How can you improve in 2015?

Pretty soon, it’s going to come time to start making those New Year’s resolutions. Most often, those goals apply to our personal lives, but what about our careers? Making resolutions at the office can be extremely effective and may even inspire you to be better in other areas of your life as well. Check out these ideas to help you improve at work:

Talk with your supervisor
It’s hard to improve if you don’t know exactly what to work on. Schedule a sit-down talk with your supervisor to figure out what areas of your job you could be doing even better. Make sure to take notes during this meeting so you know what to focus on in the coming months.

Keep a promotion in mind
Think about the path for advancement from your current position. If there’s another job you would like at your company, identify exactly what it would take to get hired in that position. Should it require a lot of public speaking, you could think about taking a course on public speaking to improve your skills. If you need to bolster your leadership talents, you could enroll in a management class.

Look positively at setbacks
When you experience a setback at work, it’s normal to look at that in a negative light. But changing your attitude can make all the difference. Instead of taking that particular setback personally, look at it as a great opportunity to improve. There’s always going to be something you could be better at, so don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.

Build relationships with co-workers
Forming positive relationships with co-workers may not only make your job easier, but more enjoyable as well. Keep greeting cards at your desk, like thank you cards and congratulations cards, so you can offer a kind word to a co-worker whenever they help you out with something or clear a large hurdle at the office. Writing a quick, yet sincere, note is an easy way to build strong relationships.

Offer ideas
Being able to give constructive feedback about a particular person or idea is a wonderful quality for an employee to have. But what really sets you apart from the rest of your co-workers is being able to offer tangible ideas or solutions to problems that present themselves at work. Having potential answers to an issue shows that you’ve put lots of thought and time into this important dilemma.

Keep goals within sight
It can be easy to forget about a goal you set, whether it’s big or small. Ensure those aspirations won’t be forgotten by putting them right in front of you. Place sticky notes on your desk to remind you, or create a bulletin board dedicated to your work goals. A bulletin board could be a great tool for the entire office and remind everyone of what they can improve on.

Another thing you can do is set calendar reminders for the first of every month so you’ll always be on track to succeed. The reminders could alert you to set up a meeting with your boss, send a thank you note to a coworker or to complete a project by a certain deadline.

Communicate more with your boss
Yearly performance reviews shouldn’t be the only time you sit down with your superior. Communicating on a more frequent basis can improve your relationship. Schedule monthly meetings to address matters both big and small. This can prevent miscommunication and show that you care about the job and improving your performance.

Network
There’s no such thing as too much networking. Spend time on LinkedIn and other social media platforms to connect with authorities in your field. They often share posts that can keep you up to date on industry trends and provide tips and information that could help you improve at the office.