January 1st is coming, and perhaps finding a new, better, or more fulfilling job is on your resolution list. Instead of waiting until the new year to resolve to find a new job, here are five steps to prepare for your next move now.

1. Determine what you want to do, not just what you can do.

We all have skills and experience that can translate to a multitude of jobs. But understanding your next career move starts with aligning your job with your values, which represent what’s important to you, because when your values are fulfilled, you will be fulfilled.

Start by asking yourself these three questions:

— What do I enjoy doing, or what gives me energy, and why?

— What kind of environment do I want to work in and why?

— What kind of interactions do I want to have at work and why?

People can easily identify things like honesty, transparent communication, and respect as values. However, things like having challenging work, accomplishing tasks versus being strategic, and being acknowledged for solving big problems can be values. In fact, being curious about every action and experience that gives you energy or enjoyment can lead you to your values.

For example, maybe you recognize you enjoy organizing your pantry, your kids’ rooms, and your closet because you love the process, feel a sense of peace when everything is in its place, and like to check off tasks on your to-do list. If you think about this seemingly simple action of “organizing” through the lens of the workplace, then kinesthetic or tactical work, structure, short-term projects, and variety may all be work-related values.

Once you identify your values and define each one in terms of work, then you can determine which skills would be needed to fulfill each value. For example:

Value: Organizing/Organization

— My definition: Creating structure and order with clear processes.

— Hard skills needed: Six Sigma/Lean methodologies, data analysis, process mapping, process improvement, continuous improvement, project management.

— Soft skills needed: Critical thinking, problem solving, attention to detail, agility, change management.

Your next career move will undoubtedly be fulfilling if you identify all of your values and then search for positions that require skills that align with them.

2. Update your resume.

Resumes are not meant to list every accomplishment; they should only show you have the skills that are relevant to the job or career you’re pursuing.

Once you’ve identified the type of role you want, review 10 job descriptions. If you can’t find 10, use AI programs to generate job descriptions with prompts such as, “Generate a job description for director, business operations.” Then identify keywords and themes the descriptions have in common. For example, most business operations job descriptions include responsibilities such as:

— Developing and implementing streamlined processes to optimize operational efficiencies globally

— Collecting and analyzing operational data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement

— Developing and implementing quality-control measures to ensure products or services meet company standards

— Aligning cross-functional stakeholders with effective communication toward executing strategic plans that create efficiencies

— Planning, prioritizing, and executing various projects to achieve business objectives

Now consider how you might present your own experience using the language of the job description. For example, here’s how someone with sales director experience might translate their accomplishments and skills:

— Optimized international operations in four countries through streamlining sales go-to-market (GTM) processes, aligning sales marketing toward strategic goals, and influencing technology enhancements, which increased sales operational efficiencies by 28%.

3. Prepare consistent messaging for interviews.

Now that your resume is ready to go, you can move on to preparing for an interview.

Identify five accomplishments that utilize skills that satisfy the job requirements and demonstrate the unique value you would bring. Each story should be under two minutes and positioned in the STAR(T) method — situation, task, action, result — with an added T for takeaways.

For example, here’s how you might prepare for the common interview prompt, “Tell me about a time when you had to prioritize multiple projects”:

— Situation: Through analysis of processes and technology, we learned HR needed a new talent-management system for scale, the sales team needed to upgrade Salesforce for better lead generation, and manufacturing needed a new quality-management system for regulatory compliance.

— Task: All were very important to the company, but my team did not have the bandwidth to manage all three at the same time, so these projects had to be prioritized.

— Action: I used my extensive finance background (unique value) to conduct a business-value assessment, creating metrics to ensure the company achieved the desired return on investment for each technology, and aligned each solution to meet stakeholder expectations and also broader business objectives. I previewed the data with each leader so there were no surprises.

— Result: When I laid out the business case and data in front of the three leaders, the stakeholders could easily see which project needed to move forward first, and they aligned on my recommendations for prioritization.

— Takeaways: While it all went well, I realized I could have previewed the data with the CFO so she wasn’t trying to catch up in the conversation.

This story shows unique capabilities, executive influence, and stakeholder management, as well as demonstrating humility with learnings at the end.

4. Prepare your mindset for a long search.

Layoffs are ramping up again and the market is flooded with talented people, so it may take a bit longer to find a new opportunity. Preparing your mindset means creating a realistic plan not just for how you’ll conduct your job search, but also for when and how you’ll engage in self-care to keep your spirits up if the search takes a long time.

A negative mindset will diminish your energy, motivation, and confidence, which can be sensed by recruiters. So take the time to set just one attainable job search goal each day, whether it’s to find three interesting jobs to apply to, to reach out to one contact, or to apply to two job openings. Also set one attainable personal goal each day, such as exercising for 20 minutes, taking the dogs for a walk, or reading a book for half an hour. Setting one attainable job-hunting and personal goal will remove that nagging question, Have I done enough?, and reframe the day as a success when you accomplish your daily goals.

5. Activate and grow your network.

Reach out to your network now, as business slows down and holidays can make people cheery and open to reconnecting. When you attend holiday parties, go on vacation, visit family and friends, or even play at a park with your kids, try to meet at least one new person and discuss your career interests. Create a pitch you can use in any circumstance to widen your network. For example, “I’m a business operations executive with more than 10 years’ experience in business transformations. I was laid off in the last round of cuts at a struggling company, but I see it as a blessing because it was time to find my next challenge, and it’s hard to find time to job search when you’re working. If you know any COOs or VPs of operations I could take a meet and greet with to broaden my network, I’d be very appreciative.”

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c.2024 Harvard Business Review. Distributed by The New York Times Licensing Group. Read the original article: https://hbr.org/2023/12/new-year-new-job-start-planning-now