As we near the end of the year, many of us start to reflect back on where we have been and where we would like to go. When you look at your career, where do you see yourself in one year? in five years? Have you made progress over the last year in your career development? What plans do you have to grow professionally over the next year?
There are several ways to accomplish professional growth in your career. One way is to join an organization within your field or industry. A professional organization can help you meet people with similar interests and backgrounds. Networking within these organizations can help you find out about trends in your profession.
A great online resource for these networking groups is LinkedIn. You can find out about employment opportunities for advancement within your field through social career networking sites like LinkedIn. You can also help provide others with job opportunities or chances to advance in their careers.
Through these professional organizations, you can learn about professional conferences and seminars that are available in person and via online webinars. Additionally, you can learn how to obtain a professional certification, which can increase your value as a professional in your field. If you are looking to add to your technology toolbox or earn an additional certificate, training can definitely help you achieve your goals. Take a look at the courses offered to see if any of them could improve your technology skills or help you work toward earning an additional certificate in your field: http://www.versitas.com/courses.php.
As you reflect over 2011 and plan for 2012, be sure to include some time and resource investment in a professional organization and training to add to your certifications and/or technology skills. The long-term rewards will be well worth the investment!
As 2009 is rapidly coming to a close, I know many companies are evaluating 2009 and planning their budgets for 2010. This year has been a rough one in terms of the economy. However, it looks like we are having some good indicators that we are at least beginning the recovery process. Some companies cut back on training budgets for 2009. As a proponent for training (as if you can’t tell from my blog posts) I have been thinking lately about how to encourage organizations to add that training component back to their budgets for 2010.
When some organizations think about providing training for their employees, they sometimes worry about the logistics of having the training on-site. What they usually find out is that they needn’t have worried at all. You don’t need to have a dedicated training room to have a successful training class on-site. The training room setup can prove to be very simple.
