The end of the year is almost here! And it provides a great opportunity both to look back at all you've achieved, and celebrate your successes; and to look forward and consider your future career and the direction you want it to take.

Look back

All too often, we don't stop to consider our progress. The end of a year is a good time to get off the merry-go-round of life, and stock-check your achievements over the past 12 months. Consider everything you've done in your life this year, both at work and out of it. Careers and lifestyles are totally inter-twined; activities outside work can offer a great way to move into a new career or discover a niche that's right up your street. They can boost your confidence, expand your network, and train you in new skills.

• What have you learnt or experienced that's new? Identify anything you've learnt or experienced that's new to you, from new software packages to how to supervise a team, from giving a presentation to a group of managers to managing a budget.



• What value did you add to your organisation, your boss and role? What did you do over and above your job description? What new responsibilities have you taken on? What difference have those made to your career plans and aspirations?



• How far did you get in reaching your future career goals? This will help you identify what you still need to do next year to attain them. Of course, you may need to work out what your career goals are first! If you didn't achieve the goals you set yourself in 2004, ask yourself why: what stopped you? Consider how important those goals still are to you, and whether they deserve a place on your list for 2005.

In each case, look for evidence of the skills, knowledge and expertise you needed to do or to learn something. Evidence is factual: you can't dispute it. For example, if you attended a training course, the evidence of how effective that was will show up in things such as what difference it made to your performance and capabilities at work; and whether your confidence and authority on the subject got a boost.

Why not sit down with a trusted colleague and compare notes, then go out to lunch to celebrate all you've done, or find some way to treat yourself. You deserve it! Then take time to look forward...

Look forward

Don't try to do this on New Year's Eve when you've had several drinks and are looking for a hasty resolution to hook on to for the first few days of the new year. Take time - yes, even in all the hustle and bustle surrounding the holiday season - to sit down and think your future out. Consider:

• What are your career goals in the next five years. If you aren't sure what these are, check out My Career to help you define where you want your career to go, and complete Where do I want to be? (You need to be a registered Deskdemon.com user to do that.)



• Identify how far you are from achieving your goals. Are you progressing towards achieving them? What do you need to do to achieve them? What can you realistically expect to achieve next year, given all your commitments in and out of work? And what, if anything, are you prepared to sacrifice to make sure your career goals happen?



• What new approaches can you take to help you get to where you want to be? Could you enlist the help of a mentor at work, for example, to work with you over a period of time to help in your career planning and attainment? Are there any projects you can get involved with to boost your confidence, skills level and experience? Would a secondment for six to twelve months with another organisation help?



• What support will you need over the coming year to help you achieve your goals? Who will you need that from? This will include your boss, but may also involve your partner and family, if it means your putting in extra hours in the office.



• What, if anything, may stop you from achieving your goals? What strategies can you put in place to overcome these barriers or obstacles?



• What do your career goals mean to you? How do they rank in importance compared to other things which feature in your life, such as work-life balance? What will the benefits be of achieving your goals to you?

It's important to keep your career moving. The world is changing rapidly, and your career should reflect that. If you want to stay where you are, ask yourself why, and what's stopping you from embracing change.

Finally, when you get back from the holidays, why not get all the PAs together in your office and start planning in January how you're going to celebrate Professional Secretaries Week in April? What better way to start the new year knowing you've got celebrations coming up as a group of serious-minded professionals?