Check out Singaporeans' top 5 career wishes in 2013

All fingers are crossed.

According to a recent LinkedIn survey of 450 Singaporean professionals, 85% plan to make a New Year resolution related to their professional life/career in 2013 –this is up from the 67% who did last year – and in contrast to how only 54% of them make New Year resolutions in general.

The top five professional goals that Singaporeans want to achieve in 2013 are:

• Professional development through learning new skills (50 per cent)
• Network more or build more professional relations (50 per cent)
• Get promoted or move into a leadership role (39 per cent)
• Get a new job or career (36 per cent)
• Get a pay raise (34 per cent)

LinkedIn also asked Singaporean professionals what they wanted to achieve with these professional goals. “Financial security and growth” (49 per cent) is on top of Singaporeans’, followed by having “stronger workplace performance” (24 per cent) and “better work-life balance” (24 per cent).

“With Singapore’s weak economic growth and an uncertain job market heavy on the minds of many professionals, some of us may be surprised that getting a new job or a pay raise ranked lower than learning new skills and building professional connections,” said Chan Ngee Key, Career Coach & Strategist at YourOwn360.

“Yet, Singaporeans are exactly right, because strengthening our capabilities is key to ensuring we stay competitive even in a downturn. Similarly, networking helps you be in a position to win and be in with contacts who can be a source of new job opportunities, new clients, and even new partners. LinkedIn makes building these crucial contacts easy.”