Our annual professional association conference is coming up in July. Every year we look forward to sharing best practices with peers at other universities, learning about emerging career advising topics and strategies and exploring new products with vendors. We always return energized, with many new contacts; eager to implement new ideas.
Every profession offers unique professional development opportunities to help you grow in your career and stay abreast of industry news and best practices. Professional development can help you obtain or maintain a credential, learn a new skill, or advance in your career.
Professional development opportunities can include (but are not limited to!):
- Conferences
- Meetings
- Certificate programs
- Training webinars
- Courses (and more!)
In addition, there are many ways that Individuals can benefit from professional development:
- Increase your knowledge base and subject matter expertise
- Expand your professional network
- Increase your productivity and visibility
- Earn CEUs for certification/licensure
When budgets are tight, you may need to convince your employer that supporting staff professional development also benefits the organization and the bottom line. The benefits can even outweigh the costs! Benefits to the employer can include:
- Better trained/more productive staff
- Better programming
- Increased staff engagement and retention
- Decreased hiring and training costs
- Possible revenue increases
- Potential to mitigate risks
- Opportunity to become an industry leader
We hope you are able to take advantage of upcoming professional development opportunities! For more ideas, check out our webinar, Using Professional Education for Lifelong Advantage.