EMPLOYER || CANDIDATE
Careers
Career Growth
Continuing Professional Development in a changing work environment
By Liz Reyer Minneapolis Star Tribune (TNS)
Q:) Everyone tells me to be a lifelong learner in order to have a successful career. Now that I’ve been out of college a while, learning has been spotty, just what is needed for my next job or task. What should I do to actively guide my ongoing professional development? — Celia, 35, project manager
A:) Part of your path can be planned and some will depend on serendipity. Be open to both to get the most new learning opportunities. Start by taking a look around you. What seems most interesting? Whose job do you wish you had? Questions like these can help you form a vision for the future that you can work toward. Getting more specific, think about what you like about those roles. Learn what you can about how people got where they are now and think about what you’d need to do to get there. Consider this at multiple levels: experiences and skills, credentials and other personal characteristics.
It appears that your learning and development have been at the experiences and skills level. This is necessary, and is a thread that you can actively manage rather than leaving it to others. For example, you may have noticed that people in roles you would like need to do a lot of presentations, and you might not be comfortable with that yet. You can get this experience through volunteering to be the presenter on teams you are on or by getting more experience through a group like Toastmasters. There may also be technical skills you need. Your actions here should be driven by your learning style and your specific interests. Self-learning through an online platform or even YouTube videos may fill the gaps. Or you may want to take formal courses if you are looking at a more extensive need. Credentials can provide a useful shorthand to indicate your skills, and may be necessary for some roles. Most disciplines within a company (HR, project management, etc.) have unique credentials, so learn about those that would be valuable for your desired new direction. This can be especially helpful if you are considering a lateral move and need additional credibility to sell yourself as a strong candidate.
How To Make Sure Your Next Job Offers Career Growth
For a few years we have utilized the training and learning tools the internet has to offer professionals and encouraged our candidates and applicants to apply these tools to their professional arsenal.
The acquisition of Lynda.com by LinkedIn at $1.5 billion shows the progress of how the employment process and professional education is changing. Our recommendations and process has been slated to meet the demands of the work environment of the future.