1.  Explore Your Options

Before you can begin working on your career development, it helps to know your options. This includes what industries might be the best fit for you, as well as the jobs and companies available within those industries. It’s also a good idea to reflect on your own particular strengths and weaknesses so you can identify what to work on as you prepare your personal career path.

You can begin this exploration by job shadowing other employees in your company to learn about different jobs. This can also help broaden your skills at your current job and increase your ability to add value.

Explore lateral moves to other departments or companies to broaden and deepen your experience. Such moves can open doors, not to mention expand your network of colleagues.

2.  Get a Mentor

Leaning on someone else’s experience is a great way to gain knowledge and introduce yourself to other opportunities. You can seek a mentor at work, perhaps from a different department you’d like to explore.

Your boss might also be a perfect mentor, because they should be able to show you what you need to learn in order to develop in your current and future roles. They can help you manage your career at your current company. You can discuss your career path during periodic meetings with your boss.

Some companies firmly commit to their employees by supporting their career development with time and dollars.

3.  Set Goals

Once you’ve explored your options and secured a mentor, you should have enough information to be able to set specific, measurable goals that will help you in developing your career.

For example, you might set goals around job skills you’d like to build, projects you’d like to work on, or roles you’d like to work in. Be sure your goals are realistic yet challenging, and take care to make them actionable – something you have control over. Give yourself a timeline for achieving your goals. This will help make sure you can reach your objectives in a timely way.

4.  Make a Plan

Making a plan for your career development provides the structure necessary for achieving your goals. Without a plan, you can feel rudderless and you have no benchmark against which you can measure your progress.

Some companies have formal programs to help employees develop their careers. Companies with programs generally focus energy on helping employees develop and follow a career path.

If your company doesn’t have such a program, you will need to pursue your career development more informally.

5.  Expand Your Job Skills

An important part of your career development will be expanding your job skills. There are many ways to build your skills. You might attend classes and training sessions to increase your knowledge. New strategies and technologies relevant to just about every career are being introduced constantly, so it pays to stay up-to-date on industry developments.

There are online courses that can teach you new skills particular to your industry, and some even provide a certificate attesting to your new skill set.

Hands-on or on-the-job learning is an invaluable way to get real-world experience in your chosen field. You might take on new and exciting projects at work that stretch your abilities. Or you could experiment with developing your skills during your personal time.

As long as you stay flexible to change and open to new ideas, you have the power to learn, grow and develop in your chosen career.

© Susan N. Heathfield. All Rights Reserved.