Quick Start Guide for Professional Development
This web site contains a plethora of information to help
you find out about professional development and all its surrounding issues in detail.
However, we recognise that not everyone has the time to
read everything, and that you may be just looking for a quick push to get you started. That is what this section is all about.
Basics
If you are to maximise your potential for lifetime employability, it is essential that you maintain high levels of professional competence by continually improving your knowledge and skills.
By taking ownership of your career and focusing your professional development you will:
- be better able to recognise opportunity
- be more aware of the trends and directions in engineering and society
- become increasingly effective in the workplace
- be able to help, influence and lead others by your example
- be confident of your future employability
- have a fulfilling and rewarding career
Taking a structured approach to your professional development will enable you to demonstrate continuing commitment to your profession. What’s more, the good practice of regularly reviewing your needs, and selecting appropriate learning activities to help you fulfil them, will give your career focus and meaning.
The professional development cycle explains the process of effectively planning, doing, recording and reviewing your development.
See the following Quick Start sections to help you work through each of the stages of the cycle (you will see that we have reduced it down to four stages).
Step 1 - Think about your goals. Jot down where you want to be and the things you want to achieve next year (short term), in two-five years (medium term), and in ten years (long term).
Step 2 - Starting with your short term list, think about what actual things you will need to do in order to make those goals happen. It might be that you need to learn a new skill, gain some experience of a different area/role, take on more responsibility, or many other things.
You might also like to look at your medium term plan, to see if there are any things which you could include in your short term plan, to form the first steps in realising those goals too.
You will end up with a list of things to do over the next year or so.
Step 3 - Prioritise. Look at your list and consider which things need to be done before you can start on others, or which items are more important or time-bound (i.e. the opportunities will only arise at certain times). You can then put your list in order of importance, and it might help you establish some time-frames.
Step 4 - Set objectives. Look at the first 3-4 items on your list (you will work on these first). Examine them thoroughly so that you can turn them into SMART objectives. To do this each one must have a Specific target, be Measureable (you must be able to recognise when you have achieved it), be Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (have a deadline).
Step 5 - Write it down. Committing your plan to paper will make you more committed to making it happen. Finish by setting a date when you will review your plan - and putting it in your diary!
TIP: Rather than starting from scratch why not use the notes from your last appraisal, any preparation you may have done for your last job interview, your CV, or current job description as the basis for this stage.
Step 1 - Look at the items on your plan and consider how they might be achieved. Do they require formal learning (such as a training course) or will you need to access some materials (e.g. books or CDs)? Will you need to rely on someone else to help you - for example asking a colleague to teach you new skills? For each of your goals work out a plan of action.
Step 2 - Know thyself! If you can, try to learn in ways that suit you. Some people like to understand the theory before attempting something - so they would read a book, and then try it out. Others like to experiment and learn in a more practical way. These people might learn better from watching someone else and then trying it themselves. If you adopt an approach that suits the way you learn, then you are more likely to pick it up quickly.
Step 3 - Make time to make it happen. If you are really committed to developing yourself then you will have no problem finding the time to learn. Once you know how you are going to tackle each goal, make time in your diary to do it. If you need the help of others, ring them now and make an appointment to go and explain what it is you need.
Step 4 - Gain support. It is always nice to be asked for help, and people are usually more than willing to help. When asking for support, be concise about what you want, and give feedback on the results.
Step 1 - Keep a log book of your learning. Jot down things that you learn - not just from formal occasions, but from everyday events and on-the-job experiences.
Step 2 - Review your learning to aid consolidation and implementation. When you learn something new think about how that knowledge will affect your performance. How can you use it to make you better at your job? What behaviours will you change in light of what you now know? Talking to your manager or mentor can help you with this.
If you are using competences -
Step 3 - Decide which competence each piece of your learning is linked to. As your learning leads to increased and improved performance (competence) you can record your new level (see section on Competences) and chart your progress.
Step 4 - Collect evidence to prove your levels of competence. Make sure it is cross-referenced and indexed so you can easily find each piece. Update your portfolio with new evidence as your competence increases further, and you will always have an excellent record of your abilities. (Find out more about keeping Evidence.)
Note: Whatever system you adopt for your recording it is important that you keep it updated regularly. Don’t put it off with the belief that you will remember it later - you won't!
Step 1 - Your diary tells you it’s time to review (or it will do if you did the planning bit correctly!). Take out your action plan and your learning log and set aside an hour.
Step 2 - Consider each item on your plan. Have you achieved it? If so, then tick it off. If not, then consider why - the answer you come up with will help you to decide whether to remove the item (because it’s not realistic now), forward it onto your plan for the next period, or change the goal (because it was not appropriate or realistic). Looking back over your learning log will help you to see where your learning has contributed to you meeting your goals. You’ll probably be amazed at how much you have
achieved!
Step 3 - Overall, consider how well you have got on, and what has helped or hindered you. This will inform your planning for the next period. If you are continually sticking for the same reason, then maybe you need to consider your approach. Perhaps a complete change in the way you tackle things will improve your success rate. Be honest - if you’re not, the only person you will let down is yourself.
Step 4 - Make sure you review both your short and medium term goals regularly (if you have more than one) - and your long term goals every 5 years or so. Over time you will find that items from your longer term plans will slide down into your short term plans and get ticked off as you progress.
Step 5 - Get planning again! Bring items down from your medium term plan to become part of your short term plan for the next
period.
Remember, this is a quick start guide to get you going with your professional development. If you want more information on any of the topics mentioned, please click below to access the full guide.
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