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Guest article by Brad Krause
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A professional development plan can encourage you to set career goals and establish a straightforward career path that will help you achieve them. Whether you know what you want to achieve in your professional life or you’re still exploring your options, creating a professional development plan can offer some invaluable guidance. In this article, we explore some tips to help you establish a plan for professional development and begin implementing your ideas.
Establish Your Professional Goals
First, you need to set professional goals. BetterUp.com lists several professional goals that may offer some inspiration if you’re feeling stuck. For example, you might want to work on your negotiation skills so you can get a pay raise or promotion, take on more leadership roles at work, learn new technology, go back to school to earn an advanced degree, adopt better time management skills, or expand your professional network. Whatever goals you set, make sure they’re realistic, specific, and tied to some kind of time limit. This will help you evaluate your progress toward your goals—and know when you’ve achieved them!
Start Your Own Business
Is starting your own business a professional goal of yours? You’re not alone! Research shows that 43% of Americans planned to start a business this year. Create an action plan, so you know what steps you need to take to make your business idea a reality. Writing up a business plan is a good place to start. In the process of writing your business plan, you’ll research unknowns and answer questions you have about your business. This can reduce any barriers holding you back from getting started. Your business plan will include financial projections, a description of your company, and how you intend to sell your products or services.
Go Back to School for a Business Degree
If you want to start your own business, consider going back to school to earn a business degree. Earning a degree in business will help you manage your business as effectively as possible. Plus, online degree programs make it easy to run your business while going to school at the same time, so you don’t have to choose one or the other. Look for reputable online schools offering business degree programs. Here’s a good one to check out!
Put Together a CV
If you plan on making a career change or seeking a better job in your current industry, create a curriculum vitae (CV) to make a great first impression on hiring managers. Zety.com recommends including your important contact information at the top of your CV, followed by a summary of yourself and your experience. Below this section, detail your academic and career background. You may also want to break away from the traditional CV format and add a little more interest to your design. For this purpose, look for a free online CV builder that will offer a selection of professionally-designed templates that you can customize with your own information.
Create a Timeline
Establishing a timeline for your professional development plan will help you stay on track. Without set time limits for your goals, it’s easy to procrastinate and prioritize other life obligations over your professional pursuits. Importantly, make sure your timeline is realistic. Take a look at your professional goals and try to break them up into smaller projects. Then, think carefully about how long each component task should take. This will enable you to create a timeline that you can actually follow!
If you want to reach new heights in your professional life but you’re not sure where to start, professional development planning is your answer! Establish your professional goals and determine exactly what you need to do to achieve them, whether it means going back to school, writing a new CV and applying to better-paying positions, or starting your own business!