Career development is a personal journey. When considering your career development, ask yourself the following questions. Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Do you love your current job but would like to improve your performance? Do you have no idea what the future holds for you professionally, but you want to explore some options? Below are 5 steps to help you approach answering these questions for yourself.

1. Assess your current knowledge, skills, and abilities: Look at your job description. Are there knowledge, skills, or abilities (KSAs) you need to develop to do your job? Are there KSAs you want to develop that could add to or improve your current work and the functioning of your unit or help better serve your students and staff? One way to do this is to revisit previous performance reviews. Are there any indicators from these that would help you identify KSAs that need to be developed or improved? Finally, discuss your KSAs with your supervisor. Are there things that they can help you identify as areas to develop further?
2. Think about what new KSAs you want to develop: Do you aspire to advance within your current office or be in a more advanced position at another institution? Discuss this with your supervisor to assess what KSAs you would need to move to the next level or improve your chances for promotion. Look at job openings for your desired positions and determine what KSAs are required. Do you have these already? Do you need to develop them more? Do you need to seek out professional development opportunities to further develop or add to the KSAs you already have? What kinds of professional development or education would you need to build these KSAs?
3. Seek out professional development opportunities: Find out what is already available to you within your current unit, like taking on special projects or assisting your supervisor with something not part of your job description, allowing you to develop new KSAs. Can you take a course at your institution to build your desired KSAs? Are courses available at other institutions available if it is something your institution doesn’t offer? Is your institution a member of a professional association that you can participate in to develop KSAs?
4. Network: Get out there and meet people! This could be folks at your current institution. Take advantage of opportunities to collaborate with other offices so you can learn more about what they do. You may find out that there are jobs at your current institution that you were not even aware of that might be your next opportunity. Meet people at other institutions. Professional associations are a great way to do this. Many professional associations have opportunities to attend conferences, virtual meetings and colleague discussions, volunteer opportunities, and leadership opportunities. Ask folks within the division to introduce you to colleagues at other institutions. Many of us who have worked in higher education for years have connections from past jobs, undergraduate or graduate school, and professional association involvement. If you see an interesting opportunity, ask us if we know anything about that job, institution, or anyone working there.
5. Learn from your Colleagues: In my recent doctoral research, I found that the number one most effective method for professional learning for people who had reached the Vice President of Student Affairs level at their institution was discussions with colleagues. There is a wealth of experience, knowledge, and wisdom among your current colleagues. Ask more senior folks within the division about their experiences, what they wished they knew at different stages of their careers, or what they think would be most important about performing their role. Most people love talking about themselves and relish sharing their experience, knowledge, and wisdom with you.

There are many ways to participate in career development. Many of these will require you to take initiative, reflect on your own KSAs, seek out information and opportunities, and talk to others about their professional experience and lessons learned. However, there are endless opportunities if you are motivated to take charge of your career development.