I am always amazed at how passionate you all are about growing and succeeding in your careers.  I have been talking to a few lately about your jobs and the issues you are facing. It’s so interesting to hear how different companies and managers handle certain situations.

I have noticed that I get this question a lot, “How do I get promoted to the next level?”  I always ask if they have an assessment process or development plan process with their manager at work. The answer is almost always, “Well, the last time I spoke to my boss was about a year ago.” I realized there is no development process in place at a lot of companies (unfortunately!) and that is why you need to take matters into your own hands to keep growing in your career.

I am very fortunate to have worked at a company that did have a great development process. When I first started, my boss made sure that we sat down quarterly and discussed where I was at and how I could reach my career goals.  It is those conversations (and my mentors that I told you about last week) that directly impacted my success at my company.

 

Create Your Own Career Plan

So if your company doesn’t have a career development plan process, I want to share mine with you today. This is a great document to bring with you to the next one-on-one meeting with your manager.  If you don’t have ongoing meetings planned, just plan them.

There is nothing wrong with asking your boss for these meetings.  It isn’t annoying or nagging.  It actually makes you look awesome because you are asking for more responsibilities and showing you really care about your career at your company.  And you can always offer to help your manager out which could actually free up some of their time as well!  Usually, the manager has been meaning to hold these meetings and has just forgotten or run out of time to do so.  So you bringing it up actually makes things much easier for him/her too!

Even if you are in college or unemployed right now, you can use this template, too.

(It’s also a great idea because it keeps track of all the courses you have taken so that you can show them to your manager when raise and promotion time comes along…)

What The Experts Say About Career Plans

I have been thinking about this topic ever since I interviewed Mary Foley about how to progress in your career.  Here is what she said about personal career plans:

One question you must ask yourself is, do you have a personal career plan? Many of us get an education and we know all this information and we’re technically competent in our area of expertise. What we don’t get often times is advice about how to navigate your career and how do I create a career plan. So, I have found that I had to figure out creating that career plan myself. You may not know what you really want your future plan to be but could you figure out what’s the next thing you’d like to do? And then what are just the few steps to work the activities you can towards it? You’ve got to start exploring it! Having a plan is the bottom line. This is about fully taking responsibility of your career and not expecting anyone you work for to show you how to do it. They may help and if they do great but it’s your career and it’s your responsibility to figure out how to navigate it.”

So what is a career plan?  Here is a sample career plan template that I used at my first job to get you started:

Personal Development Plan (PDP) Template

Employee:

Date:

Internal Courses

Course Number	Course Title	Date Scheduled	Date Taken

 Associations

External Courses

Continuing Education/Certifications

Last Assessment Date –

Development Areas

Professional Career Goals

Short Term Professional Goals (6-12 months)

 

Long Term Professional Goals (1-3 years)

Quarterly Reviews

Professional Development Plan Meeting

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Employee Signature                    Date

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Supervisor Signature                                     Date

Quarterly Review

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Employee Signature                    Date

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Supervisor Signature                                     Date

Quarterly Review

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Employee Signature                    Date

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Supervisor Signature                                     Date

Quarterly Review

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Employee Signature                    Date

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Supervisor Signature                                     Date

Pre-Assessment Discussion/Year in Review

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Employee Signature                    Date

                  __________________________                    ____________

                  Supervisor Signature                                     Date

Do you have a personal career plan?  Is there anything else you would add to this personal career plan?