How can you choose the most effective professional development opportunities for community management?

1 Identify your gaps

The first step is to assess your current strengths and weaknesses as a community manager. What are the areas that you excel at, and what are the ones that you need to improve? You can use a self-evaluation tool, such as the Community Skills Framework, to rate yourself on different competencies and identify your gaps. You can also ask for feedback from your peers, managers, or mentors to get an external perspective.

2 Research your options

Once you have a clear idea of what you want to learn, you can start looking for the best professional development opportunities that match your needs. There are many resources available online, such as courses, webinars, podcasts, blogs, books, and newsletters, that cover various topics related to community management. You can also explore offline options, such as workshops, conferences, meetups, and networking events, that allow you to interact with other community professionals and learn from their experiences.

3 Evaluate the quality

When evaluating professional development opportunities, it's important to consider the reputation and credentials of the provider or instructor, the learning objectives and outcomes of the program or resource, the feedback and reviews from previous or current participants or users, the format and delivery of the content and activities, as well as the cost and time commitment required. Not all professional development opportunities are equal, so it's important to make sure that the ones you choose are relevant, credible, and engaging.

4 Plan your schedule

Learning is not a one-time event, but a continuous process. You need to plan your schedule and allocate time for your professional development on a regular basis. Depending on your availability and preferences, you can choose a pace and frequency that works for you. For example, you can dedicate an hour a week to watch a webinar, read a book, or listen to a podcast. Or you can enroll in a course that lasts for several weeks or months and requires more intensive work. Whatever you choose, make sure that you stick to your plan and track your progress.

5 Apply your learning

The ultimate goal of professional development is to apply what you learn to your community management practice. To achieve this, it is important to review and reflect on your learning, experiment and test ideas and strategies in your community projects, seek feedback from others, and measure and evaluate the impact of your learning on your performance. Doing this can help you solve problems, create value, and achieve results.

6 Keep learning

Professional development is not a destination, but a journey. You never stop learning and growing as a community manager. You need to keep updating your skills and knowledge to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of your community and industry. You also need to keep exploring new opportunities and challenges that can help you advance your career and reach your potential.

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?