Professional Development Plan 2017

In 2017 I had started an MSc in Digital Marketing. At the time, one of the modules was a Professional Development Module, and we had to put a plan together. The amount of work involved was huge, but I got my head down and set about putting my plan together. I recently pulled the plan out to see if anything had changed, and at first glance, I felt no; I am in the same position as I was then, but that is so not true.

In the six years since I first wrote this, I have professionally and personally developed into a person I never thought I would or could be. Don't get me wrong, at my core and soul level, I am still the same person with the same imposter syndrome, but I have done so much since writing this, and I need to be proud of a lot. Many of us rarely permit ourselves to say I am proud, and I am certainly at the top of that queue.

I will let you read my 2017 plan below and synopsise the changes I have made since!

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Statement of My Professional Development Objectives:?

Having completed my situational analysis, something has become very apparent to me: I have developed a two-path career strategy.?

I have a “day job” as a communications manager for a large NGO, but I also have begun to develop freelance activities in parallel with that (my external situation). From my personality type (internal preferences), I now know why this trend has begun to emerge. I can’t get the buzz I need from within the corporate setting; I need the causes to get fulfilment and satisfaction. From my SWOT analysis and my activities list, I have identified areas of weakness that I need to correct to develop this twin-track approach to the maximum. All my skills to date have been learned on the job. I need to benchmark and standardise these by graduating with recognised qualifications in the field of Digital Marketing.?

A statement of my career objective would now read as follows:?

“I want to be in a position in the next 4 or 5 years to choose between going it alone or remaining in a management role within a large corporate. Having a Masters degree advertises the fact that I have been independently assessed as having the requisite skills to do a good job for either client or employer.”

Situational Analysis

Past successes

• In 2014 Redeveloped the SVP’s national website?– Project managed the creation and re-development of the organisation’s website resulting in:?
• an increase in overall donations from €80,000 pa to €1.1 Million pa. and,?
• a 385% year-on-year increase in site viewers requesting support services.
• Created and started the SVP’s national Social Media Channels from scratch -?Initiated channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) for external communications, resulting in reduction of complaints and an increase in support and following for the organisation.
• Developed platforms?– Developed new internal communication solutions which were designed to be user friendly particularly for the older members (MailChimp).
• Took over as editor of the SVP’s quarterly national 52-page magazine “The Bulletin”?- Led the redesign of the printed magazine and launched an online version, which resulted in increased staff and member engagement.
• Event Management?– Co-ordinated one of SVP’s??largest ever events - the 150th?Anniversary of SVP in the Convention Centre in Dublin - and used Eventbrite, which had previously never been used by the organisation, as the booking tool for handling the ticketing, food and travel arrangements for 6,000 people.
• Administrator for a Buddhist Centre?– Managed all aspects of the Palpung Buddhist Centre’s communications both offline and online, created website and setup social media platforms.
• Freelancing -??Designed and created websites and social media platforms for a number of small businesses, including:
• Creations Beauty & Hair Salon
• Christine O’Sullivan Wedding Stylist
• Gerry Mansfield Artist
• Stephen Murphy Acupuncturist
• Amanda Nordell Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Therapist

What I do best?

When given a task, I am very good at taking an overarching view and strategically analysing the situation. More often than not, I can come up with a creative solution so as to achieve the desired result. I derive huge satisfaction from seeing a project through from beginning to end. When it comes to presenting the finished product, seeing a smile on peoples’ faces adds to the buzz.

What does success mean to me?

Delivering effective solutions on time, on budget and to the highest standard. When I complete a project, I feel so proud, knowing what I have achieved in bringing something new and great together.

Combine the above into a paragraph?

I am a strategic and analytical thinker who derives great satisfaction from providing creative solutions to any given project. Delivering on time, on budget and to the highest standards is what I do best.

Personal Mission Statement

“I am a well-motivated, very strategic and analytical thinker who brings creativity and high standards to the work I do”.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator:

Having completed the 16 Personalities test my personality type was INFJ-T (Advocate/Protector)

Apparently only 1% of the population are INFJ’s. They place great importance on having things orderly and systematic. Because they find it easy to make connections with others, people see them as quite extraverted, but this is not true as they often need to be alone to recharge.

My personality type is seen to have the following traits.

Strengths

??Creative???Insightful???Inspiring and Convincing???Decisive????Determined and Passionate???Altruistic???Intuitive

Weaknesses

??Sensitive???Extremely Private???Perfectionistic???Always Need to Have a Cause???Can Burn Out Easily

Career

??Corporate career paths are not for them???Struggle to begin a career early???Need to find meaning in their work (know that they're helping people)

Workplace

??Work must have meaning, i.e. helps people, leads to personal growth and is in line with their values, principles and beliefs.????As colleagues, are likely to be popular and seen as positive.????As managers, are often reluctant in exercising authority, preferring to see subordinates as equals.

‘Not surprising’ in the above was the creativity, intuition, determination and passion, altruism and insightfulness as I have brought these to bear in my career to date (see ‘successes’ above). I have also seen the need for a cause, perfectionism and the easy burnout feature in my life in the past. I was unnerved by seeing the struggle to settle on a career early – they could have read my CV! It was never all about the money with me either, the reward was in helping others, and my management style is collegiate, to say the least!?

What I found surprising was that this personality type is seen as inspiring and convincing. I would never have thought of myself in that way. Still, to see any project through to the finish, I would have required these qualities to some degree or another in order to surmount the inevitable obstacles that arise along the way.?

I definitely would not have considered myself decisive, but I’m not a ditherer either. As for being extremely private, I would have recognised that in myself in the past but would have worked to change it, recognising that this trait can be very isolating.?

People with this personality are seen to only shine in a corporate setting. This surprised me until I was reminded by someone close to me of the numerous rants he had heard over the years concerning the inertia of the decision-makers and the soul-destroying nature of office politics. This had, on reflection, always been a considerable struggle and challenge for me. My experience of working in a corporate setting was sometimes almost intolerable, as I often found it difficult to step forward and voice a strong opinion on important issues in my field of expertise.

The Personal SWOT Analysis

Activities

1. Attend a Trade show?–?Going to the DMX Dublin trade show on 8th?March. This will be a good opportunity to get to know my class but, also, my goal will be to identify new trends and applications that might have potential in the near future and gain some up-to-date information and knowledge from experts in the Digital world. The ticket cost is €99, transport and overnight stay. I will write a blog on what I learned and who and what impressed me most.
2. A talk laid on by CIT?-??Again, gain some insights and knowledge from experts in the field. It will also perhaps give me the opportunity to ask questions around the particular topic being discussed, if needed, and I will make notes and write up what I learned with a view to posting a blog.
3. Google Analytics IQ Qualification?– Because my current working experience of GA’s is limited and all self-taught, I am hoping that, by doing this exam, I will have increased my knowledge of GA so that I can implement these newly learned skills, in my current or any future role, with confidence. This will allow me to analyse more thoroughly the traffic patterns on a site so that targeted improvements can be made. I will also document, track and record my progession as I study and practice for the exam. Study time: approximately 2 weeks.??
4. Google Adwords Certification?–?In my current role, we receive the Google Adwords Grant and my lack of knowledge impedes me from optimising this facility. By sitting?the?AdWords Fundamentals and?Display Advertising exams, I believe the expertise acquired will hugely benefit my current employer (while being mindful of other, future applications elsewhere) in maximising their online advertising.?Study time: approximately 2 weeks.??(80% required to pass any Google exam).?
5. Self-Assertiveness Course?– In order to work on one of my key weaknesses – self assertiveness - I will complete a course so that I will have the ability to say no (to prevent work overload and people taking advantage) and be able to voice an opinion in the presence of strong characters, especially concerning matters in my own area of expertise. The course is carried out over a month, 3 hours per workshop of which there are 4. I will document my progression and the changes I witness as I??work through the course. Cost approx €130.
6. Help a cause?– I am going to help a new charity “The Down Syndrome Centre Cork” by using my NGO knowledge, communications, fundraising and digital skills. The goal will be to help them build their brand by guiding them on press releases, dealing with the media, increase their Social Media followers. I will provide training so that they can manage the accounts themselves going forward, and create posters for key fundraising activities; I will offer guidance on the requirements for running a charity. This will take approximately 60 hours and I will measure the impact of my work on social media using Sprout Social to view metrics, the number of articles in papers, radio interviews and monies raised at various events.

Conclusion

To maximise my career opportunities in the future, I will need to be able to deliver across a diverse digital marketing field. The activities I have chosen will help to fill out my skill set. This exercise has given me the confidence to know that once you have identified competencies that you need, you can acquire some from scratch, or modify and enhance others that might need a little extra work, through different activities such as those listed above.

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So, there it is folks! I know you are all dying to know what has changed for me since then, right?

Firstly, I completed and attended all the above activities and more. I finished my Masters with a First Class Honour (first time in my life!) and even received an honorary award for the best Master student when I finished my Masters.

While I didn't take an absolute leap and go out on my own, my freelancing work evolved into a new part-time business called?Digi Nomad, where I can express my creativity and work with amazing people. I am continuously growing my profile. This has also been recognised in the business world as I got to do some podcasts and be nominated for a few awards, so I am proud of that for sure.

I have just literally finished project managing another website for SVP, and it was by far the most challenging, exhausting and exhilarating project to date. Not in too big a rush to do it again, though!

My team within SVP has gone from two to five, and they are the most fantastic team ever and make the job and my role more exciting every day when I see them develop and grow.

Oh, and my personality type is still an INFJ-T