Feedback to improve yourself

So far in the course we have looked at improving STEM volunteering activities and how one of the outputs when using feedback to improve is adapting the Activity Plan for future volunteering activities. Now it’s time to think about the bigger picture and how feedback on your skills link with your overall personal and professional development plans. Part of this will involve exploring the objectives of the volunteering programme and your professional employment.

In Week 1 you heard how one STEM Ambassador undertakes volunteering to contribute to chartership of his professional institute and how another STEM Ambassador saw her development of communication skills with young people as good practice for improving communicating with adults at a professional level.

Many of you who are employed and are professionals will have a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Plan which closely links your development objectives with those of your professional institution. However, you may not have a CPD plan or you may have additional personal goals in addition to professional goals which you want to achieve and volunteering can help you do this.

Some of the questions you may be looking to address through a personal development plan include:

• Where do I want to be in 12 months / 2 years / 5 years? What skills do I need to get there?
• What skills do I need to obtain promotion?
• What does my employer want me to achieve through volunteering?
• What elements of volunteering could help my application for chartership of my professional institution?
• I want to be a leader, how can volunteering help?

In the next step we will ask you to combine the skills development for volunteering activities and other personal development goals into a plan.