Welcome to 2012! I'm sure a lot of you have made New Year's resolutions. (I'm also wondering how many are still in place, five weeks in?)

This time of year is naturally a time of reflection as we start to look at all areas of our lives (employment, family, social and health) and wonder how we're going to make it all work over the coming year. Often, we're back at work in January and really start to think about how we want the next 12 months to pan out.

Do I need more challenge or variety? Where is this job really heading? How can I get better work/life balance to spend more time with my family? Can I get a pay rise this year?  

They're all fairly standard questions for this time of year, but it's easy to get drawn back into our weekly routine and lose track of our bigger goals.

Likewise, climbing the career ladder can seem overwhelming or just all too difficult. Breaking it down into smaller steps will help, and here are a few questions to get you started.

1. What is my goal?
2. What skills do I need to get there?
3. Do others that I trust/respect believe that I can get there?
4. What support do I have/need to get to my goal?
5. Will there be demand for my new skill or an opportunity for me to play out my goal?  
6. Does my goal affect my financial situation?
7. How viable is my goal?
8. How will I go about putting it into action?

It's probably easier to explain how this should play out by using a real-life example.

'Jack' is an industrial electrician and works for Acme Electrical, which contracts to the mining and resource industries. After working for Acme Electrical for three years, he got the feeling he could do more. He liked working for the company, but felt his good ideas weren’t seeing the light of day because he wasn’t in a supervisory position.

Let’s see how Jack worked through the steps.

1. What was his goal? Jack’s goal was to move into a supervisor position within six months (the more specific the goal the better.)
2. What skills did he need to get there?  Jack was a fairly natural leader. He said it how it was, which could get him into trouble, but mostly he was respected for his knowledge and honesty. Jack needed to polish his management skills (what made him a good electrician wouldn't necessarily make him a good supervisor). Needing the specific skills of a supervisor, he went along to supervisory skills training and took on some extra projects at work to build his knowledge. His first step was to do some internet research and he found a course that he thought would fit the bill.
3. Did others that he trusted/respected believe he could get there? Overall, yes. Feedback from previous managers showed that he had good ideas and that he would make a great supervisor, he just needed to 'polish the edges' a little. Jack spoke to his current manager about his ideas for study and extra responsibility at work, which were supported.
4. What support do I have/need to get to my goal? Jack spoke to his partner, who was also supportive of his goal. Although they discussed that a supervisory role would mean more overtime and potentially more stress for Jack, they came to the conclusion that it would also be more rewarding than his current job. Jack’s family also thought that it was a great idea. Jack would use the training team, as well as other managers in his area, as a source of information and support, to help him to reach his goal.
5. Will there be demand for his new skill or an opportunity for him to play out his goal? Jack needed a reality check here. Could he actually become a supervisor at Acme? In speaking with his manager, Jack was able to find out about some upcoming changes at Acme Electrical that would mean an additional supervisory role opening up in his area in nine months. His manager thought this would be perfect for him. Although this timing didn't fit his original goal, Jack spoke with his manager about other ways to continue to build his supervisory skills during that time. Jack's manager asked him to head up a small WH&S project which had defined targets – his manager would be able to observe Jack's supervision skills and provide feedback on his progress. Jack also knew that it would be easier to find a new job with his new skills set if he did decide to leave Acme Electrical, so demand would be strong outside of Acme as well.
6. Did his goal affect his financial situation? Another reality check – was all this financially possible? The three-month, part-time supervisory course cost $2500. Acme Electrical was happy to chip in $500 but Jack would need to find the remaining $2000. He spoke with the training organisation and found out that he could go on a payment plan. After discussing it with his partner, he decided it could work.
7. How viable is his goal? The final reality check – will it work? Jack travelled a lot to customer sites nationally and internationally. He was beginning to think he couldn't take on the course because he didn't have a regular travel roster – it was very unpredictable. Jack was concerned and spoke with the training organisation again. He learnt that they also had online training options that wouldn't cost any extra. He could complete much of the course online, as well as attend training when he was home. Jack knew it would be difficult to log on to start training when he was in his donga after a 12-hour day in the heat, but his goal was important. He also talked to his manager about how his additional projects would get on while he was away, and they came to a workable solution.
8. How will he go about putting it into action? With all the preparation done, Jack enrolled in the course and enjoyed the chance to learn new skills. Jack lead the WH&S project and got some feedback that really helped him build his skills. He was then able to move into the new supervisor position that opened up at Acme Electrical.

By doing lots of preparation, Jack successfully reached his goal. You can see that if he hadn't prepared, his efforts would have derailed very quickly.

Later in the year we'll follow Jack's story as he starts in his new role as supervisor.

For further information and guidance on climbing the career ladder, check out:

• How to Get Ahead Without Murdering Your Boss by Burton, Webster & Lees (2010)
• www.seefar.com.au

More expert advice from Therese:

• How to write a winning resumé

Therese Lardner is an industrial and organisational psychologist with extensive experience in all areas of the employment cycle from recruitment and selection to development, employee engagement and career transition. She currently works for Lee Hecht Harrison in Brisbane. Click here to ask for Therese's expert advice on landing your perfect mining and resources job or moving up the career ladder in your workplace.