As an executive, it’s easy to focus all of your energy on growing your business and helping your team to evolve and develop. Heading into 2018, there is probably a long list of initiatives you hope to roll out that will deliver business processes improvement, unlock latent potential in your team members, and offer long-lasting benefits for your organization.

But don’t forget about your own personal continuous improvement project: yourself. With 2017 nearly behind us, the time has come— once again— to articulate your New Year’s resolutions and create an actionable strategy for achieving them. 

In addition to any professional development programs you may have in mind, consider the following top 2018-proof career management New Year’s Resolutions to add to your list. Including these actions in your 2018 personal-improvement plan will ensure that you are ready when opportunity knocks or when you feel the need to move on to the next challenge. 

1. Get More Out of LinkedIn

No matter where you are professionally— happily employed or looking for a change— it is never the wrong time to resolve to make better use of this powerful networking tool.

If you are employed, consider how you want to be perceived by the people you intersect with professionally. This may include your team members, superiors, customers, suppliers or partners. Craft your profile to communicate your brand to those audiences and begin expanding your network in order to accomplish your business goals. If you are ready to begin an active search, you’ll need to have a search-engine-optimized profile that captures the attention of hiring agents and recruiters, invites connection, and offers an engaging read about your background.

Whatever your goals are, don’t stop at your profile development. Make sure you are actively using LinkedIn daily to create and share content, connect with new people, keep in touch with former colleagues, stay abreast of the latest developments in your industry, and engage in dialogue.

2. Have Your Resume Ready at a Moment’s Notice

Even if you are stable in your current position, resolve to have your resume 2018-ready and updated in case a new opportunity arises or an internal change quickly puts you in active search mode. If you’re like many executives, you haven’t had to look for a job in years— and you may be surprised at how much has changed in job searching. A resume that caters to today’s modern readers looks much different from the one you used ten years ago, so you may need much more than a quick update.

Don’t wait until you have an urgent deadline to redraft your resume. Studying modern resume strategy and then crafting a high-impact document takes time. If you wish to work with a professional, keep in mind that reputable executive resume writers can be booked out weeks to months in advance.

3. Be Heavily Networked

Did you know that 75% of jobs are found via networking? Not only are most jobs found through networking, but the jobs are typically offered to candidates who have the potential to succeed in those roles, whereas jobs that are posted to the public are often filled based on experience and skills, representing a lateral move for qualified candidates.

Obviously, building a robust network doesn’t happen overnight. Therefore, it is best to start when you aren’t even actively looking for a new job; consider it an ongoing career management strategy.

If job searching isn’t at all on your radar, consider the benefits that you can bring to your organization by networking, which may include new partnerships, customers, talent, etc. and get busy in building new relationships.

As you approach the new year, don’t neglect to include career management resolutions in your list of areas of improvement, regardless of whether you are stable in your current position or actively engaged in a job search. To be ready for all that 2018 and beyond has in store, stay networked, optimize your online presence, and be prepared for change at a moment’s notice.