Posts Tagged ‘continuing professional development’

Many people have a real desire to be successful in their career.  This might be because they crave security, really want to leave a legacy or just fulfil their potential.

When the economy is a little more challenging, it can seem like it is impossible to move forward in your career.  In reality you can move forward in your career whatever the external conditions.  Here’s how.

Focus on Professional and Personal Development

There are always new things to learn or new challenges to face.  Having a real focus on your continuing professional and personal development can really make a difference.  These days there are so many options open to you like low cost digital courses to full day or even full year programmes.

Seek Opportunities To Take On New Projects To Get Extra Experience

Every organisation needs people to lead or be part of organisational projects.  Some might be change related or related to a new acquisition or new service or product.  Often external consultants are brought in and while they can offer value, you can save money for the organisation while broadening your experience.

Get Strategic On Job Search

When you have fewer roles and more people chasing them you have to be selective and strategic.  There is no point wasting valuable time and energy on going for roles that you are highly unlikely to get.

Give Your CV/Resume A Makeover

Most CV’s/Resume’s were written a while ago.  Spend a few hours going through your personal marketing materials and make sure they are selling you and your achievements.

Network More

There is a saying that goes along the lines of it’s not what you know but who you know that matters.  A lot of people find out about a role through the grapevine or through their online and offline networks.  If you are not going along to professional association networking events or being active on LinkedIn Groups you are missing opportunities to build relationships.

The Bottom Line:  You cannot control external factors but you can control how you position yourself for success in your career.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professionals achieve more career success.  Check out his free audio masterclass at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/careers-main.html

One of the most common reasons why people don’t invest in developing themselves is a lack of budget. Yet in truth there are many low cost ways to develop yourself that cost little or nothing, such as:

1. Borrowing a book from the library, reading it and implementing one or two ideas.
2. Signing up for free newsletters.
3. Attending a professional association CPD event.
4. Shadowing someone senior in the organisation.
5. Taking on responsibility for a project.

So what else would you add to the list? Why not leave a comment with your ideas?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

If you are a professional, continuing professional development is not just desirable but an essential part of your membership.  After all would you like to have an out of date surgeon perform your operation, gas fitter install your central heating or mechanic service your car? 

 

When people think of CPD they often get stuck in the old way of thinking of attending a course. Truth is there are huge range of options which are low or no cost, such as:

 

1. Subscribing to podcasts
2. Signing up for newsletter updates
3. Subscribing to a professional journal
4. Listening to audio CD programmes
5. Attending teleseminars
6. Participating in webinars
7. Signing up for free or low cost e-courses
8. Attending professional association local events
9. Reading books which you buy or borrow from the library
10. Taking on additional responsibilities at work
11. Shadowing a more senior member of the organisation
12. Taking a secondment

 

At the end of the day, even if you have little or no budget available there are still many CPD opportunities available to you.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps highly rated professionals become great leaders and managers.  For more information click here 

Ask most managers and leaders about continuing professional development and one of the things that they are likely to say is that they are lacking time to do it.

While reading the newspaper the other day I came across an article based on research by KPMG which staggered me.  Why?  The reason was that the research had found that people were spending 3 hours and 45 minutes on average per day watching TV!  That equates to something in the region of 26 hours a week and over a 100 hours a month.

Even using a fraction of this time to do some continuing professional development could make a difference.  For example you could:

• Listen to a podcast
• Read a newsletter
• Go to one professional association CPD event
• Study for another qualification

Take note of how much of your free time is spent on front of the TV and see what you could do instead to develop yourself as a manager or leader.

Have you ever noticed how often people spend a huge amount of time and effort getting a professional qualification, then forget about developing themselves?
It is a bit like having a winning lottery ticket and not bothering to collect the prize.

Some of the excuses for not continuing to develop yourself might include:

1. Lack of time
2. Lack of sponsorship or budget within your organisation
3. All of the events are too far away
4. The topics are not interesting
5. They are covering things I don’t need right now

Truth is:

1. If you spent an hour a week on continuing professional development you would be doing more than most
2. The internet has opened up a whole range of possibilities for short, sharp and free learning
3. You can now do a lot of development activities from your office desk or the comfort of your own home
4. If topics are not relevant let people know who are organising events what you need most
5. Development is not just about the here and now it is about the future

Bottom Line – A professional qualification is the passport to your success. Continuing professional development helps you realise the potential of the passport.