Your Career Checklist for 2025

The Essential Candidate Career Checklist

The world of work has changed significantly during the last few years, and I wonder if your career goals have, too?

Let me remind you of several recent shifts you might have experienced:

• Remote and hybrid working has become more commonplace, yet many companies now ask or demand employees return to the office full-time.
• In June 2022, the four-day week was tested in the UK, and this has occurred across the US and Australia over the past two years.
• About 3,000 US workers tested the four-day work week, and the results were resounding. People love working four days per week for the same pay. 15% of participants said no amount of money would convince them to work five days a week again, according to the Washington Post. However, this has yet to translate into four-day weeks being offered.
• For many employees worldwide, flexibility is their ultimate goal.
• Many markets continue to be skill short.
• An uncertain economy with high inflation and interest rates has seen many candidates consider a move that, in the past, they wouldn’t have.
• The talent search has created a pay war, with many companies increasing their offers to new employees and counteroffering current employees to stay.
• Well-being is a real focus for many organisations as employees suffer from the worst mental health and burnout in history.
• Though the workplace may appear in turmoil, companies are growing, and opportunities for skilled employees like you are available.

What’s Next For You?

With opportunity all around you, is it time to re-evaluate where your career is going and who it is with?  A better-paid role with flexibility might now be possible for you in a company with a great culture.

When was the last time you sat down and reviewed whether you were meeting your career goals and what you now want?  And I don’t mean your annual review with your line manager; I’m talking about your personal career goals, intentions, and ambitions.

Wherever you are in your career journey, it is a good idea to periodically analyse your current position, depending on where you want to be.

When you dig deeper, is everything on track and working out as expected?  How flexible are your employers?  How stimulating and stretching do you find your work?  What changes do you need to make to meet your goals?

To help you measure if your career is progressing as you envisaged when you started, we have created the following checklist to provide a snapshot of whether you’re on the right track.

When you work through this checklist, it is essential to remember the reasons you got into your current role in the first place.

- What did you set out to achieve in your career – did you plan on making a certain amount of money in a specific timeframe?

- Was your move into your current role related to what was going on in your personal life?  For example, were you about to leave home and get married, or were you saving for a deposit for a house?

- Also, what is important to you about the company you work for? Do your values and what’s important to you align with the company?  Do you feel you fit in with your company’s culture?

- What kind of relationships do you have with your colleagues and managers?  Are they the kind of relationships you want?

If your current role or company is not fulfilling you as you had hoped, or if the pace has slowed recently, it could be a sign that you need to start making some big career decisions – is it time to move roles or company?

Read each statement below and decide how much you agree using the following scale:

1. – Strongly disagree
2. – Disagree
3. – Neutral
4. – Agree
5. – Strongly agree

So, let’s get started!

Career Checklist

1. I am progressing the way I want in my career.
2. I have achieved some of my career goals, and others are within reach.
3. I enjoy my work and look forward to going in each day.
4. The people I work with are very supportive and friendly.
5. My company looks after my well-being.
6. I am paid fairly for the job I do.
7. I feel like a valued member of the team I work with.
8. My manager gives me the right balance between support/guidance and working under my initiative.
9. I feel I make a difference within my company rather than just being a number.
10. The company I work for invests in supporting me in achieving my goals.
11. I have set performance objectives.
12. I have regular reviews with my manager.
13. I can see a clear progression path within my current company.
14. I am happy with the training and personal development offered by my current employer.
15. The company I work for believes in me and trusts me to do my job well.
16. The company offers me flexible working options.
17. I feel that my company enables and supports my focus.
18. I am recognised and rewarded for my work and contribution.
19. The sector I work in excites or inspires me.
20. I am happy with the location and commute to my place of work.
21. I feel my company offers a fair and competitive commission structure (if applicable).
22. The monetary remuneration I receive has enabled me to achieve goals in my personal life (i.e., buy a house, go on my dream holiday, etc.)
23. I feel I have the right work/life balance working for my current company.
24. I am happy with the way my working day is structured.
25. I can see myself staying with this company for a long time.

Results        

What did you score?

Tally up what you scored and take a look below at some of the points you may want to consider when thinking about how you want your career to progress in the future:

23 to 43 - Alarm Bells!        

This score says your career isn’t going to plan, and you are probably not enjoying your current role.

We suggest thinking about why you aren’t enjoying your position or not achieving what you want.  It might be time for you to move on or think about whether your current company or role is for you.

Do you need a more supportive environment, better career progression, or even a sector change?

44 to 64 - Room for More        

A better score suggests you enjoy aspects of your job, but there’s room for improvement.

For example, you might like the people you work with, but you feel you aren’t personally getting the support you need to achieve your career and personal goals.  Maybe your current company doesn’t agree with remote or hybrid working.

Consider if you can see changes happening in your current company by speaking to your manager, or if you feel working here has run its course and want to progress, it’s time to move on.

65 to 85 - Meeting Some Goals        

You’re neither happy nor unhappy, though you wouldn’t describe yourself as wholly engaged, which means that if the right opportunity came your way, you might consider it.

When you feel this way, sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  You need to decide if you want to move, and why is this?  Understand if it’s just a case of you feeling like this because you are having a bad day or two or if it’s a regular occurrence.

86 plus - Loving Life and Your Job        

You are achieving your goals, meeting targets, and enjoying your workplace.  There may be small elements that you feel could be better, but they aren’t big enough to make you think about working elsewhere.

If this checklist has prompted you to think harder about what your current role and company are providing you with, and it has made you realise that now is time for a change, then get in touch with us today.

Recruit Recruit has been helping candidates like yourself make positive career decisions for over 15 years, and we can help you decide what step to take next to further your career.