Be an Alphonso, not any other mango

Have you ever thought amongst the skills that you possess which one can be considered as King or Queen in your career path? 

Well, among fruits, Alphonso mango is considered “King of Fruit” in South Asia, especially in India. 

Let’s try to relate the lifecycle of Alphonso with skills upgrade (or with your business strategies) and getting endorsed.

Seasonal fruit and Seasonal learning

The fruit is seasonal but the tree stands tall getting ready to flourish when the time is right. 

Our everyday work at the workplace is continuous learning towards our professional development. But what happens after 10-15 years being in the same profession? Or doing the same thing? Do you lose your competitive edge?

Knife, sharp or blunt, it is still a knife. But is it not important to keep sharpening it on time for better performance? The answer is Yes. 

“CPD is the holistic commitment of professionals towards the enhancement of personal skills and proficiency throughout their careers.” - as per the CPD (Continous Professional Development) website. https://cpduk.co.uk/ 

Aspirations or unprecedented circumstances can sometimes lead you to choose for something that may not be for you. Take time before deciding on what to learn. 

Insecticides and Certifications:

The journey from bud to flower and then the fruit is never easy. Protecting and strengthening the bud will produce a healthy flower and eventually lead to the juicy fruit. 

But Alphonso tree takes a break every alternative year. This means a mango tree principally flourishes every alternate year. This one year break is necessary to reproduce a similar or better output than the previous year. Same is with career. 

Imagine you are working on a particular project for a few years and due to pandemic or economic crisis or due to any other reason the client pulls out. 

Would you learn or enhance a skill which is required for your ongoing project or the company you are working for? 

Tricky right? 

Professional development should be towards the profession and not towards a particular project. In today's volatile and dynamic market, projects and clients vanish in thin air.

It’s not the worst we should talk about, but why not prepare for the worst so that we can sail swiftly out of the cyclone. 

Continuous professional development should be focussed on how a particular certification or an online/classroom course will help you in your career progression. 

If you are the sole director of the company or are micro or startup, then certifications or CPD will be more focussed towards your company core. For example, if you are a handyman company then you will do a Health and Safety course, if you are an electrician and provide service in electrics then you may get yourself NICEIC certified and similarly if you run a Currency Exchange business then you will require to be trained in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter terrorist financing. 

Exterior Texture and Updated CV

Would a green and brown mango tempt you? No right. The yellow ripe colour and the handful size is what makes it special. I had many of my friends (including my wife) seen falling in love with Alphonso after its arrival. They do look yum. 

Does your CV looks yum to an HR personnel? Or for business owners does your company product or service tempts client to have it? 

If not then you need to work towards how to make it attractive. Alphonso is in demand because people wait for it and need to taste it during Indian Summer. 

Similarly, you need to look at the need of the market and then opt for your certifications. Business owners should find a season or a need and then push their products and services at this right time to monetise. 

Sweet Taste and Learning implemented 

All depends on the taste. Perfectly ripen, sweet yellow Alphonso, unbeatable. Few trees, irrespective of the compost, type of soil, fertilisers, always produce sweet mangoes. Not to forget it may have taken 8-10 years for it before budding for the first time. 

What matters at the end is if the purpose of this professional development is met. Say you have spent time and money to learn and certify yourself in a particular skill. The question here is, have you benefited from it? Is the learning implemented? 

This can be quantified simply by checking if:

a. You may find a new opportunity, this can be a job offer, a new project in the same company, an increase in sales for businesses. 

b. You may have done the CPD course because it is a requirement towards the profession you are entering into. And now you are eligible.  

c. Your colleagues endorsed your skills

d. You, yourself are feeling confident about this professional development and it has made a huge impact on your personality. 

Keep your continuous professional development learning regular instead of seasonal and I’m sure, sweet results will constantly follow. 

What’s your mango story? Are you an Alphonso already?