If you are keeping a Career Journal or a Career Development Goals Notebook these are great resources to help you prepare for that next Catch-up Meeting or 1:1 with your boss/supervisor.
Review your Goals
When preparing for a Career Development Meeting you should be prepared to talk about your Career Goals. You should be considering both Corporate Goals (i.e. Your Employer’s Goals and Business Plan and what your Employer wants you to achieve) as well as your own personal goals (i.e. what you personally want to achieve).
- Corporate and Business Goals Page – you should include a GOALS page that focuses on your Company’s goals, vision and/or business plan. What are their plans for their employees and if you know – what are their plans and what do they want or need from you?
- Personal Goals Page – Start with things that you want to achieve and contribute to the Company together with goals that will help you achieve your internal goals such as a promotion or a pay rise or being put in charge or a specific project or customer and build your way up to your Long Term Goals and even your 10 year plan.
Of course, if you are in the right job – there should be an element of overlap between these goals.
How have you been working to achieve these goals since your last Career Development Meeting.
For each of these goals write a set of future action points to go with them. Be clear about what you have done to date. What you have achieved so far and if you are still working towards a goal – what you intend to do next.
Review your Achievements
Consider what you achievements have been since your last meeting. These do not have to be specifically linked to your goals. After all you can have achievements that are not goal based. You might also want to tie in what you have already prepared such as achievement lists, training records and list of publications etc.
A Career Journal can be a useful way to capture all this information, but for a meeting, a concise list can be more effective.
Write a List of Questions
Some people love to talk through catch up meetings, others sit silently and simply listen. However for 1:1 meetings it is important that all your issues are addressed and that you receive adequate feedback. A (concise) list of questions is the most appropriate way to deal with this.
Write the list in advance and take this with you to the meeting.
Why not pull everything together in one place by using a career progression goals and meetings notebook