Christmas – The Perfect Time for Reflection & Evaluation

by Ruaidhri Horan, Marketing Manager, Abrivia Recruitment

Between the Christmas pudding, mince pies and endless days of overindulgence there is ample opportunity to reflect on the year gone past, what you have achieved versus what you hoped to achieve, how you have furthered yourself in regards your career objectives and whether you truly enjoy your current job.

It is next to impossible to avoid reflecting and evaluating your job over the Christmas period. Why is this?
The first reason is obvious. As you approach the end of the year your performance is being evaluated by your employer in the form of an annual review. The subconscious reaction to this is to reciprocate the action by evaluating your employer and the firm you work for.

Secondly, at Christmas we meet friends and relations that we haven’t met in a long time. After the usual introductory niceties the conversation generally turns to your employment.
“How’s business?”
“How’s the job going?”
“Are you still working for XYZ?”

These are common questions you are more than likely to encounter over the Christmas period. If it is a good friend or a close relative you will be less inclined to give a glib answer such as “grand” and instead you will truly reflect on the positives and negatives of your current position and the plans you have for the forthcoming year.

Finally, media will be awash with suggestive New Year’s resolutions once Christmas Day has passed.
“Lose weight! Get fitter! Save money! Earn money!”

The list is endless. Once we enter the resolution mindset, suddenly “Get a new job” becomes a resolution for many, especially when after much reflection you decide there are much better opportunities where your talents can truly flourish in the year ahead.

The festive season is an ideal time to take stock of your career to date, whether or not you have achieved what you wanted and whether or not your current employer is ticking all the boxes in terms of your career objectives. In this period of new beginnings and resolutions, perhaps it would be a good idea for everyone to take a step back and ask these questions of themselves

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