What do you do if you want to advance your career in Public Administration?

1 Identify your strengths and areas of improvement

The first step to advance your career in public administration is to assess your current skills, knowledge, and performance. You can use various tools and methods to identify your strengths and areas of improvement, such as self-evaluation, feedback from your supervisors and peers, online assessments, or professional certifications. By knowing your strengths, you can leverage them to showcase your achievements and contributions to your organization and the public. By knowing your areas of improvement, you can address them through training, coaching, mentoring, or other learning opportunities.

2 Pursue further education and professional development

The second step to advance your career in public administration is to pursue further education and professional development opportunities that can enhance your qualifications and competencies. You can consider enrolling in a graduate degree or certificate program in public administration or a related field, such as public policy, public management, public finance, or public health. You can also look for online courses, webinars, workshops, or conferences that can update your knowledge and skills on relevant topics and trends in public administration. Additionally, you can join professional associations, such as the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), that can offer you access to resources, events, publications, and networks in the field.

4 Build and maintain a strong network

The fourth step to advance your career in public administration is to build and maintain a strong network of contacts and relationships that can support your career development and advancement. You can network with people within and outside your organization, such as colleagues, managers, mentors, clients, partners, stakeholders, or alumni. You can also network with people from different sectors, levels, backgrounds, or perspectives that can enrich your understanding and insight into public administration. You can use various platforms and channels to network, such as social media, online forums, email, phone, or face-to-face meetings. By building and maintaining a strong network, you can increase your visibility, credibility, and opportunities in public administration.

6 Seek feedback and evaluation

The sixth and final step to advance your career in public administration is to seek feedback and evaluation from your supervisors, peers, mentors, or other sources that can help you measure your progress and performance. You can use various forms and formats of feedback and evaluation, such as formal or informal, verbal or written, positive or constructive, or individual or collective. You can also use various criteria and indicators of feedback and evaluation, such as goals, objectives, standards, expectations, or competencies. By seeking feedback and evaluation, you can identify your achievements and challenges, strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and areas of improvement and development in public administration.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?