When you think about investing, you may automatically think about spending money, but do you think about the allocation of your time, your mindset or your energy? These are also important when you invest in your career. Many learning and development leaders find that their focus almost solely lands on the career journeys of their learners. But think about how much has changed in your professional journey in the last three to five years. The company may have changed and your positions or title may have changed, but your knowledge and skills have likely stayed with you —and hopefully they have improved. This article discusses investing in your own career.
Professional development is not only the responsibility of your company, although they have a very important role to play in providing opportunities for you to learn and grow. It is your responsibility to your growth, development and advancement of your career. Having a career goal, what you aspired to be professionally, is vital to your professional development journey. Without a goal it is difficult to build a plan that drives intentional actions and leads you to your career success. And, as an L&D leader, your learners will also be looking at your professional development journey to inspire their own.
As a new year begins, create a plan so you can be intentional on how you will spend your time and energy toward your career over the next year. Set your own career goal if you do not have one already, and establish a development plan that includes a list of actions you will take this year to expand and improve your knowledge and skills. As you plan for your career growth, consider the following:
GOAL: Your career goal can span 10 years, but because our world is changing ever so quickly and we continue to evolve in every stage of our lives, it is best to work on a three- to five-year career goal. This allows you to conduct a regular review of the goal and avoid tunnel vision or a one-track career mind, leverage your expertise for greater opportunities or pivot into a new industry.
PLAN: Your plan should outline what is required to reach your goal. For this exercise think about what knowledge, skill, ability, characteristics, exposure and network you will need to support your development. For some career goals, you may need to consider what proficiency level is needed to be successful in this area.
ACTION: Once the plan is in place, consider what actions you must take to complete each plan. Take the time to order your list of actions by priority. This exercise will help you identify which actions must be completed first, as some actions depend on other actions being completed.
Here are some actions you should consider to support your development plan:
- Courses and certifications. Take advantage of the countless courses, seminars, instructional videos and training programs that are available across organizations and networks to help expose you to different levels of a topic. Obtaining a certificate for a specific topic provides evidence that you have the education in that topic. Gaining a certification, however, provides evidence of experience, education and meeting a national or industry standard of measurement for that topic.
- Social networks and media platforms. Social networking communities such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram allow you to connect with and follow thought leaders and organizations for a specific topic or industry. This provides an opportunity for you to be introduced to a topic, explore relevant information over time, gain deeper knowledge, stay abreast of changes, build proficiency and improve your understanding. Be sure to follow multiple contributors in a particular topic so that you can gain different perspectives. Subscriptions to podcasts or YouTube channels also provide helpful context around topics.
- You must read. Research shows that highly effective people read at least 30 minutes per day. There is no need to reinvent the wheel – someone has lived the experience or has been there and done that, so why not read and learn from their experience. It is important to stay abreast with your industry, but also equally important to read publications outside of your industry as this exposes you to ideas, situations and solutions that are influencing other industries. Be sure to tap into research papers, reports, white papers, company websites as well as studies conducted by associations and industry leaders as these give valuable insights, facts and trends.
- Connect with others. Taking the time to network with other professionals that are at your company, in your industry and outside of your industry is one of the best ways to learn, grow and advance in your career. Stayin touch with fellow L&D professionals you meet at conferences, training programs or meetings and other gatherings. Having a strong network will provide you the opportunity to gain personal insights, learn from mistakes, gain tools for success, receive meaningful feedback, be exposed to relevant experiences and expand your network. Individuals in your network are sometimes willing to mentor or provide coaching support in their areas of expertise. It is important to point out that connecting with others is more than just following them or sending a connection request. It does require time, communication, and effort from both individuals.
- At work: Your company may offer a series of training workshops, development opportunities or tuition reimbursement. Take advantage of those! If you are unaware of what development benefits are available to you, check with your HR department. Finally, be sure to tap into the wealth of knowledge that is within your company’s talent pool.
No matter what you do, what title you hold or what industry you are in, you owe it to yourself to be intentional about your own professional development.
