5 Tips for Taking Charge of Your Work Life in 2025, Courtesy of a Career Coach

Erin McGoff shares her tips and tricks for finding fulfillment where your job is concerned.

Erin McGoff / Courtesy of Brendan Wixted

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We are officially one week into the brand-new year, and for many, that means resolutions and goal-setting is still in full swing. Perhaps you’re looking to make major career moves this year—and whether that means asking for a raise, moving to a different company or changing fields entirely, you may be seeking out some wisdom to help along the journey.

Enter Erin McGoff, a career coach who regularly dishes up work and life advice on both Instagram and LinkedIn. There’s no doubt that your job impacts your well-being, which is why happiness at work is so important—and studies have found that happiness increases productivity, so your emotional well-being is beneficial for both you and your employer.

We recently had a chance to chat with the AdviceWithErin founder, and below, you’ll find McGoff’s top five tips for how you can best take charge of your career in 2025.

Look inward

Before taking any external action, McGoff suggests looking within yourself in order to determine what you really want out of life. “ I highly recommend everybody makes a five year plan and at the beginning of the year readjusts it,” she says. “I don’t think anybody should make a five year plan as a roadmap to stick to. It’s more of an exploratory exercise to figure out what you actually want in life and not what other people want or what you think you should want, but what you actually think your life is going to look like.”

Talk to family and friends

If you’re thinking about making a major career move this year, McGoff recommends consulting with your loved ones first. “ I always recommend talking to people who you feel like really understand you,” she says of seeking advice from chosen family or friends. “Talk to people who you feel like really, really get you and tell them what your plans are and what you’re thinking about doing ... and get their advice and maybe ask them like, ‘Hey, what do you think would be a good career move for me?’ And ‘What do you think has been making me unhappy? What have I been complaining about a lot in the last year?’”

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Start making moves

Should you decide that changing jobs is in the cards for you this year, McGoff urges folks to begin the process by making a list of 10 to 20 dream companies that they’d like to work for. And in addition to sprucing up your résumé, she suggests brushing up on your continuing education in your field. “ If a new role or career move requires new education or certification, or there’s a course you need to take, you can start exploring that,” she says.

Decenter work from your life

McGoff notes that it’s worthwhile taking stock of your entire life, not just your work life, before making a major change. She says that the most common version of burnout she sees is from those who don’t have much work-life balance in place. “ I see actually a lot of people feel like they’re really busy and stressed even when they’re actually not, it’s just they only have work going on,” she notes. “So they feel really busy and stressed because work is really busy and stressed—but once they start going to the gym or hanging out with friends and they have other things going on, I see the burnout just plummets and they feel a lot better. So ... regardless of what you’re doing in your career, diversify what you’re doing in your week. “

Get your finances in order

When it comes to your career, it’s important to assess your current financial situation, McGoff says. With your salary in mind, figure out your expenses and your monetary goals, including both short- and long-term ones. If your goal is to make more money this year, you can then figure out how best to go about achieving that with your bottom line in mind. “ Remember that your salary is the floor, not the ceiling,” she notes. “So your salary is the minimum that you make in a year, [and] there’s always opportunities to make more money.”

Stay tuned to SI Swimsuit’s 31 Days of Wellness to continue to learn how to take charge in the year ahead!

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