Take Control of Your Career: Create a Professional Development Plan
by Julia Mitchell
Whether you’re learning to be a pilot or in any other field, it’s hard to progress when you’re running in place. If you feel stuck in your career, one way to move forward is to create a professional development plan that lets you reclaim control of your career and set realistic, challenging goals.
By updating your resume, exploring entrepreneurship, and implementing other practical strategies, you can ensure that you stay on track to achieving your career objectives. Here are some tips from In Flight USA.
Spruce up your resume.
Before writing your professional development plan, you must confirm that your resume is up-to-date. This includes reviewing all the necessary information, such as your job titles, dates of employment, special skills, and accomplishments.
Take time to update any outdated language or formatting, so your resume accurately reflects the current trends. Taking these simple steps will ensure that potential employers have an accurate picture of who you are and what you bring to the table.
Use an online resume template to save time while creating a professional-looking document. You can find templates tailored to your industry and adjust them to match your unique qualifications and experience!
Keep your documents organized.
Are you tired of a cluttered and unorganized pile of papers and documents for work? Consider using PDFs to keep your job-related documents organized. PDFs are an excellent file format that is versatile, universal, and easily viewed on almost any device. By converting your physical documents into PDFs, you can store them in folders on your computer or upload them to the cloud. If you need to remove pages, you can delete PDF pages using a free online tool.
Explore the possibility of starting a business.
If you would like more income potential and autonomy over your career, starting a company could be the ideal path. If you choose to launch a business and want to build your professional development plan around it, start by researching:
How much capital would you need
The licenses or certifications necessary
How much time would you need to devote
You might benefit from working with an experienced business consultant to ensure you don’t miss any other steps. Starting a business comes with a wealth of benefits, including increased income potential and having more control over your schedule. But there are also risks that you don’t want to overlook before making commitments.
The key is to understand precisely the steps involved before getting started, so you can lay a firm foundation. For example, you’ll need a comprehensive business plan and legal structure in place.
Establish realistic goals.
When creating your professional development plan, you’ll want to make your goals achievable yet challenging enough to prevent you from becoming bored or complacent in your work life. Consider breaking larger goals down into smaller ones to keep the momentum going while celebrating every step along the way.
Also, remember to remain flexible since circumstances tend to change over time! You may need to make adjustments and modifications to keep your objectives attainable through various transitional periods.
Evaluate your skills and talents.
Finally, take time to assess your current skill set and identify areas where you should pursue additional training. This could help boost existing talents or develop new ones that lead to more job satisfaction or advancement opportunities.
Consider whether you could benefit from any courses or certifications, and take time to research schools and organizations that could help you build the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve specific goals outlined in your plan.
Wrapping up.
Greater control over your career path and higher income are two of many reasons to create a professional development plan. While the document itself can prove invaluable, the process of creating it can teach you a lot about yourself.
Remember to update your resume, consider starting a company, keep your documents organized, and implement the other tips above to position yourself for a more fulfilling future. You might be surprised at how quickly you start noticing progress as you knock out your personal career objectives!