Do the new

Careers are a maze and more so for women managing multiple responsibilties. The good news is that change is so constant that everyone needs to manage transitions all the time. Workplace, skills, business models, companies are all undergoing severe changes and the best way to thrive in this environment is to do the NEW!

Here are six things any woman with her career on her mind can embrace in 2016.

Go SOLOMO: Going Social, Local, Mobile is way of life for career seekers now and 2016 will see more and more businesses go mobile, serve local and use social (media) including Instagram, Pinterest and of course Facebook and Twitter.

However, use of SOLOMO should only be contextual and one needs to understand that it is a double edged sword –  a great tool to establish credibility or the one to erode it as fast.

Brand Yourself : You are who they think you are. Investing in authentic sharing, proactive learning and ongoing engagement is a professional mantra for all – whether you are a home business owner, a blogger, a corporate professional or someone on a career break. Brand You can be a source of inspiration to people around you and the best career investment you make.

Find a Mentor: We cannot succeed alone. Best professionals and entrepreneurs have great mentors. This was never more true. Someone who can share authentically and anchor our interests can be a mentor we need to manage the existential dilemmas, the complexity of decision making and more so empowering us with energy and enthusiasm, we need to follow our heart. Ideally, a mentor is someone who can represent a diverse, broader range than yours and is ideally not directly related to your line of work.

Share your Skill: There is no joy is hoarding what you know. The best professionals today share their skill with others who need it and more so with ones, who may not be so fortunate. Whether it is marketing or finance, cooking or programming, share your skill and find a professional bloom. Goodwill is an asset you cannot buy otherwise.

Do the Design and Tech: There is no denying the ever growing significance of technology and more so design thinking in our lives. As users of iPhones, Uber, Paytm, AirBnB, design thinking is helping your stakeholders by making things simple and easy. That mantra applies to professionals, service providers, freshers, people on a learning curve – basically everyone.

Build a New Skill: Learn something new which is not part of your traditional Learning and Development cycle. A skill unrelated to your work or your resume. Have a cubicle job, learn golf. You are a yoga enthusiast – learn how to code. You are a finance professional – learn how to run a restaurant. A diverse skill will help expand your horizons and also help connect to people outside your professional ambit.

Are you going to try some of these in 2016. I am! Which of the items from the list is your favorite? I will tell you mine next time.

This article was first published in the January 2016 edition of Mother and Baby magazine.

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