Professional development is an essential part of your personal career growth. It is a pivotal step towards building a robust career arc, picking the right opportunities, and landing a job that suits your skills and strengths.
When it comes to professional development, identifying your soft and hard skills is key to finding balance in your career. Here are a few tips to attain well-rounded professional development in your field of work.
1. Make a List of Your Goals
Establish your ultimate career objectives. For instance, let us assume that you are a field service engineer. And your goal is to become a project manager.
Draw your growth scale along with a timeline. Imagine your growth in shorter increments. If you want to be a project manager in 10 years, think about where you should ideally be in the next two years.
2. Leverage Your Opportunities
Identify the different ways through which you can hone your skills. Attend training programs and garner relevant experience. Teach what you know. Build stronger peer relationships. In simpler terms, grab every opportunity that takes you closer to your goals.
3. Track Your Wins and Losses
When you recognize your wins, you motivate yourself. Write down your wins at work every week. Tracking your wins will help you to identify your unique skill set. Tracking your losses will make you more aware of the gaps you need to fill.
4. Develop Your Skillset
Perform a gap analysis after you have tracked wins and losses. Now focus on expanding your skillset to fill the gaps.
5. Take Feedback
Seek feedback from your peers and leaders whenever possible. If you have completed a project, check with your team leader about your contribution. Check for ways in which you can further develop your skills. In the case of negative feedback, work on it with a positive mindset.
6. Communicate More
Keep your lines of communication open. Ask questions to find the correct answers. Enquire about opportunities in new projects with your team leader. Talk to your teammates about their experience in various areas of work.
7. Learn the Art of Negotiation
Never settle for the mediocre. Negotiate for what you want in your career. Ensure you do your research first, and then make sure to bring those research facts to back your negotiation.
8. Focus on the Five Areas of Personal Development
Well-rounded professional development is never complete without personal development. Personal development makes you more employable and a more goal-oriented person.
To achieve optimal personal development, focus on the below five critical areas:
Mental
Physical
Spiritual
Social
Emotional
Consider different activities that can help you progress through each area of development. For instance, meditation can strengthen you spiritually and mentally. Leading a more active lifestyle will promote physical strength and mental strength as well. It’s all about finding balance, no one more than the other should be focused on.
Do not let the pace of a business environment stop you from achieving your goals. Make time for your personal and professional growth every day and continue to keep learning.