Chapter 7

Building Your Career

Given the present and future flux of training, HRD, and workplace learning and performance, being committed to a career in this field means that continual professional growth is no longer optional—it's a survival necessity, a crucial investment in your future success. Positioning yourself for advancement, changing jobs, or shifting to consulting is dependent on your performance excellence. And performance excellence is related to your professional expertise and proficiency. The concerns and reasons for staff training and development programs are just as relevant to your situation.

To remain competitive, you must keep learning; you can't depend on your current level of skills and knowledge. It's almost impossible to keep up with the new tools and practices without staying on top of any new professional trends. In previous chapters we noted that as the field expands and reinvents itself and integrates many high technology innovations, yesterday's novelties age rapidly. As a specialist in the field, you'll be asked more frequently to solve complex human resource problems where interdisciplinary approaches and multilevel strategies are becoming the norm.

With changes in the context of practice have come corresponding changes in the nature of roles and functions. To meet tomorrow's workplace needs successfully, your skills, competencies, and knowledge need routine weeding out, updating, and enlarging. Take a page from the guidelines of your employee career development or training and development manual, and select learning formats and delivery methods that are efficient and practical, that fit into your schedule, and that are specific to your requirements. It's easier than ever before to have your professional growth needs met through a diverse array of available learning options presented later in this chapter.

Your Commitment to a Lifelong Activity

As you grow older, learning as stimulation is beneficial to your overall well-being and mental health, and thereby to an extended productive work life. Continued professional growth is a lifelong learning activity that provides these benefits:

• keeps your mind vital and active
• brings you in contact with new and interesting people and ideas
• presents opportunities for challenge
• gives a feeling of accomplishment
• broadens your outlook on life and society
• contributes to a sense of purpose in your life, both personally and professionally
• helps you to remain involved and functioning within your family, community, and society at large.

Learning is a process that is extended throughout your life into retirement and beyond. It's never too early to view lifelong learning as a way of leading a “young” lifestyle, particularly in your senior years. Professional development is one path toward the start of a lifelong learning habit.

Adopting continued professional development as a routine activity contributes to your career in several ways:

• is a good career management practice
• keeps problem-solving skills sharp
• encourages creative thinking
• prevents you from getting into a rut at work
• allows you to remain qualified for opportunities with your present employer or a new organization
• helps you to stay on the cutting edge of the field
• expands career options and moves through training, HRD, and workplace learning and performance
• adds credentials to your résumé.

No matter where you are in your career or what professional shifts you're considering, in an age of accelerated change, continual professional growth is essential not only for preventing plateauing, but also for maintaining control of your career, both in shape and in direction.

Basic Elements of Professional Development

To derive the most benefits from professional learning activities, your selection of subject matter, education or training structure, site, and delivery method should be based on specific reasons and outcomes—for example, availability of educational institutions nearby and learning skills needed to make a professional shift. Most times, making a decision to attend a professional event like a chapter meeting or a half-day seminar is quick and easy. Not much time, money, or effort is being invested. But you should have a clear idea of what you hope to gain by participating. You definitely need to give much thought to a long-term professional learning activity like a certificate program or a long-distance advanced training course. This level of commitment requires an explicit picture about the desired outcomes and the efforts you'll have to expend to achieve them. Furthermore, by setting objectives for continued professional growth, learning opportunities you may not have considered before can be looked at in a different light.

People sometimes undertake a professional learning activity because of some general, undefined feeling that

• they must generally stay current in their field
• it's expected that they will participate in professional growth events
• it's a convenient, low-cost seminar or course
• everyone is using a new tool or system
• their employer will pay for the activity.

People can make mistakes in trying to prepare themselves to fit into a specific professional role or practice because it's the “in place” to be, it's financially rewarding, it's a great opportunity that's been offered to them, and so forth. Those reasons can lead only to frustration, stress, wasted financial resources, and possibly failure to complete the learning program or activity.

Some of the basic elements of professional development are useful in determining how your work needs and future career plans can be met most appropriately through a specific learning activity, site, and delivery method. Choosing the most useful learning strategy and approach for you requires that you gather and organize information. Keep in mind that your professional growth needs change throughout your career and what was appropriate for you in the past may not be true in the present or the future. Practical Exercises 4 and 5 enable you to assess and decide what is the best learning activity for you at any time in your professional life.

Helpful in putting together a good and realistic learning plan are six professional development basic elements reflected in the following questions:

• Why do you want to learn? (Your reasons—for example, want more challenging assignments, plan a shift to external consulting)
• What is to be learned? (Subject matter—for example, update a skill, add knowledge, develop a new competency)
• Will learning be structured? (Accreditation—for example, degree-granting, continuing education credits [CEUs] earned)
• How will learning be delivered? (Method—for example, computer-based training, traditional classroom lecture)
• Where will you learn? (Site—for example, at workplace, at vendor's location)
• When will you learn? (Timeframe—for example, start in six months, complete in two years)

Answers to these questions are part of your choices regarding your career plans, your place in the field, and your present personal/family life situation and status. Refer to the exercise you completed when creating your professional design plan in chapter 6—specifically to the goals and steps/activities that you established for yourself. Did you list any professional growth needs and were any tentative plans included for further education or training? Your need to continue your professional growth always should be considered in a regularly scheduled self-assessment of where you are in your profession and where you want to be.

Professional Continuing Education Alternatives

As we noted earlier in this chapter, a number of continued professional development alternatives exist and, given the fast pace of technology advances in delivery methods, you'll have even more choices in the future. At various points in your life, different options or combinations thereof will be better matches for your needs. Using your PDP to target the best learning strategy for you at any given time shows good career management skills.

Professional development strategies can be divided into two categories: employer-sponsored on-site training and development activities and off-site education/training activities.

Employer-Sponsored On-Site Training and Development Activities

As a training, HRD, or workplace learning and performance specialist, you know the pros and cons of learning on-site for the employee. But you may not have thought of them in considering your own situation and needs. Let's do a brief review. On-site participation requires no travel to the learning site, no cost to you, and no extra time commitment because training is held during regular work hours. The cons of on-site training and development are that the offerings may not meet your learning needs, project deadlines and workload may not allow you to take a desired scheduled course or may not yield the time for self-directed learning activities, and you may want a more formal, off-site, structured program of coursework.

In setting up training and development courses facilitated by outside contractors or internal consultants, are you thinking of your own present work and future career movement needs and the possibility of registering for a class? You should be, particularly if the subject matter is a basic transferable skill or competency such as communications, teamwork, or computer technology. Do you regularly review materials and information available in the company's self-directed learning center to see if any are of interest to you? Can you make suggestions to the staff member who orders for the center's library?

The following is a listing of on-site training and development activity options:

• training classes conducted by internal or external consultants
• long-distance learning (videoconferencing)
• computer-assisted learning (software, CD/ROM programs; self-directed)
• online assisted learning (Web-based training; self-directed).

Off-Site Education and Training Options

A broad range of options exists for continued professional development outside of the workplace. If you're working in an HRD department and your employer provides tuition-reimbursement benefits or the department budget has a line item for outside training and development costs, this can be a viable option for you.

Obtaining professional learning outside of a workplace has these benefits:

• more flexible scheduling of courses and seminars
• more course offerings (real-time and Web-based)
• availability of degree- and certificate-granting programs
• ability to earn CEUs
• individualized programs to meet your professional needs
• opportunities to network and meet new colleagues.

If you are not now in training, HRD, or workplace learning and performance development but are considering a career change into the field, or if you want to return to the field, you most likely need some professional learning activities. Consider your various options seriously because you'll be paying tuition and registration costs yourself or seeking some financial sources, such as loans or scholarships.

Whether or not you are in the field now, you need to decide if your schedule and responsibilities outside of work hours allow you time to pursue learning activities. Some special considerations need to be given to enrolling in certificate- and degree-granting education programs. Because these programs usually require a long-term commitment (from a minimum of one year for a certificate to three or more years for a Ph.D.) and high expenditures, take the following special factors into account:

• What are your long-term professional goals? (You should have answered this in your PDP.)
• In what ways would a certificate or graduate degree further or enhance your training, HRD, or workplace learning and performance career?
• Which program includes your five top-priority skills or competencies and knowledge bases?
• Is the program accredited and, if so, by what accrediting organization?
• If you need to pay the program costs, are they affordable or are loans, scholarships, or assistantships available?
• Can you go part-time or does the program require full-time attendance?

Employer-supported development activities fall into two groups: educational financial assistance benefits and off-site HRD budget-supported training. As an HR staff member you probably know what employee education assistance or sponsored benefits are offered by your organization and which specific ones are part of your benefits package. You need a very clear understanding of the type of courses, learning methods, or certifications your employer will support. Matters can be complicated by the fact that some of the computer and online learning options may not have been available when the educational benefits were developed, or that weekend and summer academic programs were not a common practice then. If your responsibilities do not include benefits, check with the benefits specialist for further clarification.

The HRD department budget line item for staff training can be vaguely or generally worded and, thus, open to a liberal interpretation. The department manager often has some latitude for how training monies can be spent. If you and your supervisor do some creative thinking, avenues for learning may develop that would not have been considered previously.

Here are some off-site learning options:

• educational programs offered through a higher-education institution, professional association, or train-the-trainer companies and vendors

  — degree-granting programs

  — certificate-granting programs

  — professional continuing education courses

• training events

  — professional conferences

  — workshops, seminars, and courses

  — professional association local chapter meetings

• self-directed computer-based courses
• self-directed Web-based courses.

In many situations the self-directed learning approach may be the best choice for continued professional development. These delivery methods are particularly suited for people who have busy schedules and work long hours, but who are disciplined, motivated, and want the convenience of learning at odd hours. If you have done any research into computer-assisted and online learning possibilities for staff training and development, you know the experience can be frustrating and bewildering as you try to navigate through the many types of nonclassroom approaches and methods.

If you decide to go the self-directed learning route via the Web for your own continued professional growth, another matter to address is the sponsoring organization's accreditation. If you eventually want to apply self-directed learning courses to earning a certificate, graduate degree, or CEUs, the sponsoring organization must be accredited by one of the six regional educational accrediting agencies, by the Distance Education and Training Council, or by a professional association.

CBT and WBT approaches are the fastest-growing strategies to learning, particularly as the trend is toward integrating these two delivery methods via the Internet. To research the possibilities for self-directed learning, review Web sites listed in the Web-Based Resources section at the back of the book for help in locating CBT and WBT options.

Assessing Personal Lifestyle Factors and Learning Options

Personal and Work Factors

Making a decision to pursue further professional education or training involves more than just taking into account various learning approaches with their specific features. Personal lifestyle factors, particularly family priorities and responsibilities, affect all major career moves and professional pursuits, including continued professional growth activities—especially those that require a good amount of your time or money. Certain elements of your work lifestyle also will have to be factored into your decision making. At the end of this section, we're going to suggest that you complete Practical Exercise 4 to identify the personal and work lifestyle issues that have bearing on your learning options.

Now review your PDP's practical considerations section to identify existing personal/family constraints that have to be considered in selecting a strategy and method for continued professional development.

• Do you have children or child-care responsibilities?
• Are you a single parent?
• Do you have responsibility for aging parents?
• What is your level of income?
• How much time do you devote to family and other activities?
• Do you do volunteer work or have other volunteer commitments?

If you're married or in a committed relationship, do you have the support of the significant people in your life? If you're interested in pursuing a long-term educational commitment and have teenagers or young adult children still living at home, how do they feel about you returning to school? Adjustments may be needed in terms of assignments for household chores and errands, and the amount of leisure time you have available for family activities and vacations. As we mentioned in the chapter on transitions, the support of those closest to you is important to the success of your professional endeavors.

Also look at your job and review certain elements of your work situation: average number of daily or weekly work hours; length of commute between home, employer, and campus (for real-time learning); demands of project/deadline-based work; and travel time for your job.

If you feel that your work lifestyle doesn't lend itself to your involvement in a specific off-site learning program, discuss it with your supervisor and see if it's possible for some adjustment to be made in your work schedule. Emphasize the benefits the HRD department and your employer will receive if you pursue your desired professional development activity.

If you're not presently employed in the field, ask yourself these additional questions:

• Do I want to enroll in a full-time course of study at this time?
• Can I afford to finance the course of study I'd like to take?
• Do I have enough credentials without further education or training?

Turn now to Practical Exercise 4 on page 103 and complete it.

Your Education and Training Options

With the information and data compiled from your PDP, a review made of lifestyle constraints, and initial education and training research complete, it's time to review criteria for selecting the best learning approach or approaches for you. Practical Exercise 5 on page 105 will enable you to prioritize your learning options and become aware of what is important to you in terms of selection criteria. Remember that your learning strategy ultimately may involve several options. For example, you may decide to pursue a certificate program and to register for both classroom and online courses because of personal or work lifestyle considerations. The final outcome should be the development of an action plan for your continued professional growth. That action plan should be incorporated into your PDP to ensure that you compare it with your overall career plans as a part of your regular self-assessment.

The next chapter adds another dimension to professional development: volunteerism.

 

Practical Exercise 4: Assessing Constraints on Your Learning Options

Part One: Lifestyle Factors

Directions: Review the listed personal and work lifestyle factors and checkmark all that are relevant for you. For each factor checked, indicate the percentage of time you allocate weekly to that factor. For each personal factor checked, indicate the level of financial resources you allocate monthly to that factor. And for each factor checked, indicate the priority you give to that factor, from 1 (high) to 5 (low).

 

Part Two: Constraints on Your Learning Options

Directions: If you have checked any of the factors in Part One, complete this section for a better awareness of the constraints you have on your selection of a learning strategy. (If you checked none of those factors, your selection of a learning strategy will be largely based on your career plans and personal preferences.)

 

A.  Based on your responses in Part One, list up to three constraints that you think will most affect your decisions about continued professional development activities:

1.
2.
3.

B.  In what ways will these constraints influence how you go forward with plans for further education or training? (For example, being a single parent may point you toward part-time graduate work or online course delivery.)

1.
2.
3.

C.  What personal or professional support will you need to initiate continued professional development plans successfully or to reduce the stress in your life that may arise from adding a student role to your other life roles? (For example, you may need your supervisor's support for attending seminars during work hours or your family's support for weekend courses.)

1.
2.
3.

 

 

Practical Exercise 5: Selecting Among Education and Training Options

Part One: Identifying Your Learning Objectives

Directions: Considering your career objectives and professional needs, state what skills, competencies, and knowledge you would like to learn, update, or add to your base of expertise.

 

 

 

 

Part Two: Prioritizing Learning Options

Directions: Take into consideration any input from the lifestyle factors assessment you completed in Practical Exercise 4. Look at the learning structure, delivery methods, and site options listed below. In each of the three sections, indicate those options that interest you and rank them by placing a number (1=highest) in the box on the left. Next, rate the importance of each selection criterion to the right of your chosen options on a scale of 1 (high) to 3 (low).

 

Part Three: Review for Continued Professional Development Decisions

A.  Review your responses in Parts One and Two. For your professional needs, which learning structures, delivery methods, and sites did you prioritize as #1 and #2? Comment on any reactions you have toward your choices.

Structures
Priority 1:
Reaction:
Priority 2:
Reaction:
Delivery Methods
Priority 1:
Reaction:
Priority 2:
Reaction:
Sites
Priority 1:
Reaction:
Priority 2:
Reaction:

B.  What selection criteria emerged as most important to you? (For example, convenience? costs?) Comment on any reactions that you may have about these factors. (For example, were you surprised at priority given to a specific type of delivery method? Do you feel good about the match of a learning approach with your present lifestyle situation?)

Structures

 

 

Delivery Methods

 

 

Sites

 

 

C.  Is the learning strategy that you have developed realistic and feasible? That is, are matches available between your choices of learning structures, delivery methods, and sites? (For example, if you selected a graduate program, WBT, and home as top priorities, is there a university that offers a relevant graduate program conducted online?)

        Yes      No      Don't Know

D.  What additional information will you need to research in order to make your final decision about further professional learning endeavors?

 

 

 

E.  What is your projected timeframe for this professional learning endeavor?

 

 

 

F.  What will you need to do next to ensure that your continued professional learning plans become a reality?