarid, a strategic business guide, leadership team coach and the founder of Heightened Leaders, LLC. “Those things you love doing, do more of them, [and as for] those things you don’t like, don’t do less of them (your role might not allow it), but reward yourself with the stuff you love after completing them.”
