research career development plan

Suggestions for a Good Career Development Plan

The career development plan (CDP), or training plan [1] , is intended to serve several related purposes. It should provide the skills and knowledge required to successfully conduct the currently proposed research, as well as the skills and knowledge necessary to move on to the subsequently envisioned research. In addition, at its conclusion, it should enable you to be “expert” in your research area (the breadth of this research area is defined by the applicant; the reviewers, of course, may or may not agree that it is appropriate). Ideally, the CDP will include a discussion of networking opportunities, which provide the applicant with insight and opinions from researchers outside of their immediate environment and help them to become “known” within the research community.

Consider using a gap-based approach . Many reviewers consider gap-based CDPs to be ideal. In a gap-based CDP, applicants identify what training and expertise they already have, and what training and expertise they must gain (in other words, the gaps in their training) in order to achieve their objectives (i.e. completing an outstanding research project, obtaining the skills to transition to the next phase and becoming “expert” in their field). In addition to being advantageous for the design of the training objectives, this organization helps define for reviewers why the applicant is including the proposed activities, and whether the applicant’s plan is appropriate.

Career development activities may include courses, but if no courses are needed, they shouldn’t be proposed (many applicants mistakenly believe they are “supposed” to include coursework in their plan). Activities should be proposed based on the thoughtful consideration of the weaknesses, or gaps, in the applicant’s knowledge and skills, relative to development of their research career. Clearly, all applicants should be attending journal clubs and relevant seminars, and presenting their research at national or international meetings (make sure you include plans for this). Items to consider include: proficiency in writing and/or oral presentation skills,  gaining knowledge in a subject relevant to their research, travel to meetings to meet colleagues and leaders in the field, the frequency and plan for meetings with mentors, etc. (regarding the latter, if multiple mentors are involved, the applicant should clearly describe the plan for meeting with mentors individually, the plan for meeting with multiple mentors simultaneously, how often, what for, etc. – note that all mentors should be aware of the plan and identify their agreement and mentorship role in their letters of support). 

There is no “best” CDP and importantly, applicants SHOULD NOT mimic the CDP from other “successful” applications. Each individual has a different background, is pursuing a different set of research goals, and should have a CDP that is uniquely designed to fill the gaps of the individual applicant.

Benefits of a Gap-based CDP .   The benefit of a gap-based plan in the review process should be clear. An applicant proposes goals, an overall project and a set of experiments designed not only to answer a scientific question, but to propel the applicant to the next career stage. By telling reviewers what their experience is, what their gaps are and how they will fill those gaps, applicants enable reviewers to easily evaluate their plans. As always, it is critical that an application makes the applicant’s plans crystal clear to reviewers. If reviewers think the applicant has a thoughtful, individualized, appropriate plan, they will give the CDP criterion a good score, which, combined with an excellent research plan, will generate enthusiasm for the entire application . [2] Conversely, when reviewers question why an activity is included in a plan, or are confused, their overall enthusiasm for the entire application may be reduced.

Include a plan for experimental design and statistics. All scientists should have exceptionally strong training in experimental design, as well as an understanding of the statistics that are appropriate for different experimental approaches. Clinician-scientists (and to be sure, many Ph.D scientists) have often not obtained rigorous formal training in experimental design and statistical methodology. Regardless of the type of research (basic, clinical, translational), all applicants should become expert in the concepts of experimental design and hypothesis testing. CDPs should make clear either 1) that the applicant has received extensive formal training in experimental design or 2) how the applicant will receive this expertise. Whereas few scientists will develop the statistical expertise to consider themselves statisticians, all scientists should have a solid understanding of fundamental statistical concepts, and the different types of statistical tests used for different types of studies. The statistical training should be in depth for the applicant’s specific research topic. In addition, however, a broader understanding of statistical methodology will not only help applicants design experiments well, but will enable applicants to analyze their results appropriately as their research evolves.

Avoid common errors in the CDP . Quite often, poor CDPs are the result of applicants inserting elements simply because they think they are required for a good CDP. Other times, activities are included because of a lack of understanding of the purpose of the CDP. Some of the more common mistakes are listed below.

• Including unnecessary activities. An example might be somebody who is going to utilize imaging methodology in experiments and proposes to take a course in the physics of scanner technology. It is clearly necessary for the applicant to understand the limitations, potential for variation and flaws in imaging data so that images can be interpreted correctly – in a good CDP, an applicant will have a clear plan for becoming expert in this knowledge. For many applicants, however, it will be unnecessary to understand the physics underlying machine operation.
• Including irrelevant activities. An example might be a basic scientist, who is doing in vitro experiments with no immediate clinical applicability, proposing to receive extensive training in the conduct of clinical trials. Of course, applicants can receive training in anything of interest, and seemingly irrelevant training may indeed prove useful in their future. But unless it is justified based on its contribution to the proposed trajectory of their research project, it will likely be viewed negatively.
• Taking courses that are too introductory, or too advanced. An example of this might be an applicant with prior statistical expertise proposing to take a relatively introductory statistics course. Similarly, proposing to take advanced courses in a difficult subject for which the applicant has no preliminary credentials will be viewed in a negative light.  A good CDP will describe the specific expertise needed and then propose a specific, appropriate course or set of topics to be learned to get it.
• Spending too much time on activities that will detract from accomplishing the research goals. No matter how appropriate the proposed career development activities are, if they require too much time, reviewers will question whether they may hinder the applicant’s research progress.  Applicants must always keep in mind that the goal is to complete an outstanding research project and transition to the next planned phase of their research career. 

Get advice from people with experience. As for all parts of a grant application, K applicants should work closely with mentors who are successful at obtaining research funding, and preferably, who understand the NIH system. Although not always possible, it is ideal if one or more mentors has successfully sponsored K applications. It can also be very helpful to speak to investigators who have served on K study sections. Finally, potential applicants are encouraged to speak with relevant NINDS staff (see Getting Answers: Who to Contact at NINDS for Different Types of Questions ).

Some important things to keep in mind when seeking guidance about K applications:

• It can be very valuable to get advice from colleagues who have recently obtained K awards. However, keep in mind that this advice is anecdotal, and for many reasons, what worked for them may not work for you. As with all advice, get lots of it and make your own decisions – there are no “right” answers, and no magic bullets for success.
• It can be very helpful to see examples of successful K award applications. However, be careful not to view those examples as a template for success. Each K applicant and project are different, and importantly, applications should be written in the applicant’s voice, not somebody else’s.
• K applications are reviewed mostly in NIH institute study sections. Each institute, and each institute study section, has different priorities in review and provides reviewers with instructions that reflect those priorities. In addition, each institute study section has its own scoring calibration. Consequently, the same application can be viewed differently depending on institute assignment. So one must be particularly careful not to be overly reliant on a “successful” K application as an example when it was assigned to a different institute than the one to which you’ll be applying.

[ 1] In NIH language, the career development plan refers to career development (K) awards and a “training plan” refers to NRSA training (F and T) awards. These are marginally different and, for brevity, will both be considered a CDP.

[2] Remember, there are always two components to reviewer “happiness.” The obvious component is that they will provide high marks to what they perceive as a good plan, and lower marks to what they perceive as an inadequate, or poorly conceived plan. In addition, however, if reviewers think applicants are thoughtful, thorough and well-organized, and that they know exactly where they want to go and how they’re going to get there, their appreciation of these qualities will put the entire application in a positive light.

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• Published: 24 August 2017

Career development: A plan for action

• Julie Gould 1  

Nature volume  548 ,  pages 489–490 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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When set up properly, individual development plans can be powerful tools for shaping a career.

Lia Rae Edmunds was annoyed when her department asked for an individual development plan (IDP) after she started her postdoc in developmental biology. “I thought it was an unnecessary hoop to jump through,” she says.

But despite her misgivings, Edmunds's IDP has helped her to establish, review and update her goals and achievements with her supervisor. “As postdocs we have very loose guidelines on what we're supposed to do, day in and day out,” says Edmunds, who works at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

She used her IDP to set a weekly plan for activities in and outside the lab that would help her to complete her year's goals, including writing a first-author paper (which she has now started) and mastering specific in vivo metabolic techniques. It has essentially become an informal contract between her and her supervisor. “We're on the same page,” says Edmunds.

Not every university, study programme or lab head requires PhD students and postdocs to prepare or maintain an IDP, but many junior researchers say that it helps them to identify their skills and skill gaps, set professional goals and objectives with specific timelines and build a positive relationship with their supervisor, particularly around shared aims.

Those who have used IDPs say that to be most effective, the plan should be reviewed and updated at least once a year, with input and guidance from the principal investigator or mentor.

IDPs and similar tools, including career- and personal-development plans, have long been used in government and industry, particularly in Western nations, as a way to help employees to achieve short- and long-term career goals and to improve their performance on the job. Data are sparse on the number of researchers who use them, but science-career experts who advocate such tools say that it is crucial that the a plan has specific, detailed objectives.

Some junior researchers agree that IDPs are most useful when they are highly detailed and have multiple sections. Uschi Symmons, a molecular-biology postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, created a customized version by merging the university's graduate-student IDP template with one for postdocs from Stanford University in California. She used her university's section on self-reflection, skills analysis and goal setting, and Stanford's progress-review section. The personalized plan helps her to consider and identify her skills and objectives in a clear way, she says. She knows that she wants to stay in academia and her plan has helped her to tick off important steps towards that goal, including publishing a paper and learning to do peer review. “It was useful to write down goals that I could measure, that I could influence,” she says. “If I hadn't had that, achieving those goals would have been tougher.”

An IDP should include four components, says Philip Clifford, an associate dean for research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has been developing templates for and advocating IDPs since 2001. Those include sections for self-assessment and reflection; career choices and pathways; short- and long-term goals; and ways to achieve and implement those goals. All goals need to be specific, with timelines and action plans for each, says Cynthia Fuhrmann, an assistant dean of career and professional development at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester (see 'Goal setting' ).

Gary McDowell can attest to the power of self-assessment. Now in his main role as head of Future of Research, a scientist-advocacy group in San Francisco, California, McDowell had initially aimed for an academic research career. But candidly reflecting on his life's goals as part of his IDP helped him to realize that advocacy was his true interest. “I was looking at what I actually valued,” he says. “And had I done it earlier, this would have been a more obvious route.”

Reflection, together with considering career choices, also proved invaluable to Sarah Saminadin-Peter, who advises clients on food-contact regulations at Intertek, a quality-assurance company based in Brussels. While doing a postdoc at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, she found that her IDP helped her to determine that she has superior organizational and project-management skills, and led her to mull alternatives to academia. “From there, I started to explore career paths that could match my competencies,” she says. She also wrote in her plan that she wanted to meet people from industry through conferences organized by her postdoc association. Soon afterwards, she connected with the consulting company Dr Knoell Consult in Mannheim, Germany, where she worked as a project manager for two years before moving to her current position.

Some researchers use other techniques. Rachel Yoho, a research associate studying science education at Michigan State University in East Lansing, uses job advertisements to identify gaps in her competencies. “If an ad says that I need a specific skill, I can see I need to go out and get it,” she says. She learnt through scanning ads that employers in her speciality sought candidates with strong teaching and leadership skills, so she bolstered hers through short courses. Yoho has since landed a faculty teaching position that she starts this month.

Some universities place little value on IDPs. Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, doesn't advocate them for its graduate students and postdocs, says vice-provost for graduate education Zlatko Skrbis. Instead, Monash offers activities that are led by alumni and external trainers on career planning, project management, networking, negotiation, leadership and entrepreneurship, along with other topics relevant to professional development. The university encourages students to collaborate with their supervisors in coming up with a customized scheme. Research students can attend all activities for free and, depending on their doctoral programme, may be required to complete at least 120 hours of such training modules during their studies.

Discussing elements of your plan with your supervisor or mentor means that he or she is aware of the goals.

Those who are working on a written IDP, however, should ensure they discuss it with others to stay on track, says Furhrmann, who recommends that researchers share it with their principal investigator. “Discussing elements of your plan with your supervisor or mentor means that he or she is aware of the goals,” Fuhrmann says. Some universities, including the University of Pittsburgh, are experimenting with formal mentoring committees that connect a researcher with two or more academic staff members. These mentors can also help the junior researcher to stay accountable to their development plan and review their progress. “If you do have a disagreement over a project, technique or goal with one mentor,” says Edmunds, “there are two other people who signed off on the IDP”.

Occasionally a supervisor or principal investigator is not the best choice to confer with. Some graduate students and postdocs report that their principal investigator objected to non-academic career goals they had set out in the plan and tried to steer them into an academic-research trajectory. McGill University in Montreal, Canada, for example, will tell junior researchers not to automatically involve their supervisors when it launches a mandatory IDP initiative next year. “The idea is to not presume that the supervisor is the person with whom they should have that conversation,” says Lorna MacEachern, McGill's graduate career-development counsellor. “A lot of students report anxiety around discussing their professional-development plans with their supervisors.”

Although Edmunds was initially sceptical about the value of an IDP, she is now a believer. In addition to helping her to articulate and achieve her goals, it has provided leverage. “You can use the IDP to advocate for yourself,” she says. “And that puts you in a stronger position in your current job — as well as for your future career development.”

Box 1: Goal setting

Research suggests that people who use professional-development plans such as the individual development plan (IDP) rank themselves higher on indices of success and achieve greater success within science and other fields according to some metrics (T. W. H. Ng et al . Pers. Psychol. 58 , 367–408; 2005).

Cynthia Fuhrmann, an assistant dean of career and professional development at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, recommends that researchers apply the SMART principle — specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, time bound — to their goals. “It will transform planning from vague goals to specific ones, with timelines and action plans,” says Fuhrmann. Here are some of her tips for using the principle.

Create specific, clear goals that are based around these questions: What do I want to accomplish? Why is this goal important? Who is involved? Where do I need to be? Which resources or limits are involved? If, for example, you want to improve your writing skills, you might consider what you will do, who can help you, when you can do what's required and what improved writing skills would look like.

Establish concrete criteria for measuring your progress. Write down each step you will need to take and how you will know when you have reached that goal. When you can measure your progress, you are more likely to stay on track and reach your target dates.

Make sure your goals are action-oriented. Ask for the resources you need and mark check-in dates for the goals in your diary. Each goal should have a series of smaller sub-goals that you can tick off as you complete them.

Create realistic goals that fit into your research schedule (and study programme if you are a student). Your goals are realistic if you truly believe that you can accomplish them.

Give each goal a time frame. Without a deadline, there is no sense of urgency.

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How to Create a Career Development Plan

Most employees will only stay at company long-term if they’re able to grow their careers. To do so, they’re eager and willing to learn new skills that can benefit them in their roles and contribute to your company. Consider:

• 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in helping them learn, CNBC reports.
• 74% of workers are willing to re-train or learn new skills in order to remain employable, according to PwC’s “Workforce of the future: the competing forces shaping 2030” report.
• 59% of Millennials say opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important to them when they’re applying for jobs, according to Gallup’s “How Millennials Want to Work and Live” report.

One way to attract top candidates and retain the ones you’ve hired is to offer employees a career development plan. Career development plans show your employees you’re invested in their long-term success, which could motivate them to work harder and stay with your company longer.

This guide explains what a career development plan is, how to create them for employees and how to include learning and development in career development plans.

What Is a Career Development Plan?

Think of a career development plan like a roadmap that details your workforce’s career journeys with your company. A career development plan is a written document that identifies:

• Where an employee is now
• Their long-term career goals with your company
• The steps and roles they can take along the way to attain their goals

The career development plan can be as detailed as the supervisor and worker want it to be. Along the way to each milestone or achievement, there might be details like:

• Specific accomplishments
• Job assignments and projects to work on
• Education or training to complete
• Credentials or certifications to obtain
• Developmental activities

A worker may also identify certain supervisors or trainers they want to work with to learn new skills from, or specific programs to take to expand their knowledge. They might also choose tasks to do and skills to learn that address any weaknesses they have. These can all be added to a career development plan.

Career development plans are beneficial to have because you can grow your talent from within, which can save you on hiring and recruiting costs. You’ll also gain a clearer view into the skills your workforce possesses, so you can hire based on gaps you need to fill in.

You can mention career development plans as early as during the recruiting and hiring phase. You might consider enlisting your human resources team to create a template for employee career development plans, so they’re equitable throughout the workforce.

An ideal manager for the career development plan is each worker’s supervisor, since they have direct contact with the worker. Also, managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement , according to Gallup research. Since managers see the day-to-day progression of those they manage, it makes sense to have them involved.

In the creation phase of a career development plan, the worker should understand the company goals and vision so they make sure what they want to achieve aligns with overall business goals.

The manager should ask the employee what they feel their strengths are, so those are the focus of the career development plan. Gallup reports strengths-based development results in a 9% to 15% increase in engaged employees . Throughout the career development plan creation process, the manager should ask the employee how they feel they can apply their strengths to each role.

Managers should ask employees what they want to learn in order to achieve their goals. You might offer corporate training programs and then plug employees into relevant ones that align with their learning objectives. Or, you could offer to cover part or all of tuition costs for online business programs . Ideally, education that’s completed may lead to increased responsibilities or role titles along the career development plan.

Write out a plan that details steps that include ways to measure success and deadlines to aspire to. The plan can span a year, a couple years and up to five years or more so the employee stays engaged and there are expected check-ins to monitor progress. Along the plan, identify potential mentors or trainers at work who can also work with the employee to develop their skills.

Make sure the manager establishes regular check-ins with the employee so together, they can consider career development plan progress, obstacles and achievements. Career development plans should be adaptable, so that the plan can change according to progress. Additionally, an employee may learn that their goals are evolving, so changes in the plan can accommodate those new goals.

Measure Career Development Plan Success

Before you begin a career development plan program, think about your goals as an organization. Do you want to increase employee engagement? Boost retention? Attract higher-quality talent?

Create ways to measure your career development plan program. Ask for input from managers and current and leaving employees about what they think of the program, so you can also evolve your strategy over time.

Career development plans that include access to training and development can strengthen your workforce. Wharton Online offers corporate training programs in subjects like leadership and strategic management for groups of at least 100 individuals. You can customize your learning platform based on your organization’s goals. Contact us for information.

The Wharton School is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.

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Make a Career Plan

• Share This: Share Make a Career Plan on Facebook Share Make a Career Plan on LinkedIn Share Make a Career Plan on X

A career plan lists short- and long-term career goals and the actions you can take to achieve them. Career plans can help you make decisions about what classes to take, and identify the extracurricular activities, research, and internships that will make you a strong job candidate. Below are some helpful steps to guide you in creating a career plan customized to your interests and ambitions. Still have questions? We are here to help — set up an appointment  with a Career Advisor to get started or review your plan.

8 Steps to an Effective Career Plan

• Identify Your Career Options.  Develop a refined list of career options by examining your interests, skills, and values through self-assessment . Narrow your career options by reviewing career information, researching companies , and talking to professionals in the field . You can further narrow your list when you take part in experiences such as shadowing, volunteering, and internships.
• Prioritize. It’s not enough to list options. You have to prioritize. What are your top skills? What interests you the most? What’s most important to you? Whether it’s intellectually challenging work, family-friendly benefits, the right location or a big paycheck, it helps to know what matters to you — and what’s a deal-breaker. We provide skills and values assessments — set up an appointment with a Career Advisor to take advantage of this service.
• Make Comparisons.  Compare your most promising career options against your list of prioritized skills, interests and values.
• Consider Other Factors.  You should consider factors beyond personal preferences. What is the current demand for this field? If the demand is low or entry is difficult, are you comfortable with risk? What qualifications are required to enter the field? Will it require additional education or training? How will selecting this option affect you and others in your life? Gather advice from friends, colleagues, and family members. Consider potential outcomes and barriers for each of your final options.
• Make a Choice.  Choose the career paths that are best for you. How many paths you choose depends upon your situation and comfort level. If you’re early in your planning, then identifying multiple options may be best. You may want several paths to increase the number of potential opportunities. Conversely, narrowing to one or two options may better focus your job search or graduate school applications.
• S pecific — Identify your goal clearly and specifically.
• M easureable — Include clear criteria to determine progress and accomplishment.
• A ttainable — The goal should have a 50 percent or greater chance of success.
• R elevant — The goal is important and relevant to you.
• T ime bound — Commit to a specific timeframe.
• Create Your Career Action Plan.  It’s important to be realistic about expectations and timelines. Write down specific action steps to take to achieve your goals and help yourself stay organized. Check them off as you complete them, but feel free to amend your career action plan as needed. Your goals and priorities may change, and that’s perfectly okay.
• Meet with a Career Advisor. Our advisors are here to help you make effective career decisions.  Make an appointment on Handshake to talk about your career options and concerns.

Research Career Development

Research Career Development focuses on providing the necessary research and proposal development support to prepare and/or position faculty to achieve a key milestone in their research trajectory. The support offerings highlighted below are designed to encourage faculty to pursue catalytic funding opportunities, strengthen their proposals, and improve their success rates. 

Proposal Development and Management Services aim to facilitate the scientific and administrative development and enhance the competitiveness of complex, visible, and signature research and fellowship proposals from ideation to submission. Our Proposal Development Managers (PDMs) and Graphic Artist support Principal Investigators across the range of career stages: from early career faculty to senior investigators. Visit our PDM page to learn more about these services.

There are an increasing number of early career opportunities across the federal and foundation funding areas. Visit the Early Career Faculty Funding Opportunities page to find opportunities geared for early career faculty. 

NIH Seminar Series: In Fall 2021, we held a 3-session interactive seminar designed to answer questions and fill knowledge gaps regarding NIH proposal submissions. This program was specifically designed for faculty with minimal experience with NIH proposals who wanted to learn strategies for success at NIH, decode the “unwritten rules,” and strategically position themselves for an upcoming application. See the following resources below:

• Helpful NIH Examples and Samples
• Helpful NIH Links
• NIH Info About Scoring and Review

DOE Early Career Research Program : In December 2021, we hosted an information and discussion session for DOE Early Career Research Program applicants. A UMD faculty recipient of this award presented guidance on proposal content and pitch, insights on the review process, and answers to applicants’ questions.

NIH Writing Group : Interested participants from the NIH Seminar Series (above) opted into a 6-session, biweekly pilot writing group focused on preparing and reviewing key pieces of their NIH R01 proposals. Participants drafted and refined the Specific Aims page, Research Strategy and NIH Biosketch; provided feedback on the specific aims and research strategy of a peer; and received feedback from the group leader and peer reviewer. 

NIH R01/R21 Resubmissions Writing Group :  This group was specifically designed for faculty who had submitted an R01 or R21 to the NIH and were seeking support in revising or reworking their applications to best respond to critiques. The writing group structure was designed to guide applicants through the revisions process to set them up for the subsequent submission deadline.

A career and training development initiative launched by President Pines, the Research Leaders Fellows Program is targeted toward accelerating the research productivity and careers of recently tenured associate professors. Through an intensive cohort-based leadership program, the Research Leaders Fellows Program aims to elevate the research career, productivity, and impact of UMD’s most promising researchers. As part of the program, Fellows also engage in individual Strategy Discussions with the Research Development Office to discuss their research, identify potential early career funding opportunities and/or collaborators, and learn about other resources to help launch their research careers at UMD.  This program is specifically designed for recently tenured Associate Professors who have the potential to lead multidisciplinary research initiatives and/or direct future campus-wide centers or institutes. 

The NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) is a prestigious award to early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Program officers held two NSF-wide webinars about the CAREER program in 2021. Materials from the webinars are available here .

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How to Develop a 5-Year Career Plan

• Mary McNevin, Ed. D.

Stop setting annual goals, and start thinking longer term.

Having a long-term plan for your career can help you reduce career-related stress, increase your perceived employability, and allow you to connect more deeply with your purpose. But how do you move beyond yearly career goals and create a five-year plan?

• Brainstorm. Start by thinking about how you want your career to develop and what you need to do to get there. This requires self-reflection. You’ll need to identify your primary goal, your passions, how your existing skills contribute to both those things, and your areas for improvement.
• Gather feedback. We’re not aways the best judges of our own capabilities and strengths. That’s why it can be important early in your planning process to gather feedback from your superiors, mentors, and peers. They may help you discover career opportunities you never considered for yourself, clue you into strengths you may be overlooking, and share insights regarding your areas for growth and development.
• Map it out. After doing some self-reflection and gathering feedback, it’s time to organize the information you’ve collected. Consider keeping track of your plan in PowerPoint. For example, slide 1 should outline the career goals you identified in your self-reflection. Slide 2 should list out the skills you already have and the ones you would need to achieve your ultimate career goals. Slide 3 should highlight the development activities you plan to pursue over the next five years to help you achieve your goals. And slide 4 should present all of the possible obstacles that might prevent you from achieving your goal and how to address those challenges.
• Iterate. Unlike year-long goal setting, the process of creating a five-year plan is never complete. One way to ensure you’re keeping your plan updated is to set a quarterly calendar reminder. This will help you address any new developments in your life or career and make changes where necessary.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

• MM Mary McNevin, Ed. D. is an executive coach, talent advisor, and former CLO and talent executive. She is a growth-oriented talent management executive with 20+ years of experience in learning, talent management, succession planning, and strategy development. Dr. McNevin earned her doctorate (EdD) from the University of Pennsylvania through an interdisciplinary program between the Graduate School of Education and the Wharton School of Business. Her dissertation focused on Executive Coaching in the C-suite. Dr. McNevin also holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

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