Ready for a Career Refresh? 4 Easy Ways to Get Started

While you sincerely enjoy your job, there’s a chance that these past two years have left you feeling a bit burned out in general — and now, you’re considering a career refresh. Maybe you simply feel like shaking things up in your current job, or you’re considering learning new skills altogether. Either way, you know you could use a change.

Here, we’ll share four ideas for working on your self development when you’re considering a career refresh.

1. Hire a coach

Need a bit of a boost in your personal and professional life? Coaching is a great investment to make in yourself, and you have many options to get started.

A life coach can help with a holistic approach to self-improvement. A business coach can help you determine career goals and encourage you to take steps to work toward those goals, like rewriting your resume or asking for a promotion. You also have the option of working individually with a coach in one-on-one sessions or joining a group program and working alongside other professionals seeking transformation just like you.

2. Career refresh dreams? Enroll in a course

Want to learn more without necessarily enrolling yourself at your local college? Sign up for an online course on a topic you’re interested in. For professional development, consider soft skills training, with topics about teamwork, time management, productivity, and more.

And don’t forget about your personal development, either. By nurturing your interests outside of work, you’ll grow as a person, which benefits you in the long run at work too. Not sure what to sign up for? Think of what interests you most. Take a cooking class if you want to make more diverse meals. If you love traveling, signing up for a course on road trips or luxury stays will help you make better choices about future vacations.

With much of the world adopting digital solutions in the past year, it shouldn’t be hard to find a course you’re interested in. MasterClass, Udemy, Skillshare are great places to start, but don’t forget to search online to find offerings from small business owners who are experts in the topic you’re seeking.

3. Borrow library books

There are so many great self development books out there, but there are just as many that fall flat. Don’t want to risk sinking all your “fun money” into new books when you’re not sure the read is right for you? Here’s a solution: Dust off your library card and pick up a stack of potential books that will give you a little career refresh instead. 

Not sure where to start? Here are 10 great books to try — five new ones from 2021 and five self development books from 2020.

4. Work with a mentor for a career refresh

You do know you don’t have to go it alone, right? If you’re looking to freshen up your career, whether by seeking a different job or just feeling more confidence in your own position, a mentor is a great place to start. To begin, think about the specific skills you’d like to develop while working with a mentor. Then, seek out someone in your organization or your larger network who really exemplifies those qualities. 

If you’re struggling here, make an appointment with your supervisor. They don’t necessarily need to act as your mentor, but they can help you determine any skills that need improvement or share suggestions on how to improve before being offered a promotion. Once you’re clear on what to work on, don’t forget to ask your supervisor for suggestions on who you can ask to mentor you, as well.

There are so many ways to improve yourself and get a career refresh that don’t need to cost much, if anything at all. Just take the first step now to learn and grow over the course of this next year.