New Year, New Challenge

What does a new year mean to you?  New beginnings? New opportunities? A fresh start? All of the above?

It may sound a little cliché but it’s true, 2016 really could mean ‘new year, new you’.  Embracing the prospects and potential challenges a new year presents you could be the difference between feeling satisfied, valued and content and feeling the opposite of those things. This is true for all aspects of life, but especially your professional career.

We spend the majority of our lives working, that’s why it is so important we find something we’re really passionate about, something that makes us excited to wake up in the morning and embrace the new adventures each new day brings.

Lots of people I meet tell me how they ‘fell into’ their jobs. How, despite working for 10 years, they always wanted to try something different but never did because they had work commitments.

Of course, it’s essential you earn a living. However, the idea of dreading your working day and denying yourself of your own dreams seems absurd to me.

I understand that it’s not that easy. Not every can wake up in the morning and think "You know what, I don’t want to be insurance. I think I’ll become a magician". We work in order to live a better life, but one of the most important things to always keep in mind - especially when assessing your career - is the act of setting personal challenges and working towards something.

We all want to feel as if we’re doing something worthwhile and that we’re appreciated at work. I find the best way to do this is setting goals and working to deadlines. Every week I ask my colleagues to send me a list of key objectives and actions for that week. Not only do I do this for my own records, but I also know that working this way increases motivation and productivity; just think about how satisfying it is ticking those completed tasks off your list!

As a manager, I know how important training is for the development of my staff, which is why I’ve spent the last couple of years conceptualising my recruitment training app, which I’m launching early this year.

I’ve been in recruitment for 30 years and during this time, the most significant issue within the market has remained the same; our retention rates.

Recruitment has a terrible reputation for hiring and firing or employees leaving way too frequently. So, how do we improve this? It’s simple – invest in training.

So many people I meet in recruitment started with nothing but a phone and a list of names to call – no wonder people leave so quickly! They’re not trained effectively and they don’t feel as if they're appreciated – they’re just another number in a corporate machine. Managers need to invest in staff training if they want to succeed.

Think of 2016 as a new year of opportunities. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to code, what are you waiting for? Do it! Upskilling like this can only be beneficial for you in the long run.

Who knows what the year will bring you. The only thing we do know for certain is without determination, without some get up and go, things will remain the same. Embrace change, challenge yourself. I dare you.

 My Recruitment Guide will be available soon! Register your interest here.