March typically marks the start of the spring cleaning season. Longer daylight hours and a reminder of what the sun actually looks like means we often begin to shake off the winter doldrums, open up the windows, and roll up our sleeves to declutter and tidy.
But have you ever thought about how a spring clean could also be beneficial to your career? Taking time to ensure you are still happy, still progressing, and making the most of your talent is just as important as getting organised in any other area of your life. To help you emerge from any winter work slumber you may be feeling, I wanted to share some tips to get you started
Career Spring-Cleaning Tip 1 - Clean up your CV
Spring is usually when many of us reorganise our wardrobes, packing away things that you won’t wear for a while and replacing them with things for the warmer weather. The same principle can be applied to your CV. Taking time to review where you are every so often is more effective than putting the task to the back of your mind until you’re ready to apply for a new role. Not only will it help ensure you have your CV at the ready if a great opportunity pops up, but it also prepares you for an impromptu, self-promoting elevator pitch at a networking event. Updating your CV at least twice a year helps you keep track of your accomplishments and wins before too much time has passed. It’s much harder to look back over a three- or four-year time period and recall all of your notable accomplishments which is ultimately what will make your CV stand out.
You can keep yourself accountable by timing updates with an anniversary you’ll remember, Berenson adds. Perhaps it’s your start date, a performance review, or even a holiday—some recurring date that’s hard to forget.
In addition to adding or updating any professional accomplishments you may have earned over the past year—for instance, higher sales figures or new qualifications—now may also be an opportune time to determine whether it makes sense to change up your CV format.
Career Spring-Cleaning Tip 2 - Prune your work schedule
Forget the garden that needs a tidy after the ravages of winter —you may need to trim your overly packed workday to feel like you are making progress. If you’re constantly slammed by endless tasks in your working day, it may be time to reprioritise—particularly if you feel like your time and energy aren’t being focused purposefully.
If you find you are saying yes to everything, it’s time to take a step back. For example, taking on an extra work project because you couldn’t say no may take time away from spending time at a social event outside of work —not just because you couldn’t physically be there but also because you may be stressed, distracted, and not truly present even when you get to enjoy yourself. The result? You’re always striving—but rarely feel like you’re succeeding.
To help reset your schedule, list the top five professional priorities you want to focus your energy on. Then use time blocking —setting aside specific hours on your calendar for distinct tasks—to ensure that you always get to them. For example, if one of your goals is to get a promotion this year, working through lunch to respond to non-urgent emails probably isn’t as valuable as taking part in an office “Lunch and Learn” that could get you networking with executives or help build your skills.
Never forget it’s better to do 5 things well than try and do 20 things and fail at most of them. The 20 things will not be your best work, and you’ll be too busy and stressed to tell anyone about them anyway—so you may not get full credit for them but you will end up with a whole heap of stress
Career Spring-Cleaning Tip 3 - Get a breath of professional fresh air
Do you feel your skills are getting a little stale? It may be time to breathe new life into them by stepping beyond your own organisational walls.
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day planning and execution of your job that you lose touch with current events within your sector. Making this time is critical to long-term career success.
You could do this by joining a professional society to expand your network and get some visibility in your field. And don’t just be a spectator—get involved by chairing a committee or organising speaking events and workshops. Now that in-person conferences are back on the scene, try to attend at least one event a year to stay plugged into your field’s trends and best practices.
Career Spring-Cleaning Tip 4 - Dust off your LinkedIn profile
In addition to making sure your profile is as up-to-date as your CV, you also want recruiters to be able to find you when they do keyword searches.
Regular profile housekeeping is a good idea not only for search optimisation but also to highlight your industry relevance to those who may stumble across your page. Try the following to get started -
Optimise your headline - This is the text that lies just beneath your name. Some users put their current positions here, but it’s actually 120 characters that could be used more strategically by incorporating keywords. Consider crafting it with terms you would use to search for a job, along with those you see in job descriptions relevant to the one you have—or the one you aspire to secure. For example, instead of just Senior Project Manager, try something like Senior Project, Program Manager— Process Design, Financial Analysis, IT and Data Systems (assuming, of course, it accurately reflects your experience)
Clarify job titles with keywords - Job titles aren’t always a clear representation of your actual duties, nor are they consistent across employers. So use the 100 characters in the job title field to expand on your talents and responsibilities with more specific keywords. An example would be, “Senior Technical & Business Project Manager” replaced “Senior Technical & Business Project Manager—Capital Markets Risk Management, MBS Disclosure.”
This is also helpful if you’ve got a more unusual job title like “Chief Happiness Officer” (Head of Employee Retention). The additional characters can help you standardise your title for optimal search relevance—not to mention explain what that means to profile visitors.
Career Spring-Cleaning Tip 5 - Polish up your networking list
Take the time to reconnect with your contacts—not because you’re seeking out a specific favour, but simply to let them know you still value them. Reach out to the people who might be able to impact your career this year, but don’t ask for anything—just send them a quick note to say hello and see how they’re doing. If you haven’t spoken for a while try starting a conversation by asking about their jobs, their kids, and their hobbies.
Since the outreach is no strings attached, this simple way of reconnecting takes very little of your time or effort. But it keeps the lines of communication open if you need, say, an introduction to a hiring manager or want some career advice later on in the year.
Little check-ins will do wonders to put you at the forefront of people’s minds who could potentially impact your career. Then all you need to do is ride the conversation as it happens organically with no pressure. This can also take some of the dread out of networking that we all feel from time to time.
If you want to develop your career this spring and are not sure how to get started, be sure to subscribe to my weekly ‘Work Your Way’ newsletter. It lands in your inbox every Thursday lunchtime and is like a cup of career espresso full of tips you can implement with ease. It’s also the place where I preview what’s coming up in terms of learning, resources, and everything that will help you get your career back on track. Sign up here
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