14 Proven career development tips you can't afford to miss

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

No matter where you are in your career, it's important to keep things moving forward. Career development helps you make plans and methods to set and meet your goals, and eliminates the question of, "What do I do now?" Solid career development means continually learning new skills, maintaining your motivation, and moving up the career ladder. By reading our career development tips, you can avoid spinning your wheels and get to where you want to be.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What career development entails

• 6 tips for creating a career progression plan

• 8 tips for career development you can use right now

• The principles of career development

What is career development?

The basic concept of career development is constant forward movement in your profession. It is a deliberate, calculated plan for developing and maintaining a fulfilling career. To do this, you'll set long and short-term goals, continually learn new skills, and seek out new opportunities and prospects. In today's tech-based work environment, it’s important to be flexible and adjust your plans and knowledge to remain a viable, competitive candidate. Having a well-planned, thoughtful career development plan will help you achieve your goals.

6 Tips to creating a career development plan

A career development plan is more than just a vague idea of getting the corner office at your company. Think of it as a personalized career roadmap that will give you the landmarks you need to find to get to your ultimate destination. Here are six steps you can take to create your career development plan.

1. Know what you’re interested in 

What career aligns with your talents and interests? Perform a self-assessment to determine what you’ve enjoyed doing in your current and past positions, what you’re passionate about, and what kind of job you can imagine doing as a career.

2. Determine where you are vs. what you lack

Are you new to the workforce, or have you been in your current career for a few years? What type of skills and work experience do you possess? Are there any gaps in your knowledge? Do you lack the training or even a specific degree to be successful in your desired role? Taking stock of what you need to do to bridge the gap to reach the next step on your career ladder will eliminate some obstacles in meeting your goals.

3. Set professional goals

For a successful career development plan, you’ll need to set some long and short-term goals. Short-term goals support your long-term goals, and are things like completing a professional workshop or professional certification, moving up a step in your company, or learning a new skill. Long-term goals are more “aspirational” and can include becoming a manager, director, or C-suite executive. 

4. Make a game plan

Once you’ve done your self-assessment and set your goals, it’s time to create a game plan that divides your goals into separate, actionable steps. This plan should include the steps you’ll need to take to reach your short and long-term goals, how long it will take, and any obstacles you might face (and how you’ll overcome them). This is not the time to paint with a wide brush; your plan should be as detailed and specific as possible.

5. Make it happen

Once you have your plan, it's time to act on it. It's also important to refer back to your plan regularly to make sure you're on track, can reach your goals, and can make any necessary adjustments based on your circumstances. This will help keep you accountable and moving in the right direction.

6. Reassess along the way

Once you’ve created your career development plan, you're not done. This plan isn't written in stone and should be continually updated and as your circumstances change. Is it taking longer than you thought to finish a certification? Have your interests changed? Have you run out of growth opportunities at your current company? All of these things will require changes to your career development plan, and that’s okay. As you grow as a person, your career plans will, too.

8 Career development tips you can use right now

Career development means learning and developing new, relevant skills to enhance your viability and value in the workplace that contribute toward meeting your career growth goals. Remember, you’re the one in charge of your career, and you can choose where you want it to go. Below are eight career development tips and strategies you can use right now to move your career forward.

1. Keep your skills up-to-date

With ever-changing technology and industry trends, it’s important to stay sharp. Make sure you’re getting any relevant training and certifications, and staying on top of industry news.

2. Don’t forget your soft skills

Tech skills are vital, of course, but don’t neglect things like leadership, organization, problem-solving, and adaptability. These qualities will make you more competitive in the job market and are required for higher-level positions.

3. Network, network, network! 

It's important to meet new people in your field as well as nurture current professional relationships, both of which create new professional and learning opportunities and contribute to your career development growth.

4. Get a career mentor 

This person can be invaluable in guiding your career and providing advice and encouragement, along with helping you set your goals and offering feedback.

5. Establish your professional brand 

Determine what makes you unique in the industry, or what value you bring to the table. 

6. Determine what you can do right now 

Long-term goals are important, but so are knowing what immediate steps you take to challenge yourself and grow your skillset. Can you take the lead on a team project? Can you volunteer to take on new responsibilities?

7. Let your manager know about your plans 

If they know you want to grow with the company or learn new skills, they’re likely to give you additional responsibilities or let you know about potential opportunities.

8. Develop your communication skills 

Locate opportunities to strengthen the way you communicate with colleagues, clients, or management including courses, workshops, or other specialized training.

What are the principles of career development?

Career development doesn’t stop with your first entry-level position. It is a continuous, ongoing process that requires time, effort, thought, and self-reflection. In general, there are five areas needed to develop your career plan. You can also think about them as the "five P's" of career development.

• Purpose. Your goals should be aligned with your purpose—your values, needs, and passions. When you know what you want, you can make better career decisions.

• Proactive. This means making informed decisions for yourself, and not letting others take charge of your career.

• Perseverance. There will be obstacles that you will face in your career path, and you need to be ready to overcome them, whether that’s through continued skill-building, switching careers, or finding a better job with more growth opportunities.

• Preparation. This means understanding the scope of your profession, what skills you’ll need to succeed, and understanding “what comes next.” As the philosopher Seneca the Younger once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." 

• Patience. Success doesn’t happen overnight, so you need to be willing to stay in it for the long haul. Take time to make informed decisions, make adjustments to your career development plan, and not jump at the first opportunity that comes your way.

Ultimately, a good development plan requires you to know who you are, what you want, and what will fulfill you professionally. 

Need a little help with your career plan? Career.io’s Career Coaching service will provide expert advice (from people, not bots) about finding the right job, changing careers, and growing your professional brand with 50-minute coaching sessions, available seven days a week.

Key takeaways

1. Career development is a deliberate, calculated plan for developing and maintaining a fulfilling career.

2. The five principles of career development include having a purpose, being proactive, always persevering, being prepared, and having patience.

3. To create a career development plan you need to know what you’re interested in, where you are in your career right now, set goals, make it happen, and continually reassess.