The Guru Nation Blog

Guru Cathy Dixon-Kheir explains in her segment, “Take Charge of Your Career in Turbulent Times” that the best sample professional development plans one can use to guide them in making career decisions are career self assessments. Rather than model your plans on a template created for someone else, there are several questions to guide you that instead cater to your strengths and aspirations in order to create a sample professional development plan. Career paths are complicated. In the words of guru Nancy Widmann: “Build Your Career on a Lattice, Not on a Ladder” - that is to say, thinking of your professional development as a series of simple tiers is an antiquated and flawed plan for advancement. The career path best suited to your success may require steps to the side, or even slightly downward in preparation for an even greater leap forward.

So, the first question to ask yourself in creating your professional development plan is, “what do I want personally and professionally?” This may sound obvious, but the majority of people have not taken charge of their careers by asking these questions and are missing out on opportunities to advance, falling too comfortably into a professional routine. The next question to ask: “In which ways do the two align and in which ways do they conflict?” The sooner you can reconcile any divergence, the clearer your professional development plans become. And most importantly, “what are my strengths?”

It is essential to remember for this last question, that the question does not refer solely to your strengths in your current job or last job (if you’re one of the many, many feeling the bite of hard economic times.) It is also important when creating sample professional development plans not to allow your title to limit your assessment of your potential. An executive assistant may have managerial aptitudes.

The last step in the creation of your now very personal, no longer sample, professional development plans is to “know your network.” It’s an indisputable truth of the professional world; while hard work and skill lead to success, networking gets you in the door. Without a personal touch, you are only a resume, no matter how well qualified, amongst a pile of other well qualified resumes. Not only does networking provide the personal touch that sets you apart, it is also a critical means of discovering avenues for advancement that would never have come to your attention without a strong network. So take stock of your network, grow it, and this is critical: keep good record of your connections or all your efforts can be very literally lost.

Whether right off the campus or in transition, choosing careers involves a process of self-management, discipline and exploration. The good news is that many people can help you. More importantly, there’s a mentoring process you can engage in while choosing careers. It can provide a sturdy and secure path and a way to tap into others for guidance. Choosing careers is more about “you” than the career, and whether the “you” ends up in the right place and within the right culture. Here’s sound advice from Joanne Mealia, senior executive at IBM Canada, who has been advising young professionals for over 30 years:

“In choosing careers, don’t just stumble! Don’t just let it happen. At IBM, I had to take control in the beginning. I was at a large company but still in the process of choosing my career because I didn’t know where my talents would best fit. For me, choosing careers is like doing a gap analysis. Even if you’re in a company, you need to fill in the gaps; the gaps between what you’re currently talented at doing and the skills you want to develop to move to other arenas. Or, it’s the process of seeing a role you want, knowing what skills you may be missing, and taking steps to fill in the gaps.

I think in choosing careers you can find a mentor who can make all the difference but you have to choose and match wisely. Find a mentor who believes in you, but someone
who perhaps you can mentor or guide as well. A mentor relationship works better if you as the protégé can also teach something “new” or provide new insight in return.
At IBM, we saw that young professionals were talented technologists and they could mentor more seasoned workers.

Choosing careers becomes an easier process if you can arrange cross-cultural opportunities. At IBM we often refer to this as “re-invention” or continuous learning.
If you’re inside a company, seek those cross-cultural opportunities. If you’re still deciding what career is viable, consider cross-cultural assignments that can afford you the opportunity to experience business on different landscapes. Be bold. Be experimental.

While you’re choosing careers, ask questions. Ask of yourself and ask of others. What am I good at? What am I known for? What do you remember most about me?
Self-query and friend/colleague query will bring your talents to the foreground.
Then, choosing careers becomes a safer and more comforting process.