Autumn Career Audit: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before the Year Ends

The nights are drawing in, end-of-year deadlines are piling up, and you're suddenly wondering where the year went!

Most of us leave career reflection until January. In reality, autumn is when end-of-year reviews start appearing in calendars and conversations about next year's training and development begin. That makes now the ideal time to start your autumn career audit: a chance to look honestly at your achievements, update your continuous professional development plan and start the right conversations before the year ends.

Below, we explore ten career reflection questions to help you review your progress, identify skills gaps and plan for the year ahead.

Looking Back: What Has This Year Taught You?

An audit naturally starts with understanding the current situation which in this case is an honest review of your role over the last ten months.

Start by asking yourself these three questions:

1. What am I most proud of achieving this year?

It's easy to forget achievements from January or February, so look back through your calendar, emails and project notes. Write down specific results and milestones that stand out. They don't have to be huge achievements either. Sometimes the things we're most proud of are the challenges we overcame along the way.

Think about whether you've:

• Improved a process or way of working: think about something that has genuinely made your and your team’s life easier or saved time.
• Solved a difficult problem: this could be something that had been causing problems for colleagues, customers or the organisation in general.
• Delivered a successful project: this could include meeting an important deadline or achieving a goal you set out for yourself at the beginning of the year.
• Supported your team: whether through a particularly busy period, overall organisational change or a challenging situation.
• Taken on new responsibilities: stepping out of your comfort zone or volunteering to work on a project that’s unfamiliar to what you do in your day-to-day role.
• Learned a new skill: whether this be training, a new qualification or just a skill that’s helped you perform in your role.
• Received positive feedback: from managers, leaders, colleagues or customers, have you received recognition for an act, task, or project?

As you work through your list, try to include examples wherever possible. Not only will this help you remember what you've achieved, but it'll also give you useful evidence for end-of-year reviews, CV updates and future job applications.

They're also an encouraging reminder of what you're capable of. We often focus on the goals we haven't reached yet, rather than recognising how much progress we've already made, so always start your career audit by looking at your wins first.

2. What energised me, and what drained me?

Take a moment to think about the parts of your job that you've genuinely enjoyed this year, as well as the tasks that felt frustrating, exhausting or difficult to stay motivated with. Looking back, you'll often start to spot patterns in the type of work that brings out your best and the areas that leave you feeling disengaged.

Understanding what gives you energy, and what takes it away, can help you make better decisions about your future development, responsibilities and career direction.

3. What feedback have I received, and what did I do with it?

This is the time to gather up all the feedback you've received this year, both formal and informal. Pay attention to any recurring themes and ask yourself what feedback you've acted on, and what you've left untouched.

You may notice certain comments appearing more than once. These often highlight development opportunities that could have the biggest impact on your performance and career progression next year.

Skills and Development: Where Are Your Gaps?

Once you have an accurate picture of what's happened in the past year, the next step is to look at your capabilities. This includes both the skills you've improved throughout the year and the ones you might need for the future. 

This is where your career audit helps you complete a skills gap analysis.

4. What new skills have I built this year?

List all the skills you've developed this year, whether through formal training, a particular project or simply day-to-day work. Don't forget to include soft skills too.

This could look like:

• Technical skills: such as learning a new system, analysing data or creating reports.
• Leadership and management: like supervising a new starter, leading a project or chairing team meetings.
• Communication: for example, presenting to senior leaders, writing business documents or handling a difficult conversation.
• Change and resilience: such as adapting to organisational changes or supporting colleagues through periods of uncertainty.
• Coaching and influencing: like mentoring a colleague or persuading stakeholders to support a new initiative.

Once you've got your list, make sure to include an example for each skill. You'll then be able to use these examples in end-of-year reviews, on your CV and on your LinkedIn profile.

5. What skills will my current or next role demand?

Now it's time to look ahead. A good way to do this is to read a few job descriptions for the kind of role you'd like to have in the next two to three years. You're then able to compare the skills on those descriptions to the ones you have now.

For example: In HR or L&D, roles increasingly ask for data literacy, strategic thinking and experience of supporting organisational change. You'll be able to identify the gaps between what you have now and what you'll need for the future.

6. Have I invested in my own learning and CPD?

Professional development isn’t always just studying towards a qualification or attending a formal course. Sometimes it's the small, consistent actions that make the biggest difference over time.

Think about whether you've:

• Kept up to date with industry trends through regular reading, research or webinars
• Learned a new skill that has helped you become more effective in your role
• Sought out feedback, mentoring or coaching to support your development

If you're struggling to identify many examples, this could be a sign that your own development has taken a back seat this year. This isn’t a bad thing, however, and it’s important to remember that with a busy workload, priorities can easily shift.  By identifying where there may be gaps, you'll be in a much better position to plan your learning goals for the year ahead.

Direction: Are You Still on the Right Career Path?

At this point, you're now able to ask yourself the bigger questions. Although these may be daunting, they're worth asking anyway. Just remember, a career audit isn't supposed to make you feel bad about yourself or your achievements, so be honest and take the whole picture into consideration.

7. Does my role still align with my values and interests?

Careers drift, and a job that might have felt right three years ago might not fit who you are today. As your skills, priorities and personal circumstances change, it's natural for your expectations of work to change too.
Take some time to think about what matters most to you in your career. This might be autonomy, flexibility, purpose, career progression, learning opportunities or the people you work with day-to-day.

Try asking yourself:

• Do I still enjoy the work I'm doing?
• Does my role play to my strengths?
• Am I still learning and developing?
• Do I feel challenged in the right way?
• Am I working towards goals that genuinely matter to me?
• Does my current role support the work-life balance I want?

If you find yourself answering "no" to most of these questions, it doesn't necessarily mean you need a new job. It just highlights a few areas you’d like to change or discuss with your manager for the upcoming year. 
It’s natural for your values and interests to evolve over time.

By taking a step back and checking whether your role still supports them can help make sure your career is moving in the right direction. 

8. Where do I want to be in twelve months, and in three years?

Now it's time to look ahead. Give yourself a few different options too, as careers rarely follow one straight path.

The 12-month view keeps things practical, like a promotion or new responsibility, while the three-year view helps keep you focused on the professional you want to become, long-term.

If you write both down and then refer back to your skills, you'll be able to map out whether your goals are realistic, and most importantly, what needs to change for you to be able to achieve them.

Support and Visibility: Who Can Help You Get There?

The final two questions focus on the people, opportunities and support around you. After all, career progression isn't just about what you know, but also who can support your development and help you reach your career goals.

9. Who knows what I'm capable of, and who should?

Unfortunately, good work doesn't always get noticed, so take a moment to think about who really sees the work you do and the contribution you make. Is it your manager, senior leaders, stakeholders or colleagues across the organisation?

Then think about who should know, given where you'd like your career to go next. If you're hoping to take on more responsibility or move into a leadership role, it’s important that the right people know of the value you bring to the organisation.

Think about whether you've:

• Shared your achievements and successes with the people who need to know about them
• Contributed to projects outside of your immediate role or team
• Built relationships with colleagues across the organisation
• Taken opportunities to showcase your skills, knowledge or expertise
• Made your career ambitions known to the people who can support them

It's not about boasting. It's about making sure your hard work, skills and potential don't go unnoticed. All of these things can open the door to new opportunities, projects and career conversations.

10. What support do I need?

Finally, look back at your gaps, goals and what would help most at this point in your career. While it's important to take ownership of your development, you don't have to do everything alone.

Think about what support would make the biggest difference over the next 12 months.

This could include:

• A mentor who can offer guidance and share their experience
• Regular feedback and career conversations with your manager
• A recognised qualification or training programme to help build your knowledge and confidence
• Opportunities to gain experience through projects, secondments or additional responsibilities
• Support from colleagues or professional networks who have already achieved similar goals

Try to be as specific as possible. Rather than thinking, "I need more development", identify exactly what would help and why. You may find that some of the support you need is already available to you, whether that's through your manager, colleagues, professional network or your organisation's learning and development opportunities.

Simply identifying what support would make the biggest difference is often the first step towards taking action.

Once you've considered the support available to you, you'll be in a much stronger position to turn your reflections into a practical plan for the year ahead.

Next Steps: Making the Most of Your Career Audit

Working through these 10 questions should leave you with a much clearer picture of where you are in your career: what you've achieved, where your gaps are and what you want from the year ahead. You don't need to have every answer straight away. In fact, the purpose of a career audit isn't to have everything figured out. It’s about creating space to reflect, recognise your progress and identify the areas you’d like to focus on next. 

By taking the time to reflect now, you'll be in a much stronger position to shape your development into 2027.

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