DEVELOPING A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN/ OBJECTIVES
CAREER/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
As an expat, once the initial
period and challenges of settling in are completed, you may wish to
explore options to gain new skills and identify the competences you are
currently acquiring. At the same time, this is a great way/exercise to
prepare your return to work. A period as an Expat is an excellent opportunity
to sit back and reflect on who we are; what we like; what is important to us
and in doing so, we may rediscover ourselves and what we really want from life.
If you haven’t
completed one before, it’s never too late to compile a Personal
Development Plan (PDP) to obtain and achieve your objectives. You can
make things happen; be proactive and responsible for your decisions and actions.
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”
William Shakespeare
To keep in line
with the theme of this blog, we will look at putting in place an action plan
for future career development which could involve keeping skills and
industry knowledge up to date or developing new skills. This plan can work just
as well for personal objective purposes.
For career;
learning and/or personal development objectives, your PDP will be a working
document covering areas such as identifying who you are; what you want; your
skills and experience; lacking skills/education; your objectives as well as a
written record to follow progress in obtaining your objectives. If at times you
feel lost or without support or intellectually cut off from the world of work,
your PDP and defined objectives are a GREAT booster and form
of motivation which will keep you focused and remind you of the goals you set.
It will help to build your self-esteem as you are working towards your
objectives; as well as a recognition that you are undertaking and learning new
skills and/or interests.
We can all get
side tracked at times. No matter how well organized you are, the unplanned can
happen. To keep in line with your objective(s), your plan is there as a
reminder. Place it somewhere visible to you; share your objectives with family
and friends who will be happy to help you in reaching your goal(s).
1.GETTING STARTED
The first step is to do a personal SWOT analysis. This
is a study/process generally used by organizations to identify their Strengths
(internal), Weaknesses (internal), Opportunities (external) and Threats
(external).
However, this can be adapted to looking for work or
for personal development.
The SWOT will help you to reflect on what you have learned
already and the environment that surrounds you. To compile the SWOT, for the
Strengths and Weaknesses, you can cover what you learned at
school/university/work and in your personal life. For the Opportunities and
Threats, think about the position you would like to have; in which industry
sector; look at the job opportunities/requirements and careers available in
this sector, as well as companies present in this domain.
2.WRITING YOUR OBJECTIVES/GOALS
Once the SWOT
completed and when you really know what you want to do, either career wise or
personally, you can then set your objectives to place into short, mid or
long-term goals. Then it is time to write your career action plan which is
comprised of these objectives and the steps needed to reach them. Missing
skills identified in the SWOT can become objectives. Obstacles which could get
in the way while reaching these objectives should also be noted.
A guideline to
writing an objective is for it to be short. Objectives should be clear, with no
ambiguity and attainable. An example of a career objective is: “when I return to
my home country, I want to find employment in a company where I can work
part-time as an Accountant and be within 30kms drive from my home”.
To reach this
goal, you can state as actions: “identify potential companies in this domain of
expertise, who are based in the region, address my CV to these companies, as
well as to recruitment companies in this area”.
Another example is
to set up your own business. This will entail actions such as obtaining
information on different types of company structures, as well as seeking
financial advice.
3. REACHING YOUR
OBJECTIVES
To reach your
goals/objectives, you need to be consistent and disciplined. If you set out
clear objectives and step by step actions, you will see results and remain
motivated. Prioritize what is essential. Sometimes the essential is the most
challenging task and we tend to forgo this for simpler tasks. However, to
succeed, these tasks must be tackled!
Don’t hesitate in
asking for advice from experts in the domain.
“Even if things don’t unfold the way you expected, don’t be disheartened or give up. One who continues to advance, will win in the end”.
Daisaku Ikeda
Always remember that the best person to do the things you said you would do, is yourself. Never give up on an objective. Keep your mindset positive and keep focused on the objective. It is with determination, tenacity and aspiration that you will reach your final objective.