One of the best ways to progress in your career is to tap into professional development opportunities at work. Doing so can signal to your employer that you are interested in investing in yourself and they should be too. We turned to the HBX HR team to find out how to make the most out of opportunities at your current organization.
1. Seek win-win opportunities
Professional development opportunities like conferences and seminars often come with a cost. Whether it’s registration fees, travel or just time away from your desk, your employer must pay something to allow you to participate. Therefore, it’s important to make the business case for your participation and frame the opportunity as a win-win for both you and your employer.
Are you looking to develop a new skill that can be readily applied to your job or your department? Are you looking to cross-train so your department has more backup when someone is on vacation? Are you looking to further develop your critical thinking skills? It will be much easier for your employer to say yes to professional development opportunities if you focus on how your participation will benefit the employer.
To get the most out of it, the opportunity should be something you look forward to and enjoy, and it might even be something that is a little intimidating. Maybe you have to complete exercises together and report the results to the group, but you don’t love public speaking. Whatever it is, throw out your inhibitions and participate – doing new things is part of learning!
2. Connect with people
Conference schedules are usually jam-packed with lectures and sessions, and we tend to sit with people we already know. Challenge yourself to mingle and engage with other participants during or in between the sessions, and maybe even pass a card or two.
If striking up conversations with strangers sounds intimidating, there are a few ways to make it easier on yourself. In advance, brainstorm a few conversation starters. Some organizations publish a list of attendees in advance, so you can comb through the list beforehand and find some people you might seek out for networking opportunities. You can also take time to peruse the names tags on the registration table and get a sense of who will be in the audience with you.
If nothing else, invite someone who looks lost to sit with you. I did that earlier this year, and the person who I invited to the table worked at one of my target employers. We exchanged cards and later emails.
3. Develop a portfolio
When you are working in an organization and have your nose to the grindstone day in and day out, it can be difficult to keep your professional development in mind. You might not think about your daily work product as being something to keep for your future reference, but saving examples of your work can come in handy for job opportunities down the road.
Now, I’m not suggesting violating any confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements, but I did kick myself for not making an effort to save presentations I created and policies I had drafted. These examples still exist in my head, but I would be better off if I had saved these examples of my work product and writing abilities to build a portfolio of reference points for my next role.