7 Career Development Tips

1. Research competency lists.
A competency list outlines all the skills, knowledge, and personal attributes you need to be successful in a specific role. You should look up competency lists for the roles you are interested in to discover areas for growth and development. Researching such lists can provide you with a great starting point for planning your career development growth plan. You will be able to better target learning opportunities to take advantage of.

2. Layout your long and short term goals.
Are you looking to focus more on career development or personal development? Is your aim to become better in your current role over the short-term with a view of planning a career change in the mid-to-longterm? Perhaps your goals are short and long term aims? There are no wrong answers. There are lots of ways to grow and develop laterally. Being clear about what you are looking to achieve in your own head will enable you to have more fruitful conversations about growth as well as open you up to all the options available.

3. Think about job shadowing.
Are you not yet sure about your exact future growth aims but ready to learn more about different roles? Are you uncomfortable investing too much into a goal before gaining more insight into your different options? One easy and cheap way to find out more about different positions within your company is job shadowing. Even if your company doesn't offer any formal job shadowing programs, you can always reach out to a person you would love to shadow and discuss their availability. You can also discuss possible opportunities with the human resources department or your manager.

4. Get a mentor.
After identifying all of the skills and personal attributes you are looking to grow, start looking for a mentor. Is there a person who already possesses all the skills you are looking to gain? A formal or even informal mentoring relationship with someone you respect can be a great development opportunity.

5. Take advantage of scheduled learning opportunities.
Lots of companies now offer monthly learning opportunities to employees that often include leadership development training sessions, personal growth seminars, and online courses. Not sure what's available in your company? Start by contacting the HR organizational development department.

6. Consider a professional membership investment.
A professional membership is a relatively inexpensive way to keep your industry knowledge up-to-date. Professional membership programs typically offer conferences, industry events, on-demand learning, webinars, workshops and much much. They are certainly a worthwhile investment.

7. Attend external conferences and seminars
Lookup any external learning opportunities available to you. Identify the learning or skills area you are looking to develop and research possible events and courses to attend. Be sure to discuss your learning goals with your manager, as your company may be able to offer you professional development grants to fund your attendance at different national and even international conferences.

By following these tips you will be sure to get hired fast.

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