Planning, patience and persistence are essential elements required to get ahead in your career.
Are you wanting a promotion or simply the opportunity to get your foot in the door of a new industry, or maybe a pay rise? …..Perhaps a more realistic rise than Reese Witherspoon’s pay rise of $1million dollars per episode of Big Little Lies….
It is important to have a realistic vision of where you are going and a plan on how you will get there. As we quote from Alexander Graham Bell, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success”!
Formal professional development can help to give you the edge in today’s incredibly competitive job market.
The grass is greener on the other side, or is it? It may be tempting to think you might be better off elsewhere, however it can be a little short sighted viewing your current position or employer this way. Your current role could be providing you with valuable professional development opportunities if you know where to look, and how to present your ideas to your manager. Maybe not over cocktails at the firm’s Xmas party or at casual Friday evening drinks…..
Once you’ve found the ideal course or training programme, take the initiative and maybe some of our advice and convince your manager to let you sign up.
It is human nature; people will always warm to an idea if they feel involved and made part of that idea (or even if you let them think it was their idea in the first place!). Have a discussion with your manager before you go off and make all the decisions for them. There’s nothing wrong with letting your boss know that you want to learn and improve yourself. A good manager knows the benefits of training their staff; a team is only as strong as its weakest link! Training budgets, while variable, exist for a reason!
Be clear about how you draw these links. Use concrete examples of how a certification or course relates to your role and can benefit not only yourself but your team. If your role requires you to “Undertake risk analysis and management in a project environment” a course or a workshop in project management will make perfect sense.
Providing your boss with as much relevant detail as you can, will show them that you are serious about your quest for personal development and gaining further knowledge. Provide them with more than one option; they’ll want to see the rationale and benefits of different durations and prices of courses. Include: pricing, dates, providers and accreditations for each course. Keep email correspondence short and simple, stick to key points. Even perhaps consider who will cover your work while you are out of the office.
Sharing is caring, make it clear to your boss that the knowledge and skills you learn on the course will be shared with your team. You could offer to do a team presentation to those in relevant roles, outlining what you learnt, sharing learning outcomes and course notes. Most importantly, explain how your new knowledge and skills will contribute to your team’s results, not just your own.
Remember planning, patience and persistence are the essential elements to getting ahead in your career. Don’t be discouraged if your boss says “No” today, because of time constraints and/or budget. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will have the same response if you bring it up at a later date. You might just need to be patient and wait for the right time. Ideally try before the beginning of a new financial or calendar year or when budget planning is being done if you are in the know! They’ll be impressed with your commitment and you never know the timing might be perfect!
We deliver world class face to face courses across New Zealand, with dates and locations to suit you. In a broad range of products including: Project Management, Portfolio Management, Better Business Cases, Managing Benefits, Project Planning & Control and more. Alternatively we have a large suite of Enhanced e-learning accreditation's which may better suit your location/timing/budget or learning style.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you with your quest to gain further skills and knowledge! We are here to provide support throughout your professional career.
