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They say those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and that wisdom certainly applies to our professions. What better time than the end of the calendar year to reflect not only on what you can learn from 2024, but also to take stock of your professional past, present and future.
Start by congratulating yourself for surviving the past 12 months. An eventful 2024 delivered transformative technologies as well as socioeconomic and geopolitical challenges. What lessons did you learn over the past 12 months? What went well for your career and why? And looking ahead, in which areas could you improve?
The art of reflection
A critical part of reflection is identifying obstacles that you encountered and how you handled them. Can you discover patterns and get to the root cause of any recurring problems in your professional life? While doing so may seem difficult, resolution can be as simple as acknowledging the problem and moving on, empowered with a greater understanding.
Taking stock of the present
Next is an assessment of where you are at present in your professional life. Start with an honest appraisal of your experience and skill sets; inventorying what you’ve got might bring a pleasant surprise. While your current job description is a starting point, don’t forget previous professional and other relevant life experiences. Acknowledge soft skills like communication, which IT employers deem critical in today’s complex IT ecosystems with multiple stakeholders. Also consider where you are in your career, how that aligns your personal/professional goals, and how you feel about your present situation.
Navigate your future
The final – and most exciting – part of the process is imagining your future. Armed with your previous personal/professional experiences and your full range of capabilities, what do you want and how can you get there? A new year is a blank slate, a clean notebook full of empty pages, history waiting to be written. Write your story and make it one you’ll be proud to review at the end of 2025.
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