Module 6- Professional Development Plan
The first step to any journey is to decide where you want to go. For this final portion of the project, create a roadmap for yourself for the next five years in the form of a career plan. Where do you see yourself in five years? How do you plan on getting to this destination? This is a bit different than the approach to the GAP analysis which focused on Certification. Your professional development plan will have a broader focus and include certification, but should also include soft skills you want to develop to meet your plan such as leadership skills or speaking skills.
Your professional development plan (career plan) will consist of the four items listed below. The first three were discussed and assigned in Module Five. A review of how to complete a SWOT analysis is presented in Module Six as well. These three documents will work together to help you create the fourth item – your professional development plan or career plan. The remaining readings for this week focus on item four.
- Develop your personal mission statement – this will assist you in defining yourself and your plan. Once this is complete it should provide the basis for the remaining documents.
- Conduct a personal SWOT analysis – this will give you additional points to add to your plan. Complete this analysis by considering yourself as the business and analyzing yourself against your competition for a job you would pursue.
- An elevator speech – this will give you a chance to create your own elevator speech. It will be highly beneficial to practice this speech many times until you are comfortable with it and what it conveys about you.
- A professional development plan outlining the next five years. This should include your plan for obtaining and maintaining any certification that you choose to pursue as well as any professional associations you plan to be involved in. Since most certifications require continuing education, you will need to research the available avenues for this continuing education (often called CPE – continuing professional education). Also, consider how you will give back to your communities in volunteerism and how these opportunities will intertwine with your career. Include in your plan the ways in which you plan to obtain your CPE.
Consider how you can present these items creatively; perhaps using a timeline in SmartArt, charts, and/or tables.
