Having sufficient development opportunities is increasingly important for people when they consider opting for or staying in a job. Lifelong learning is not unusual anymore. The economy and society are changing so quickly, that it is no longer possible to stop learning after the education you received in your youth. Organizations and jobs change, and thus employment opportunities change too. In order to stay in the job market, you will have to keep developing yourself. So actively search for opportunities to learn.
The importance of development opportunities
For both you and your employer, it is important that you have sufficient opportunities to develop yourself. Learning new skills means acquiring knowledge so that you can push your boundaries. By taking on new challenges, you improve your employability. That employability is also important for your employer. It ensures that you can be deployed more broadly, and hence you bring added value into the organization. Development opportunities also ensure, that you will be less prone to continue your career elsewhere.
Start working on your own development
You can of course await a potential offer from your employer, or maybe you should just ask for one. But you can also take charge of your own personal development. Some suggestions that may be right for you:
- Find someone you can mirror with. This may be someone in your inner circle or a professional coach. Ask this person about your strengths and weaknesses and what you could improve.
- Take a critical look at your lifestyle. Can you eat healthier and exercise more? What do you do with your spare time? Look for a healthy balance between exertion and relaxation.
- Follow a training, study or course concerning something in which you are interested and in which you want to develop yourself. Of course, this something may also be a hobby.
- If you’re not sure what you want, taking some distance can be very enlightening. Go on a spiritual retreat for a week. It undoubtedly offers you new insights and there are countless possibilities for it.
- Take stock of your daily life; look at what gives you energy, and what reduces your energy. Then look at what you can stop doing. Just making the decision to stop doing something, may bring you tremendous energy and joy.
- Delve into the topic or the question that’s on your mind, by reading about it and by looking up information on the internet. You will notice this to be inspirational.
- Make a bucket list of things you want to do or experience, and choose something that you find exciting. A brilliant opportunity to get out of your comfort zone, from which you can learn a lot.