If you're pondering how you're going to get where you want to be,
there are some simple steps you can take that will help
you create your own career development plan. Let’s not be
confused by the word “simple.”

Step 1: Figure Out Your Destination
As with all efforts, you must be clear about your direction when you
create your own career development plan. You don’t take a road trip
without knowing where you want to end up. You also don’t need to
overly complicate this task. I think the following questions are
helpful in thinking out your destination. Where do you want your career to be in two years? I like this question because this window is close enough to your current reality that it is easy to visualize.
Where do you want your career to be in five years? If you see that your two-year goal is merely a step in an overall direction, then this question helps you define a longer term goal. Sometimes it’s difficult to see that far out in time, as life and opportunities present themselves and can cause you to reset your plans. That’s okay, but it’s good to be looking “two steps ahead.”

What makes these targets resonant for you?
Don’t make a goal just for the sake of making one. You need
a goal that really rings your chimes and helps to motivate
you into action. If you’re making a goal based on what
someone else wants, it also isn’t going to be that compelling
for you. Being clear on your direction means being clear that
this direction is inspiring and motivational and knowing what
is driving you to it.

Step 2: Do A Gap Analysis
A gap analysis is where you figure out the differences in the
qualifications between where you are right now and your two-year
goal or next step.

Using a job posting or job description for the position you are
aiming at is a good way to get specific information about the skills
and experience that are expected. I think it is good to get more than
one job description (perhaps one with your company and one with a
competitor) in order to ensure you aren’t missing any key items
during your analysis.

Go through the job description line item by line item and rate your
current state of skills, education, or experience to what is listed.
Your rating system can be as simple as 1-10, with ten a perfect
match and one being completely missing. As you rate, make notes
about your thinking for future reference.
Once you have completed this exercise, identify all of the items
where there is anywhere from a fair amount to a substantial amount
of development that is needed. Look for commonalities and clump
those together as a category. You will discover that there will be
themes to your gaps.

Also, don’t get too compulsive about where you don’t think you’re a
perfect match but think you have fairly developed skills. If they are
mostly present, they will make you a competitive candidate
and shouldn’t require too much development attention.
You now have a list of development items.


Step 3: Create Your Development Plan
You are now fully armed with a clear two-year goal and all the
details of where and what you need to develop to get you where you
want to go. Your plan will be best if you can consult with your boss
and/or a mentor to help you with ideas of how to get the skills you
need to add.

There may need to be some logical order to a few of the items on
your list. Sometimes you need to do X before you can do Y. Make
these among the highest priority items so you can accomplish these
things and move on to others.

Usually there are multiple ways of accumulating the needed skills.
You may also want to have multiple ways of beefing up your skill
set to add depth to it. An example is if you want to move to a
project management position, you may want to get certification and
also to ask for project responsibilities. Initially, these may be small,
which are fine; they will give you an opportunity to grow and learn.
You may need to research various ways to get the skills you need.
Once done, it will give you ideas on how you can approach these
items.

You need dates. You need to keep yourself accountable to your
plan; and the best way to do that is to give yourself a “start by”
date. You can’t predict how long or how much work you will have
to do in order to develop the skill at the level you need, but you do
have control over the action you take to get started.
Keep track. You need to pay attention to your plan a minimum of
twice per year. This will allow you to stay focused on your progress
and remind you of next steps.

Career development is the sort of thing that you can easily forget
about until you wake up one day to realize you have gone nowhere
and aren’t having fun. You are responsible for where you go in your
career. With a little bit of planning you can accomplish great things.

Interesting