I’m sure you’re ready for career success to be headed your way, because if one thing can be said about what’s happened in the last few years, it’s that we have all earned a break.

Luckily for you, with the right mindset, a positive attitude, and perhaps a willingness to step a bit outside your own comfort zone, you can have the professional success you are looking for.

In this post, I wanted to give you the inside track so that you could have information that might help you reach your ultimate career goals.

Advice from Top Experts

I asked 18 top career experts – from career coaches to resume writers, recruiters to consultants – one simple question.

What prediction can you make that we can all look forward to or be hopeful about in 2023? 

My hope is to help you find the best way to focus on a successful career, your own career development, new skills, understand trends and career opportunities, and much more so that you know what you can be hopeful about, and what you can focus on for success.

Being able to peek around that corner will hopefully give you the ability to make the best career choices for you in 2023.

Here are the answers of my 18 experts.

Predictions: What to be hopeful about in 2023?

Jeff Altman

Urges us to think big picture.

A lifetime is not a long time. We like to think of ourselves as being immortal but life has a way of reminding us how foolish we are to live from that perspective. How do you want to live between now and the inevitable conclusion of your life? Instead of focusing on problems or troubles you currently have, remember every storm runs out of rain, and the question to focus on is “What’s possible now?”

Andrea Macek

Your team members may stay remote. And that’s a good thing. 

Remote/hybrid roles. We are going to in year 3 of the “new” normal and flexible work environments are in high demand, especially for companies that want to attract and retain top talent. This is especially important for female professionals as we continue to try to regain the loss of women in the workforce from COVID.

Katelyn Richards

Brands aren’t just made up things for social media profiles anymore! 

I have so much hope in seeing how many companies are now supporting their employees in building meaningful and intentional personal brands. This number is growing daily and it’s exciting and encouraging that people have the ability to put themselves out there and gain visibility that supports them in their career and opens the door for new opportunities!

Virginia Franco

Career fundamentals still yield great results!

From ATS-friendly templates to job search tracking sheets, AI interviewing tools to LinkedIn’s Career Explorer — there are more tools to support job seekers today than ever before.

When it comes to job search — whether the market is strong or tight — I find it comforting to know the fundamentals remain unchanged. Have a clear target, nurture a strong network and have powerful career marketing collateral at the ready.

Claire Davis

Identify the problems in your industry, and brand yourself + become a thought leader to overcome them.

In 2022, 97% of my clients shared the same pain point in their medical sales career: ACCESS.
“Claire, access was a challenge before 2020, but now it’s near impossible.”

What access?
Access to decision makers – Doctors, Staff, and Healthcare Administrators. Gatekeeping is out of control.

Healthcare companies are quick to train their salespeople on their products, how to detail a study, and
the art of ethical persuasion — but sales only works if there is access to customers. Medical sales
professionals used to walk into a medical office, lab, or hospital and use their skills to educate those who
call the shots on what gets ordered to help their patients.

Healthcare companies are at a crossroads
Without being able to meet their customer face-to-face, companies will have to make a choice, either
alternate through ramp-ups and layoffs to attack access via sheer volume of salespeople or fizzle out
and be replaced by mega-corporations who already have contracts in place and who’ll offer a similar or
knockoff product.

Social Selling Levels the Playing Field for Companies Large and Small
With the menagerie of hoops and legal ambiguity regarding social media often found at Fortune 500
Healthcare companies, this brings an incredible opportunity for small to mid-sized companies looking to
compete for access in the crowded healthcare market. The key? Unleashing their sales teams as
healthcare thought leadership speedboats vs. the corporate cruise liner mentality of traditional
marketing departments.

Video Selling, Personal Branding, and Thought Leadership Training = Access Granted
By implementing regular Video Selling, Personal Branding, and Thought Leadership Training, companies
will regain trusted authority and their chance to build loyalty with the providers in our often “access-
denied” healthcare economy. Three ways companies can implement this are:

1. Train your teams to dominate the screen in every single scrub pocket. Hello, video sales training!
2. Dig up and leverage that StrengthsFinder2.0 or DiSC assessment each employee took early-on to
   create an infectious personal brand.
3. Help willing employees develop tangible talking points and thought leadership stories to support
   their credibility and the company goals, at large. Then, unleash them on podcasts.

My Hope for 2023? Access Granted
Healthcare CMOs are still hesitant but are taking notice. And while the next hurdle is to convince legal
that this is all a good idea, it’s a worthy cause. By setting the parameters and guidelines on what to
share, how to share it, and what’s off-limits, healthcare companies can regain access and get emerging
healthcare products and tech into the hands of the patients and providers who need them the most.

Shelley Piedmont

Continuous learning and a new job might be in your future. . . 

Technology and automation will continue to transform the job market, but this is not all doom and gloom for job seekers. This will lead to the creation of new types of jobs that do not yet exist. This can present great opportunities for job seekers who are willing to embrace change, upskill, and adapt to these changes. It also may take some of the mundane parts of jobs away, leaving humans to do more interesting and creative work.

Erin Kennedy

Use your free time to create a great new career path!

I love that we live in a world where we can create a side business doing what we love. Even if you are in a (day) job you don’t like, you can plan and build your dream side gig. Love graphic design or creative work and want to start a little side business? Consider Etsy or Fiverr to get your feet wet. Always thought of yourself as the grammar police? Start a proofreading side business. People want what you have to offer and there are platforms where you can showcase those talents. Who knows? It could become a full time job that you love. Mine did!

Erica Reckamp

Expect a successful outcome, even if getting there is rocky!

More movement, notably even in the Exec, C-Suite and Board Levels: Competition is tight up top, but market dynamics have been volatile over the past few years, which means companies change direction and often need leaders with an entirely different skill set to change course. This means more opportunities for all, as changes up top often trickle down. As we saw with the Twitter exodus, many exiting employees found even better positions than their prior role!

More consulting, entrepreneurship and advisory roles as doers refuse to be sidelined by layoffs or slow hiring processes. You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule? (20% of the people do 80% of the work.) Well, they won’t just stop. They’ll continue their mission on their own if need be!

More cities/states will require pay transparency. The companies that comply with the regulations and honor the integrity of the regulations (listing reasonable ranges) will enjoy positive employer branding and attract stronger candidates!

Hannah Morgan

The script is flipped on what true career success looks like. 

We’ve seen so many positive changes emerge over the past year. My hope and expectation is that we will continue to see these continue.

• Pay transparency laws that enable employees to ask raises and job seekers to land jobs that pay more

• Empowered workers and job seekers are demanding flexible work (remote, 4-day work week, and hybrid)

• Laid off workers aren’t viewed with the negative stigma and there’s greater public support for those who have been laid off

• A greater effort by employers to care about internal career pathing and candidate experience

• Employment gaps being normalized

• Increasing number of jobs ads that don’t require higher education

• Advances in technology leveling the playing field for job seekers

The younger generation of workers is breaking the old school rules of employment and this is refreshing. Even if we do head into a recession, the availability of workers is small and powerful. They have spoken and I don’t see things going back to the way they used to be. After all, the days of grinding it out, waiting your turn and hustling weren’t all that great.

Meg Applegate

Support in your personal life and forging your own path.

It’s good news that employers are embracing holistic employee needs and development. I believe organizations will continue to expand how they support their people holistically in 2023. From in-house coaching (or professional development funds) and flexible work arrangements to expanded benefits like mental health support, return-to-work programs and family bereavement leave for a miscarriage, work-life integration will continue to be woven into healthy company cultures. And that is something to celebrate!

With that said, I anticipate a small business and/or consultancy boom in 2023. Professionals, especially those affected by the tech layoffs in late 2022, can work on their terms, assist bootstrapped businesses and drive innovation

Teegan Bartos

New opportunities on the horizon.

I predict 2023 will be a year we see the world transform in big and small ways – disruptions in science, technology, business, and even culture. With the rise in global data protection rights I see tech continuing to be a leader in the hiring space. Countries around the world are investing in sustainability and cracking down on corporate tax, this makes me believe there will be great opportunities for security leaders to have hybrid roles tackling sustainability and challenges for finance leaders ahead to meet shareholder profitability demands. As the demand for electric vehicles rise, I see great innovation occurring in traditionally antiquated spaces making room for emerging leaders to shine. In the career coaching space, I predict fantastic collaborations like this one 😉 (Thanks, Teegan!)

Dan Roth

Get access to great career support

An expansion of resources that enables those that have been laid off to have everything they need at their fingertips.

Loren Greiff

Best practices to tap into your professional network and discover if a company syncs with your career values

Counter References: Requesting references from others who’ve worked for your potential new boss to find out first hand what their experience was. Especially useful for women concerned about working in a male dominated company with a male boss and/or for those who prioritize diversity or even parents concerned about flexibility. I love this idea, after all — the company is asking for your references and intel to avoid that toxic, micro-manager is best revealed sooner rather than after the offer letter has been inked.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!

Informational interviews are incredible, but underrated tools you can use to understand a company culture before you’re hired!

Ed Han

Maintain a positive attitude, because people understand what’s happening in the world of work. 

I think we can be hopeful that thanks to the pandemic-driven layoffs and furloughs, more people are sensitized to the plight of job seekers, whether displaced from high-flying tech brands or otherwise. I don’t think I know a single soul who was neither themselves laid off nor knew nobody affected by a layoff. This reservoir of sympathy exists and can be tapped into. In networking conversations or informational interviews, many people will be more sympathetic than you might dare to hope.

Even when things are bleak, there is still joy and hope to be found. Maybe the laughter of a child, the comfort of talking with an old friend–whatever it is, it’s there. The critical thing in all of this is understanding that on some level, believing in something enough to have hope is the path to self-actualization. This goes all the way back to Descartes and his famous observation: cogito ergo sum. What we believe forges the chains that will either weigh us down and bind us, or allow us to lift high the boundaries of our reality.

Paula Christensen

Mental health support makes a huge difference.

I predict the stigma around discussing mental health concerns in the workplace will continue to lessen. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a shift where many companies began to create a culture where time off was encouraged and mental health breaks were valued. This change is likely to continue, as it makes sense for companies to proactively address the mental well-being of their employees, considering that one in five Americans live with a mental illness.

Mac Prichard

Remote and hybrid are here long term

Remote and hybrid work are here to stay. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the rare employer who allowed people to work at home even one day a week on a regular basis. But the last three years have shown us that people can be productive anywhere, not just while sitting inside a cubicle. This change gives workers more flexibility and choice and helps employers as well with both retention and recruitment.

Jessica Hernandez

A great way to land a new role is to use LinkedIn

One thing I’m excited about for 2023 is seeing more job seekers be proactive and take control of their job search. Job seekers have been at the mercy of online application submissions and job boards for so long. Now there are various tools and strategies available, and they longer have to go the apply, wait, and be ghosted route. I’m a big fan of using all the different tools and features LinkedIn offers. LinkedIn is constantly updating its features and finding new ways to assist job seekers. I see more job seekers leveraging LinkedIn’s platform to advance their job search and career.

Kelli Hrivnak

Successful outcomes in job search mean focusing on trying new things and different ways to approach it.

While innovative technology tools continue to make waves and headlines (like AI) as means to advance a job search, I do believe that old school job search strategies will continue to prevail. Recently, I surveyed 100 people over the last two months (Nov/Dec 2022) on how they landed an interview in a variety of organizations. The means varied, from direct application, networking, to utilizing recruiters. While software can increase our efficiencies and save time, they aren’t going to convert into an offer letter. If you are considering or active in a job search, don’t concentrate on one tactic or channel. Diversify your plan, optimize your tools, and make adjustments when you aren’t getting the results that meet your objectives.

How to Have Career Success All Year

While it’s absolutely true that your own definition of career success is up to you, focusing on your future career will help you shape it into what you want it to be, instead of ignoring it and hoping that the next step simply unfolds the way you want it to.

With these insights from successful professionals in the careers field, you can look for bright spots and openings that will give you an edge to reach your own successful outcomes and long-term goals that you’ve set for yourself.

Whether you’re looking to create more work life balance, or focus on your professional development, whether you’re continuing along your current career trajectory or embarking on a career change, whether you have your eye set on career advancement, or something else, at the end of the day, successful people know that career success means being the best versions of themselves in both their personal and professional life.

Finding ways to support that positive relationship with yourself and your work, while maintaining your own high standards will lead you to the professional development, career success, and career advancement you want.

Career Success is Different for Different People

This year, create your own definition of subjective career success. What does it mean to you? What does it look like? What professional development opportunities or career options are out there for you?

Then use this advice to go out there and make it happen!