While many people focus on health and fitness goals for their New Year's resolutions, other career-oriented individuals use this fresh start to dive into their work. Career advancement is a New Year's resolution that can be measured in a number of different ways and achieved through various avenues. Here are five strategies that you can employ in order to advance your career in 2022 and beyond.

Define Your Priorities

You will see the most success in advancing your career over the next 12 months if you choose clearly defined priorities. Simply saying that you want to advance your career is too vague. Instead, you want to set targeted and detailed goals by defining your top career priorities. Maybe your priority is getting that promotion that you have been aiming for over the last few months? Or perhaps your goal is to move on to a different company altogether? Knowing what your priorities are will serve as your guide as you create your game plan to meet this resolution. Without clearly defined priorities, you will just be floundering with no compass to guide you.

Establish Boundaries

It could be that your lack of boundaries has stymied your career advancement in the past. Learning how to set boundaries is a skill that you will find beneficial both in your professional life and your personal life. Boundaries help you to protect your time so that you can get more done, particularly allowing you to focus on the things that matter the most to your career advancement. This means that you need to set boundaries with colleagues that tend to take too much of your work time without giving back. This may also mean that you need to set boundaries with friends and family so that you can focus on your career. However setting boundaries looks to you, it is important to take this step so that you can focus on what matters to your career trajectory.

Put Yourself First

Related to the strategy of establishing boundaries is the goal of putting yourself first. Some professionals have a habit of always picking up the slack for others in the group, hindering their own advancement in the process. In addition to setting strong boundaries, you need to establish a routine that puts your own needs first. Good ideas include taking time each day to advance your long-term career goals. This could be reaching out to an old contact or jotting down ideas in a journal. The key is setting aside this time that is solely for your own needs.

Cultivate a Support System

If you do not already have a strong workplace support system in place, now is the time to make it happen. Most people in leadership positions have had a lot of help along the way. How your support system looks largely depends on your industry, specific organization, and your personal needs. Find people above you in the organizational chart and cultivate relationships with them that go beyond standard office associations. You will see the most success if you have more allies in your corner. Be sure to pay it forward by giving back to those who may seem beneath you. You never know when these relationships may pay off down the road.

Embrace Flexibility

There is no doubt that these are trying times in the corporate world. The planet is nearly two years into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid surge of the latest variant combined with inflation and other types of unrest has made it harder than ever to find stability. Rather than fighting all of these elements, you are better off adopting an attitude of flexibility. Showing a sense of resiliency and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing work conditions makes you a more attractive professional. Being flexible may also mean that you need to be willing to learn new skills or step outside of your comfort zone.

These five strategies will provide you with the keys that you need to strengthen your career foundation and boost the chances that this is your best year yet.