Professional development opportunities

While there might not always be resources available to pay for expensive external training courses in exotic locations, the majority of SMEs offer a variety of opportunities to help employees develop and progress in their careers.

Here are some examples:

• On-the-job learning
• Designated time for research
• In-house training – delivered by a colleague
• In-house training – delivered by you (e.g. relating to something cutting edge you learned in your degree, or something you’ve picked up during your designated research time)
• Being coached or mentored
• Mentoring someone else (sometimes known as reverse mentoring – where a junior colleague mentors a senior one, sharing their knowledge about social media for example)
• Joining and interacting with a relevant professional body
• Representing the business at a professional event
• Networking with other businesses across the sector – joining relevant LinkedIn groups or other discussion forums.

‘I started a new job last year, working with a small marketing company. When I started, I was worried that the training opportunities would be limited, but I was wrong. There are so many different ways to learn and develop my skills. One of the best things I did was find a mentor. My employer linked me with a previous colleague, now working for a different company, and she’s been great. She’s introduced me to lots of people in the region and suggested some good LinkedIn groups to join. She also helps me to think about what I’m learning from each project and client. I really feel like I know what’s going on in the sector and already have an idea of where my next move might be further down the line.’ Vondra, BA Linguistics

Reflection

As Vondra highlights – it is important to take time to reflect on what you are learning, and how that might help you in the future.

Writing for mentoring organisation Mentorloop, Head of Marketing Emily Ryan explains that reflection on work improves career performance, helping you to:

• Gain a deeper understanding of your strengths and weaknesses
• Identify areas for improvement
• Celebrate your accomplishments
• Set goals for the future

In her article, she suggests a range of strategies for incorporating reflection into your career, including:

• Setting aside reflection time – identifying and protecting some time each day or week to reflect on how things have gone.
• Creating a reflective journal – using a dedicated notebook or journalling app to jot down thoughts, ideas and insights, and to consider new approaches.
• Utilising feedback loops – asking colleagues or mentors for feedback and using that to prompt your reflection and help you to grow professionally.

An important thing to remember is that reflection is an ongoing process and the more you practise it the better you will get at using your reflections to inform your next steps.

Goal setting

Goal setting is an important aspect of personal and professional development and one of the most commonly used models to support this is the GROW model.

Developed in the 1980s by Sir John Whitmore, this simple model provides a structure to thinking through and action planning to achieve your goals. Watch this YouTube video from Natural Self Development for a brief explanation.

So just to recap – GROW stands for:

• Goal
• Reality
• Options
• Way forward

Your turn!

When reflecting on your working day or a particular development activity you have participated in – what questions might you ask yourself? Share your best example in the comments below.