Lifelong Learning and Professional Development

It’s no secret that the past five years have been rocky in the world of work. One of the best strategies to stay employable is to stay current. According to former President Bill Clinton, “In today’s knowledge-based economy, what you earn depends on what you learn.” As we begin the new year, use this opportunity to focus on staying current in your field, or better yet, becoming a trend spotter. Fortunately, technology has made professional development and lifelong learning fun and easy to achieve. Use the following resources to help you learn, advance and grow in 2014.

Acinet.org/certifications new – Certifications in your field

Conferencealerts.com - A worldwide list of conferences searchable by topic

Udemy.com – Free and low-cost courses

KahnAcademy.org – Free library of videos

Quora – Question and answer site replied to by a community of content experts

ITunes U – Catalog of free educational content taught by instructors from reputable schools

TED.com – 18-minute lectures on a wide variety of topics

Coursera.org – Free courses from 30+ colleges and universities

Busuu.com – Learning a foreign language

Hbr.org (Harvard Business Review) – Articles on general business from The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and New York Times

Alltop.com and Technorati.com – Lists of popular blogs

Ocw.mit.edu (Open Coursework) and Venture-lab.org (Venture Lab) – Access to learning opportunities and staffed by MIT and Stanford students

Not convinced you have the time or energy? Read the following article for additional justification on why you must proactively manage your career: 6 reasons why it's important to keep learning at work; avoid stagnation.

By using these resources, you will keep current in your field, learn new skills and become the expert employers can’t live without.

New Year's Resolutions

Each January 1st, rather than resolving to lose 5 pounds or exercise more, I begin the new year by reading two professional development books. My selections are books that transcend specific industries and are more generic in their advice or findings. This information comes in handy when socializing with friends or networking with professionals who are not in my industry. With the economy starting to show signs of improvement, what will you commit to this year as part of your professional development action plan? Perhaps you will take this week to update your LinkedIn profile and photo. In fact, if you are not using LinkedIn, you are missing out on a real networking opportunity as more and more headhunters and recruiters are using this tool to solely source their candidates or review professional backgrounds and skill sets. Perhaps this month you will take the time to research a new career field and schedule some informational interviews. Another idea would be to start that blog that you have had on the back burner. Yes, the new year's economy is off to a better start than we have seen for awhile. Sieze the chance to make a career transition this year and take control of your life.

Holiday Gift Ideas

Each year near the holidays or graduation, parents of UK students contact me asking for career related gift ideas for their children. Is there someone on your holiday gift list that could benefit from such a gift? Here is a list of my favorite items.

• Leather portfolio suitable for interviews
• Business card holder
• High quality pen
• Tie
• Leather purse
• Pearls
• Business book

There are many classic business and professional development books that make impressionable gifts - especially when a handwritten note is included. Some of my favorites include: How to Win Friends and Influence People, From Good to Great, Never Eat Alone, Drive, and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Bloomberg Businessweek recently conducted a survey of prominent professors and business professionals seeking their favorite books. What would you add to this list?

Emotional Intelligence and Work

Several years ago as my UK graduate school days in Educational Psychology were coming to a close, the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) was just beginning to appear on the scene. Peter Salovey at Yale University and Jack Mayer a professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire conducted initial research on the concept and are well known for their continued contributions in the EI field. However, reading Daniel Goleman's best seller Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ is what got me interested. So what is EI? In essence, EI is expanding our traditional definition of IQ and cognitive intelligence to a definition that includes an awareness of our emotions and the ability to use them effectively. In Goleman's later research he developed the argument that non-cognitive factors such as self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy determine workplace success, as much if not more than, technical skills and I.Q. So how does/can this impact our jobs?

Studies show that EQ is a better predictor of performance than employee skill, knowledge, or expertise. In order to reduce costs associated with turnover, absenteeism, and low performance, progressive employers are finding ways to integrate EQ into hiring and training as well as into corporate culture. Fortunately, EQ competencies can be measurable and learned. To learn more about the links between emotional intelligence and performance at work, Google "The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence" and read more books and articles on the topic.

Update Your Signature Lines

Get the most from your signature lines. Show that you are keeping up with techonology by including not only your email address, but also URL links to your LinkedIn Profile, VisualCV, blog, twitter, website etc.. Be sure that whatever you link to is professional and highlights your unique skills and brand to prospective employers.

New Year's Resolutions

Most people are back to work this week or are ready to embark upon a fresh job search. Here are a few New Year's resolutions to keep you on the professional development cutting edge. Try to commit to the following:

-Read at least one business book each month
-Join a book club
-Update your resume
-Seek additional training (i.e. CEU, workshop, course etc.)
-Improve your computer/technology skills
-Volunteer on a monthly basis
-Add at least four new people to your network each month

Professional Development Fall Plan

The past several months have demonstrated that no one is truly recession proof or completely immune from a poor economy. Putting your career on auto-pilot by not keeping up with technology and professional development and limited networking certainly makes us more vulnerable. Now is the time to proactively take control of your career. If you are gainfully employed, strategize on three things you can do this fall to make yourself more valuable to your employer, clients, or customers. If you are job seeking, is there anything that you will do differently in your next position? Take an honest look at yourself and evaluate your job search plan. What can you do to step it up a notch? Talk with people who have recently landed a new job. Learn more about what strategies they found most effective.

How to Be the Employee Your Company Can’t Live Without

According to Glenn Shepard in How to Be the Employee Your Company Can’t Live Without, one must become a highly valued employee if you desire to indispensable. Shepard’s tips include: learn what your supervisor expects of you and then give regular updates, be low maintenance, broaden your circle of influence, take charge of your future, and become a perpetual problem solver.

Professional Development Question of the Quarter

In order to remain professionally on track and have balance in my life, ask yourself the following questions, and take action:

-How will my resume be stronger next quarter than it is now?
-What new person would I like to ask to lunch this quarter?
-What is one thing that I can do to help make my boss’s life easier?
-What can I do after work hours to reconnect with an old hobby?