Workers were asked, "How often are your New Year's resolutions career related?" Fifty-five percent reported they never make a career-focused New Year's resolution and 85 percent said they did not make one last year.

"Many people focus their New Year's resolutions on ways to spend more time with loved ones or make other quality-of-life improvements," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. "But work also contributes to one's overall well-being, which makes this time of year ideal for re-evaluating career aspirations and developing detailed plans for achieving them."

Messmer offers the following suggestions for developing career-focused New Year's resolutions:

• Reassess your objectives. Have your professional goals changed within the last year? Are new opportunities now available to you that previously were not?
  
  
• Evaluate your marketability. Do your skills require updating? Consider training in areas such as leadership, public speaking and interpersonal communication.
  
  
• Study trends. What are the growing industries and practice areas and which would be of most interest to you? Do you expect these trends to shift during the next 12 months?
  
  
• Set realistic objectives. Allow yourself stretch goals, but make sure they are attainable. Establish a timeline for achieving your goals and reward yourself when you reach important milestones.