- Wise Words -
Create Your Own Development Plan to Excel in Your Career
by Lexie Dy
If you want to succeed in your career then you need to have a plan. You need to know where you want to go and then put the proper tools in place to make your dreams a reality. If you are new to creating a personal development plan, then we are here to help. I love to see people succeed with their career goals, so here are my essential tips to follow when making a plan for corporate success. Set SMART Goals That Are Specific and Attainable The first step to excelling in your career is to set dates for when you hope to accomplish your goals. So, these goals might include furthering your education, reading a specific book, reaching a certain position within your current company, or anything in between. Set dates for your goals that are attainable with hard work and dedication. Don’t be too hard on yourself by setting dates that are too near in the future. When setting goals, try to make them SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timed. So, if you want to return to school, be specific about where you want to go and what you want to learn, set a time that you plan to enroll, and really think about if this new field of study will be relevant to your goals. There is no rush here. Take the time to create a comprehensive strategy. More Advice on Education If you know that you need to further your education in order to reach new heights in your career, then you may want to consider a return to college. If you can’t afford to quit your current job, then you can either go to night school or attend an online college, so you can go to classes when you have time and still get the degree that you desire. Another option is to learn from the people at your job. If you think that experience in a different department will help you to grow in your career then ask your manager about potential cross-training opportunities so you can learn the ropes. Making this request will show managers that you want to evolve in your career, and they may help you to find additional opportunities within the business. Really Access Your Skills Depending on how you plan to develop and where you want to end up, you may need to learn a few new skills. While some skills will be technical, like web design, others are soft skills, like public speaking. If you know that you need help in any area then look online for places to learn. So, if you need help with public speaking, then you might go to a speech tutor or if you need help with organizational skills, then look online for tips. The point is to never stop learning until you have achieved your goals. Create a High-Quality Resume to Highlight Your Skills As you begin to learn new skills and gain some ground on achieving your goals, you will want to start to put all of your new qualifications into a high-quality resume. Your resume should list your skills and potentially how exactly you used those skills at previous jobs. You want your resume to appear clean and it should be free of typos and sentence issues. Some people have a lot of qualifications but they are not so savvy when it comes to writing resumes, and if that is the case for you, then venture online and use resume templates that can take out a lot of the guesswork. These websites allow you to choose from a wide variety of pre-made templates that are all impressive to the eye. Once you find one that you like, you can modify it with your own skills, job experiences, and personal information. When you’re done, you simply download, print it, and send it off to your dream jobs. The tips above will give you a good start for creating your own professional development plan that you can follow to career success. By setting SMART goals, furthering your education, and creating a high-quality resume, you will get where you want to go. If you would like to learn more about this topic check out the Early Stage Professional help center here.
|
