How to Develop Your Personal Career Development Profile

A personal career development profile is best described as you personal plan for a successful life. The personal career development profile enables you to discover your strengths, weaknesses, skills, talents, and interests. Armed with this information, you further develop your personal career development profile by determining the best career choice for you, what goals you have for your successful career, and how you will get there. The personal career development profile also helps you to discover what resources you have to help you get there.

The first step in developing a career development profile is to discover your strengths, weaknesses, skills, talents, and interests. This can be done through a number of ways. You can find books, workbooks, and websites with questionnaires that will help you discover these things about yourself. You can also enlist the assistance of a personal career development profile software or online service that will provide questions for you to answer then analyze the information and tell you about yourself.

The next step in developing a career development profile is to investigate what careers suit your personality, strengths, talents, skills, and interests. If you have chosen to enlist the assistance of a personal career development profile software or online service, this step will automatically be completed for you. If not, you can discover careers that fit your interests by searching using key words and phrases at the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook Online.

You can also use the Occupational Outlook Handbook Online to find out more detailed information about careers chosen for you by personal career development profile software and online services. This can be a great help during your next step, which is to narrow down your choices to one career that you decide to pursue.

Once you have decided on a career that is right for you, you will need to determine what has to be done to get there. This can be discovered by visiting professional association websites related to the career that you are most interested in. This information, too, can be found at the Occupational Outlook Handbook Online. Once you know what you have to do to get there, it is time to set your goals.

When you set goals for steps to get into your chosen career, keep a few important things in mind. First, you will want to lay out not just the steps, but when you will complete that step and what resources you have to help you reach the goal. You will also need to remember that you are not just trying to get into the door of your chosen career. If you are happy staying in an entry level position for the rest of your life, feel free to stop there. But most of us want more success than that.

When you are outlining the goals for your personal career development profile, you want to include all of your goals for reaching the top most level of your chosen career field. These goals will act as your timeline for your career. Outline what degrees you will need, how you will get them, and how many years you anticipate between promotions based on your growing level of education. Keep the goals reasonable, but don't make them so easily attainable that you become lazy.

Now that you have your goals, you are finished with the development of your personal career development profile. Keep this important tool as you work your way into and up in your chosen career. If you ever find yourself doubting your position in your career or your career choice, revisit your personal career development profile to get yourself back on track.