Professional Development Expand your Capabilities

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Professional Development

 Expand your Capabilities

 

Professional development is all about expanding your capabilities.  The more capable you are, the higher you will go up the corporate ladder.  Capability creates opportunities so you can succeed.  Consider ways to expand your capabilities as you continue to work. Make a professional development plan so you know what to focus on.  This will help you rise to the top in your career.

Professional Development Questions

Professional development requires thought and planning. Consider the capabilities that you want to expand.  Ask yourself these questions. The questions will help you  evaluate. Decide where you are now and where you want to be in the future.

  • What am I already doing well on the job?
  • What is the one skill or ability I could learn that would help me most on the job?
  • Which  skill or ability would my boss like me to learn? Would the company pay for my training to learn the new skill?
  • What job would I like to be in five years from now? What skills do I need to be qualified for the job?
  • Which  skills and abilities to successful corporate leaders have? Which of those skills would I like to develop?
  • What skill or ability do I wish I had? What could I do to develop that skill?

Professional Development Resources

Here are some professional development resources you may find useful.

Expand your Capabilities

Once you have reviewed your capabilities and made a plan, you can work your plan and consider what to do to expand your capabilities.  An online class, lunch seminar, professional conference can all be the ticket to training. Focus on the target area.  Look for opportunities to learn more.

Make sure you cover the basics as you expand your capabilities.  Here are a few basics you may want to cover.

In addition, you need to practice your new skill. Look for opportunities to practice in order to improve.  Use your new skill on the job so you can showcase what you can do. Practice with family and friends in order to improve your skill.  Use it during your free time.  So keep Practicing!  It will keep getting easier as you do so.

Use professional development so you expand your capabilities.   You will find that doors of opportunity open up in order to gain new skills. More responsibility will come your way as you practice.  You will find the job success you desire as you set your mind to succeed.

Plan for the Unexpected

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Plan for the Unexpected

Plan for the unexpected.  Whether you like it or not, the unexpected happens.  You’ve seen it.  Like it or not, we’ve all been caught in the middle of unexpected events.  It can be anything from a change in business or customer demand, a change in the overall marketplace, or event a natural disaster that impact business flow.  Like it or not, the unexpected impacts jobs, businesses, and people.

The Unexpected Happens

We’ve all been there. You are going about your work day when BOOM out of nowhere something happens that shifts the work focus for the rest of the day. The ability to adapt as the need arises makes you valuable on the job.

The unexpected can happen in bigger ways as well.  You are going along at work, then suddenly you find out that your company is downsizing and you need to look for new work.  When this happens, your skills and capabilities help you transition to a different workplace.  Your job security is in your capabilities.

Make a Plan

It is always good to have a plan.  Even when your job or your schedule seems secure, plan what you would do if a change arises.  Will you be able to adapt to the small day to day changes at work?  Can you adjust quickly? Are you able to take the bigger changes in stride?  Do you have the skills to transition to a new job or workplace?  Are you confident in what you can do?

From these questions, you can make a plan of what to do to be better prepared for the unexpected events that happen on the job or over the course of a career.  Make your plan now.

Be Prepared

As you work your plan you will be prepared to meet the changes that arise in the workplace.  Make sure you have the skills that you need to stay competitive on the job no matter what changes arise. Make sure that you understand the Mastery of Business Fundamentals, Understanding the Human Resource Function, know the basics of Employment Law Fundamentals, and can engage in Total Quality Fundamentals. A few business basics keep you prepared on the job.

As you continue to plan for the unexpected, you will find that you have the tools to adapt to workplace changes that come your way.

 

Tune up your career by updating your business knowledge

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Tune up your career by updating your business knowledge

 

Tune up your career by updating your business knowledge.  There are a variety of things that you need to know to stay current in business. There are some business basics that every manager, supervisor or small business owner should know.

Take a class to expand your business knowledge

It starts with a Mastery of Business Fundamentals.  You can include knowing about Accounting Fundamentals, Employment Law Fundamentals, and Purchasing Fundamentals.   It continues with knowing the Fundamentals of Supervision and Management, Understanding the Human Resource Function, and the basics of Leadership.

Learn what it takes for business success

Take the time to tune up your career by enhancing your knowledge and education specific to business.  Take the time to read business articles.  This can enhance your understanding of business generally, or your industry  specifically. Be the one to know What Everyone Needs to Know to Be more Productive.  Consider learning  15 things every business owner should know. Know the 5 business skills that everyone need to succeed –and how you can learn them.

Gain the knowledge to have a competitive edge

Yes, it takes some time. Of course it takes hard work.  You can do it! Use your resources to learn these things.  However, taking the time can give you the competitive edge you need to succeed.  Suddenly, you will know what others know. You will have the knowledge and skills to move up and move forward in the workplace.  Don’t delay taking action to give yourself that competitive edge.

Don’t delay.  Be the one to know 10 incredibly important business basics EVERYONE needs to know BEFORE they start a business!  Learn the basics of Total Quality Fundamentals in order to improve your business.

As you take the time to tune up your career by updating your business knowledge, you will find that things in busy get easier.  You know better how to handle the situations that come up.  It makes you the one who people come to when there is a problem to be solved.  You create a strong knowledge base from which to make daily decisions and take action for improvement.

 

Learn from your experience and conduct a weekly career self-assessment

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Learn from your Experience and

Conduct a Weekly Career Self-Assessment

 

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Learn from your experience and conduct a weekly self-assessment. Ask yourself a few questions so that you are always learning from your experiences.  Over a lifetime, this can lead to real skill development.

Career Self-Assessment Questions

  • What can I learn from what happened this week?
    • How can I apply what I learned going forward?
    • What went well this week?
    • What can I do to ensure more goes well in the future?
  • What is the most difficult thing I did this week?
    • Why was it difficult?
    • How could I do to make it easier in the future?
    • Which skills could I improve to make this easier in the future?
  • What problems arose this week?
    • How could I  prevent those problems in the future?
    • What did I do to effectively resolve the problems?
    • How can I be more effective at resolving similar problems in the future?
  • What do I anticipate during the coming week?
    • How can I  prepare so the next week will go smoothly?
    • What can I do to prevent problems from arising?
    • Which  resources can I use to ensure a successful week?

Career Self-Assessment Resources

There are many good resources that can be used to help you conduct a career self-assessment.  Here are a few that you may find useful.

Making the Change

Once you have taken the time to evaluate your week, identify one thing that you will change going forward.  Learn from your experience and then add to your capabilities and strategies to resolve things in the future.  This can be a real win/win for you and your business.  This is where the weekly career self-assessment really pays off. Be sure to learn from your experience and conduct a weekly self-assessment.

Tune up your career with cover letter best practices

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Tune up your career with

Cover Letter Best Practices

 

 

Tune up your career with cover letter best practices. This starts by building the skills, knowledge and ability to put on your cover letter.  If you need to start by  strengthening  your knowledge and skill base.  Once you have the skills you need, you can craft a strong cover letter that highlights your capabilities and increases your change for an interview and job offer.

Strengthen your knowledge and skills

Consider taking a class to expand your knowledge on a subject.  This can be a quick way to strengthen your cover letter and resume to get the job desire.  Target a class that gives you the skills you need to be successful in business.

For example,  if you want to move into management you need to know the Fundamentals of Supervision and Management.  Make sure your business decisions are legal with knowledge of Employment Law Fundamentals.  Develop strategies to work with employees by Understanding the Human Resource Function.

You want to understand how business works with Mastery of Business Fundamentals.  Learn how to improve things with Total Quality Fundamentals.  Make sure your business can turn a profit by knowing Accounting Fundamentals.  Know how to attract customers to your business with Marketing your business  on the Internet.  Consider new marketing strategies as you Learn to Buy and Sell on E-bay.

Cover Letter Best Practices

A good cover letter should identify your skills and abilities that are most relevant to the job.  This can help your resume get bumped to the top of the pile for an interview.  Make sure you highlight your experience and education.  Many people like to ensure that the best capabilities are highlighted with bullet points so that the employer can’t miss what they are good at.

Of course, you want to be sure you are honest in the way you present yourself.  Don’t sell skills you don’t have or make things up to make your resume look good.  Put your best foot forward and sell yourself, but do it honestly based on your actual skills and abilities.

Cover Letter Resources

There are many resources available.  First, learn How to Write a Successful Cover Letter.  You may want to look at a Cover Letter Sample for a Resume to see what a good cover letter looks like.  If you need more help take a look at Cover Letter Examples and Writing Tips to get more information on how to put things together.   Learn How to Write a Cover Letter:  31 Tips you need to know.  This can give your cover letter a real boost.

Some people like to use internet tools such as a Cover Letter Builder to help craft the perfect cover letter.  Others like to use free cover letter templates to create a cover letter.  Consider What your Cover Letter Should Look Like in 2017 so that your cover letter is up to date.  The bottom line is to be sure that you know How to Write a Cover Letter.

Use your cover letter to land a dream job

The cover letter is the first thing the hiring organization sees.  It is the first step in marketing yourself for a new job.  Start by strengthening your knowledge and skills in order to craft a strong cover letter. Make sure you tune up your career with cover letter best practices to land your dream job!

 

Learn to be a Team Player

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Learn to be a Team Player

 

It is important to learn to be a team player in the workplace.  Being part of the team can enhance your professional development and help you move to the next level. It helps you assimilate with those you work with at work and strengthens the overall business atmosphere.

Team Player Strategies

It is important to dive in to be a team player.  This means you work for a common goal as a group.  The team share responsibility.  This can require a great deal of Interpersonal Communication and knowing the Keys to Effective Communication.  Take the time to ask and talk about team goals, objectives, timelines, and decisions so that you can work together to make things happen.

Part of team working is having mutual respect and trust and you share responsibility to bring about a strong end project.  Look for ways to help and support team members and to reach the desired goal.

Sometimes, difficulties arise within the team.  When this happens look for ways of Achieving Success with Difficult People  so that you can communicate and work through any difficulties that arise. Working through issues can make the team stronger and better able to meet its goal.

Above all, keep your eye on the objective!  Look for ways to meet the team goal in a timely manner.  There may be rewards for the team for meeting the team goal in a timely manner.

Team Player Resources

There are a number of good resources to help you work with a team in business.

Help the Team Score

You help the team succeed when you help the team score.  This means that you put the team goal first, do all you can to help the team meet its goal, provide support and direction to other team members, and  work hard to do  your share of the work.  As a strong team player, you can make a key difference both in the success of the team and in the success of your company.

Learn to be a team player – it will pay big dividends in your career growth and professional development!

Small Business Development

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Small Business Development

 

 

It can be useful to consider small business development as a way to bring in extra income.  Many people run a small business on the side while still working full time.  Others grow a business as a way to continue to bring money in after retirement.  Still others focus full time efforts on small business development. However, you approach small business development it is worthwhile to consider some of the skills and knowledge you would will need to begin or grow a small business.

Small Business Development Skills

There are many skills that are needed to develop a small business. You need basic skills of Interpersonal Communication  to hire and work with employees.  You need to be able to engage in Building Teams that Work to get the dynamic synergy going within the business.  You’ll need to manage employees so it will be important to develop skills in the  Fundamentals of Supervision and Management.

To take your business to the next level you’ll need to have skills in Leadership.

Small Business Development Information

Consider the things that you need to know to develop a small business.  You need to know what it takes to start Creating a Successful Business Plan.   It is important to understand Accounting Fundamentals . Learn to keep the books so that you can determine when your business is generating a profit.  You’ll want to learn Introduction to Business Analysis .  This will allow  you to look at the books and determine how you are doing and where you can improve.  You need to know fundamentals of Marketing your Business on the Internet in order to attract and generate business.

As you grow, you’ll want add human resource professionals and be clear on Understanding the Human Resources Function.  It will be important to know and comply with Employment Law Fundamentals.

Businesses grow and become more profitable by implementing Total Quality Fundamentals.  You’ll need to understand your Supply Chain Management Fundamentals and Managing Customer Service.

Small Business Development Strategies

Keep looking for new small business development strategies that will work well to keep your business moving forward in positive ways.  These strategies can include How to Develop a Business Growth Strategy, 3 Effective Business Development Strategies to get started, or 7 keys steps to growth strategy that work immediately.

As you put it all together, you will have the skills and information, and strategies to engage in small business development.

Build a Strong Resume – Get a Job

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Build a Strong Resume – Get a Job

Look for ways to build a strong resume that gets you noticed in the job market.  You want your resume to stand out from the others, get noticed, and take you to the next step with a job interview and offer.  Your resume is your chance to sell yourself and your skills and experience to a new company.

A strong resume starts as you gather education, and gain experience, and get skills, and gain knowledge. These are all things you can list on your resume to show that you have the qualifications for the job you desire.  All through your career, you can continue to expand your capabilities so that you can continue to add to and augment your resume.  This will help you move up the career ladder step by step.

Ways to build a strong resume and get a job

When you build a strong resume, you showcase your capabilities so that the person doing the hiring can easily see that you are the right person for the job.  Make it easy for them to see how your skills match   the job opening.  It easy for them to decide to hire you.

Take the time to build a good resume and it will pay dividends throughout your career.  Soon you will be in a position to mentor others along their career path. Be sure it  all starts with a strong resume! Build a strong resume – get a job!

Plan and Do – The Pattern for Career Success

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Plan and Do –

The Pattern for Career Success

 

Take the time to plan and do – the pattern for career success will pay great dividends. Small changes can bring big dividends with a career.  Focus on what matters most. Do what will bring you success. If you need to make changes, do it!  Be the one who reaches the top rung of the career ladder.

Clarifying Success

This starts by clarifying what success means to you.

  • What do you want?
  • Which career goals will bring you joy?
  • What can you uniquely give to the world?
  • How can you use your skills to benefit others?
  • What are your career interest?
  • What does career success mean to you?
  • How will you know you are successful?

As you answer these questions, look deep.  Find out what really matters.  Decide what career success means to you.  Don’t compare – you are different from others.  Do what matters to you and will bring you the success you desire!

Career Success Patterns

Read up on successful patterns of behavior that have led others to career success.  Once you know what these patterns are be sure to make a commitment to integrate these patterns into what you do. Be the one who lives the patterns of success.

Make a Plan

Make a plan to integrate success into all that you do.  Like any good plan – write it down. Once your plan is written, look at it each day.  Do what the plan says.  Live your plan.

Identify career success and do it!  Know patterns lead to career success and follow the pattern. As you plan and do you will bring yourself great career success. Be the one to live the plan and achieve career success!

 

Social Media Job Networking

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Social Media Job Networking

 

Social media job networking is an important way to find a new job.  Look for ways to create a social media presence.  Use your social media presence to make contacts with others in your field, industry and community.  This will make it easy to find a new job through your social media contacts.

Of course, for social media networking to work, you need to create a professional presence on social media.  Use social media to highlight your skills, capabilities, achievements, and training.  This makes it easy for someone to see how you can help their company.

Social Media Job Networking Articles 

Here are some ways to use social media in job networking.

As you find ways to engage in social media job networking, you will find that you are linked to those who do the hiring.  This will give you a competitive edge.  It will make it easier to switch jobs.  You will already be a friend with others in industry.  It can increase your opportunities in the job market.

Take the time to determine which strategies will work best for you.  Use social media to your professional advantage.  Build your own network as you find ways to link up for success!