On The Job: Personal Career Planning

Good personal career planning is incomplete without a regular assessment of where your skills need improving. Here are a few techniques that make sense:

• Identify and join professional associations that include folks who are in your line of work or who share your areas of interest. More than just haphazard attendance at professional association meetings is called for, however. A careful and intentional effort means you seek knowledge with specific learning goals in mind.
• When you seek education in an organized forum such as a large industry education conference, spend a few minutes thinking about what you hope to gain from attending. I like to make written goals, usually just two or three things that I know I need to come back with.
• A network of friends and fellow professionals can be a good resource. When you are stumped on a project ask them the questions you can't answer. Insist that they make you a part of their resources, as well, for topics on which you are well informed or educated.

These few simple ideas can be combined with more complex methods to determine what skill set would be best for you to acquire. From job performance appraisals to standardized skill inventory assessments (sometimes available for free or at low cost are a nearby college career counseling center), there are a number of useful devices to help you make the list of “things you want to work on being better at.” Whatever you choose, make it part of a deliberate plan to keep your career growing by increasing the level and breadth of expertise you have at your personal command.

Good personal career planning is incomplete without a regular assessment of where your skills need improving. Here are a few techniques that make sense:

• Identify and join professional associations that include folks who are in your line of work or who share your areas of interest. More than just haphazard attendance at professional association meetings is called for, however. A careful and intentional effort means you seek knowledge with specific learning goals in mind.
• When you seek education in an organized forum such as a large industry education conference, spend a few minutes thinking about what you hope to gain from attending. I like to make written goals, usually just two or three things that I know I need to come back with.
• A network of friends and fellow professionals can be a good resource. When you are stumped on a project ask them the questions you can't answer. Insist that they make you a part of their resources, as well, for topics on which you are well informed or educated.

These few simple ideas can be combined with more complex methods to determine what skill set would be best for you to acquire. From job performance appraisals to standardized skill inventory assessments (sometimes available for free or at low cost are a nearby college career counseling center), there are a number of useful devices to help you make the list of “things you want to work on being better at.” Whatever you choose, make it part of a deliberate plan to keep your career growing by increasing the level and breadth of expertise you have at your personal command.