"Where should I begin?" It's a great question, but the answer might be unsatisfying - "Anywhere."
Your professional development journey has already begun - classes you took, training you received, experiences you had at work...they all contributed to what you know, value, and can do. The challenge is crafting a plan that PURPOSEFULLY serves you in the present and the future. What do you need to know to be the best at your job NOW? What do you need to know to set yourself up for success in the future? What do you need to know to grow as a person and a professional? What are you passionate about and want to learn more?
This page won't give you all the answers, but it will provide some tools to get you started as you craft your own professional development journey!
A professional development plan is a list of actionable steps for achieving your career goals.
If you Google "professional development plan template," you'll find numerous great options to choose from. Pick what works for you. Most plans, though, have similar elements... Assessment, Objectives, Actions, Resources, Timelines, and Reassessment
Assessment
It's hard to decide where to focus your attention if you don't know what you need. You can consider competencies for your role (see next section), but you should ask yourself (and others) some basic questions:
What skills or knowledge are necessary for my job? What about my future job(s)?
Where are there gaps in my knowledge or skills?
What am I passionate about or excited to learn more about?
Objectives
You don't have to look far for resources related to setting objectives. Whether you choose the SMART method, the OKR approach, or just dive right in with a bullet-list on a piece of paper, what matters is that you HAVE a list of what you want to accomplish. You want to craft your professional development journey and not just have it happen haphazardly.
Actions
Actions are the steps you will take to accomplish your objective. Be specific - what EXACTLY will you do?
Resources
Check out the rest of this site - it is full of resources to help you! Consult with professional organizations, departments on campus, your supervisor, colleagues, and online. Figure out what is out there to help you move forward.
Timelines
Every good plan requires action steps and objectives to have deadlines or timeframes. But they only help if you stick with them, adjust them as needed, and use them to propel your development.
Reassessment
Your journey doesn't begin and end. It lasts your entire career. Take time each semester to reassess your professional development plan. What has worked? What hasn't? How can you adjust? Are there new topics to explore or new resources to discover. Make time to make your plan evolve.
Unsure of what topics to include in your professional development plan? You can certainly brainstorm a list or talk to others, but here are some competency lists that might spark your thinking.
Professional Development is essential for growth, and we want to help you continue doing the great work you already do. The goal tracking in the Performance and Development Workday App is a resource to centralize your goals, encourage consistent development practices, and track the progress of your development journey.
If you are unfamiliar with the Performance and Development app in WorkDay, read over this job aid for instructions. Add it to your menu for easy access!
In developing your professional goals, you can do the following:
Develop goals under broader categories - Academic Research, Campus Initiatives, Career Objective, Development Objective, Performance Objective, Project Goal, Service and Professional Activities, Teaching and Scholarly Work.
Write specific tasks and steps associated with each goal and select target dates. You can revise and add as you move forward.
If you choose, share your goals with your supervisor and others (or have your supervisees share their goals with you).
We encourage you to consider what you want to learn this year and how you want to grow. Have a conversation with your supervisor about these goals and how they can support you in accomplishing your goals.