Five Tools to Include in Your Career Development Tool Box

Have you ever tried putting together a piece of Ikea furniture and realized that the screws didn’t fit because they ended up giving you the wrong tools in the set?

Well, career development is similar to this example because without having the right “tools” in your “tool box,” it will be difficult to stand out and land your dream job (i.e. assemble your furniture). As a result, to help you in your career development process, I have provided you with some essential tools that you can use in your future career. This tool box includes some great advice that was given to me by a past EVP of HR at one of the largest telecommunication providers in the world. 

Here are some tools to consider:

Tool #1: Create a career development plan: This is the most important aspect of career development according to a former Director of Learning & Development that I worked with! The reason is because this plan will serve as your “instructions” and will help guide you in your career development process. As a result, first, think of some of your long-term career goals that you want to accomplish in 2 – 4 years (i.e. ideal future job).

Second, after spending a few weeks thinking about this, schedule a meeting with your manager. During the meeting, discuss some potential short-term career activities that you can work on to achieve your long-term career goal. Some of these activities involve on-the-job training, self study (reading trade magazines), stretch assignments (acting as a mentor), and formal training (completing a certificate in your industry).

Tool #2: Be flexible and open minded to a variety of career steps: By taking on new roles and responsibilities, you will be able to gain new ideas and perspectives on ways to complete certain tasks. For instance, my former boss, started her career as a Training Guide Writer for a company and the skills she learned in that position has helped her launch her employers first Learning & Development Center/University. She eventually became the Director of Learning & Development. 

Tool #3: Seek input from mentors and advisors inside and outside of your company: These people are your tickets to success because they will provide you advice, different perspectives, and various ideas on how to approach certain situations. In fact, a former Director of HR once told me that the people on your department floor are your greatest resource because they are pretty much untapped consultants with immense knowledge.

Tool #4: Be proactive and seek out challenging opportunities in order to learn: I know this can be difficult to do because it means that you will be stepping out of your comfort zone, but learning something new is always a plus! One of my past mentors once told me that if you aren't uncomfortable in your current role then it means you aren't learning. In fact, Coach John Wooden once said, “It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

Tool #5: Treat mistakes as opportunities to learn: The Career Development guide that I mentioned to you in my first blog write up was a perfect example of this. My team thought that we had originally put together the best Career Development Guide on the planet. However, when we received it back from the Senior Vice-President of HR, it was covered in red ink!! Through these mistakes, we were able to use her feedback to make the guide even better. This eventually paid off because it was later implemented company-wide for over 20,000 employees to use.

In conclusion, remember that “building” your career isn’t going to be an easy process. There may be bent screws and stubbed fingers that you may have to take in order to obtain your dream job. However, as long as you stick to your plan (i.e. follow the instructions), seek advice, and learn from your mistakes you will eventually get there.