Unit 2: Reflecting on Own Practice in Information, Advice or Guidance
Personal Development Plan
A Personal Development Plan is an essential tool to help you target future personal growth, often with the aim to progress in the workplace, but also to meet your own goals in other aspects of your personal life.
By setting milestones for your career path, personal aspirations, and other parts of your life, you make it more manageable to reach those goals, as well as to understand what it will take to get you there.
| Development Needs | Learning methods/activities | Priority | Action/Support | Timescale | Measure of Success |
| SMART | SMART | SMART | SMART | SMART | SMART |
Record below what you need/want to learn or develop. Be specific. How will this benefit you & your work? (from SWOT, TNA or feedback | Linked to your development needs. What types of learning will enable you to meet your needs? | What priority are these? High, Medium, Low? What will you do first? | Who will be responsible for arranging the activity? Who else could be of help? | When do you want to be using your new skills or knowledge? | What will have changed from undertaking this development? |
What to Include in a Personal Development Plan
Personal Development Plans will be different for each person because they’re dependent upon an individual’s goal. Most plans however, contain a persons strengths, weaknesses, areas of development and goals.
After you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and list your goals, make a list of the skills you need to reach your goals. Don’t forget to include ways you can develop those skills, like signing up for a continuing education course or learning a new software platform.
When setting your goals, remember to make them SMART. The SMART goal method is an effective goal-setting strategy that brings structure to your objectives, making them easier to achieve. If you’ve never used this method before, note that S.M.A.R.T. stands for:
- Specific: Be specific with what you want to achieve. Instead of a vague goal like, “I want to make more money this year,” turn it into something more specific like, “I want to make 30 percent more money in the next 12 months.”
- Measurable: Make your goal measurable so that you can track your progress and stay motivated. Include a specific number or date, so that you have something concrete to work towards.
- Attainable: Don’t set yourself up for failure. Set goals that are realistic and that you have full control over. For instance, “Getting a promotion” is heavily dependent on your manager.
- Relevant: Is your goal relevant to you? Will it help improve your career or quality of life? Look at the overall picture and be sure that your objective is relevant to you your long-term career objectives.
- Timely: Every goal needs a date or deadline. Having a time-bound goal will help keep your priorities in check and tasks on track. When setting a deadline for your goal, be realistic. Can you really complete your task in 6 months, or is one year more attainable?
Keep SMART in mind when writing a new or updating your existing goals. And each time you complete an objective, replace it with something new that will keep driving you on to greater and greater success.