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Charting Your Course: Taking Control of Your Professional Development
by Zahra M. Baird
Professional development opportunities are all around us. If we are lucky, or in the right place at the right time, some might even find us. But, what about those that don't? I urge you to take charge of your own professional development. If you don't make a conscious decision to scout around and familiarize yourself with the possibilities, you will find that there will miss out on many. Create opportunities for yourself by being well-informed, keeping alert, and trying out a few of the following suggestions.
First things first, you must evaluate yourself, along with your current job situation. Without asking yourself tough questions and answering them honestly, you will not have a solid basis to build on when charting your course. Questions that I have found helpful to ask myself include:
- What is my learning style?
- Who are my mentors?
- Who are my idols?
- Is my current job fulfilling. If not, why not?
- How do I incorporate creativity into my work?
- How have I grown in my current position, and why/why not?
- How do my skills and talents match currently available jobs that interest me?
- What skills do I need to improve?
- What can I do to distinguish myself in my area of library expertise?
- What specific forms of professional training and personal development would I benefit from undertaking?
- What would I attempt to do if I knew I could not fail?
- What is my personal motto?
- What do I feel have been my most significant professional and personal accomplishments in my career - and life?
Once you have answered the above questions, you will get a better feel for where you are on your own career path. Now, it is time to start looking for possibilities, places and events that will help you to create your very own professional development plan.
Start by joining as many library-related electronic discussion lists as time allows. Sample many, then stick with the ones that are most relevant. Electronic discussion lists are a great way to interact with people, network, learn, exchange best practices, discuss new issues - and also ask for help.
Seek out mentors. Find someone who has the skills and qualities that you would like to develop in yourself. One tactic is to find a more experienced colleague - either in your job setting, outside your job setting but still in the field of librarianship, or people who are in other careers - and establish a relationship. Ask them out for coffee or lunch and talk with them. Don't have time for a face to face? Use e-mail. By having an open dialogue, obtaining their advice, support and guidance, culling ideas and becoming inspired by them can help bolster your professional development. Keep in mind that different people can be helpful in different situations and at different points in your career, so some mentoring relationships can last longer than others.
Whenever possible, attend conferences. These can be local, regional, state or national. The different sessions offered enable you to hone your skill and knowledge base in many topic areas. Conference attendance is also a wonderful way to meet peers, develop friendships and create a network of contacts. You never know when you will need to call upon someone for a reference, consult him or her about an idea or use him or her as a sounding board. The broader your base, the better chance you will have for feedback and variety of responses.
Be on the lookout for ways to build skills you are not able to build in your daily job. Association committee work as well as volunteer work in various community organizations can offer varied experience and are great venues to learn, develop and refine skills. These skills can include budgeting, program planning, project management, team work, writing for publication (articles, chapter(s) in a book or even a book itself), public speaking, running meetings and web page development - all skills which you might not have the opportunity to practice in your current work situation.
Engage in post-MLS and continuing education. Taking non-credit courses, or working towards a second degree or an MBA can give you an edge as a manager and make you more marketable. With the explosion of distance education opportunities, everyone can gain knowledge and enhance skills through a variety of courses that are offered online and through the mail. Still like the classroom setting? Then explore what your local university, community college and local continuing education office has to offer. You can develop expertise in specific knowledge areas to increase your skill set and knowledge base.
Don't forget your own backyard, i.e., on-the-job training. If you have that option, take whatever courses, workshops, or training sessions are being offered. Even if you think that the skill being explored will never come in handy or that you already know all there is to know on the subject, refreshers are helpful and the skills you learn transferable.
Apply for scholarships, grants and awards. Many library associations, friends of the library groups, community organizations and government offices offer stipends for conference attendance, workshop attendance and/or recognition for contributions to the field of librarianship. Don't be shy, promote yourself and apply. You can't win if you don't try.
Talk about books! Do this on e-mail lists or join a book club, be it online, at a library, or at a bookstore - or even create your own. It is essential to share and hear a diverse spread of opinions about what is being published. Also, write reviews of books for yourself, for professional journals, and even online book stores such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. The experience of evaluating and writing about what you have read will augment your abilities to communicate.
READ. Want to know more about a subject? Then find a book, a web site, or an article about the skill you are trying to master, and read all about it. You don't have to go to a credit course or workshop in order to gain knowledge. Book learning can do the trick!
When on vacation, or somewhere new, stop in at the local library, the university library or any library that you can find. Take a quick peek at their resources and setup, and be sure to talk to a librarian. During the course of my career, there have been many ideas that I have picked up far afield and modified to use in my library, and they have augmented my skills and talents.
Be creative in finding ways to increase your professional development opportunities. Make a commitment to do one thing to increase your professional development today, you will see the difference it makes in the long run and your action will have an impact upon your career. If you are motivated, draw up a yearly professional development plan and see how your career can soar!
Zahra M. Baird is currently a Children's Librarian at the Scarsdale Public Library in Westchester County New York. She takes advantage of as many professional development opportunities she can find/create and can be reached at zjanmo@hotmail.com.