What are the best practices for creating a professional development plan?

3 Explore your options and resources

Once you have your objectives and priorities, you can explore the different options and resources available for your professional development. What are the best ways to learn, practice, or demonstrate the skills, knowledge, or competencies you want to develop? What are the sources of information, guidance, or support you can access? You can consider various forms of professional development, such as courses, workshops, webinars, mentoring, coaching, networking, volunteering, shadowing, or research.

4 Plan your actions and timeline

After you have explored your options and resources, you can plan your actions and timeline for your professional development. How will you implement your learning or improvement activities? What are the steps, tasks, or milestones involved? How much time, money, or effort will they require? How will you balance them with your other responsibilities and commitments? You should create a realistic and flexible plan that suits your needs, preferences, and circumstances.

5 Monitor your progress and outcomes

As you execute your plan, you should monitor your progress and outcomes regularly. How are you performing or progressing according to your objectives, indicators, or criteria? What are the results or benefits of your professional development activities? What are the challenges or difficulties you encounter? How do you overcome or address them? You should use various tools and methods to monitor yourself, such as logs, journals, checklists, feedback, evaluations, or portfolios.

6 Review and update your plan

Finally, you should review and update your plan periodically. How effective or satisfactory is your plan in achieving or improving your professional development objectives? What are the strengths or weaknesses of your plan? What are the opportunities or threats for your plan? How can you improve or adjust your plan to meet your changing needs, goals, or situations? You should use various tools and methods to review your plan, such as reflection, feedback, surveys, tests, or portfolios.

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?