Personal Development is a lifelong process and one that involves developing all kinds of skills from the physical to the mental. It’s about learning, self-improvement, gaining different experiences and becoming a more well-rounded individual.
But what does this have to do with your career?
Having a Personal Development plan can help you reach your full potential so if you focus it on your career goals you can work towards enhancing your employability prospects, building your confidence and making decisions that all lead to your end goal.
The jobs market is a highly competitive one and the stand out candidates are those who not only have a diverse skills set but that demonstrate their commitment to learning and developing even further.
Personal Development requires self-discipline in order to get results but this is a highly attractive quality to employers as it shows you are ambitious, take your career seriously and are likely to apply the same discipline and commitment to your role.
The first step is to plan. Think about where you want to be in your career and be as specific as you can because you’re more likely to achieve a goal that is clearly defined. You can find more advice on goal setting here. Ask yourself, where do you want to be in a few months and a few years? Once you’re clear on your goals you need to understand what steps are required in order reach them.
Develop your weaknesses. It is possible to develop your weaknesses into strengths but only if you acknowledge and accept them in the first place. There is no shame in having weaknesses or being less good at something, after all we are all human. What will set you apart from your competition is if you work on improving them and there are many ways to do this. If you’re not good at negotiating you can read up on how to develop your skills and expose yourself to situations where you need to negotiate so you are regularly practising and learning from your previous mistakes. If you know you have no experience in managing people seek out a course which will teach you these skills. There are always lots of ways to learn and develop you just need to find the best solution.
Say yes to new experiences and opportunities. It is often lived experience that helps us develop the most. We learn how we deal with experiences that might be outside our comfort zones and can use these lessons in many other situations in the future. This point can be applied to both your work life and personal life. You may get offered a new opportunity at work that you may not have considered before such as a secondment, a training course or mentoring someone. These are fantastic ways to develop your skills and widen your experience all of which you can put on your CV!
Write it all down! Keeping a record of your goals, your plan and your progress is a good idea for multiple reasons. Firstly, if you’ve planned your goals over a period of years it is important to have a reference point to help you remember where you started, what each step entailed and you’re able to reflect on how far you’ve come. This self-reflection stage is essential for motivation and keeping focussed. You are bound to hit knock backs along the way which at the time might make you want to give up but by referring to your plan and being able to see how far you’ve come you’ll be more likely to stay on track.
At Perfect Placement we are passionate about helping the candidates we work with to thrive in their careers and have a huge amount of career advice available on our website.
If you are looking for tailored advice in finding your dream automotive career then look no further! Our team of professional recruiters have been helping businesses and candidates find their perfect fit for over 16 years.