When you hear about professional development, you have to keep in mind that this is a process that must be constant and focused on personal growth as well. This kind of care and planning is essential for you to find all the opportunities you want. Thinking about it, we separate 7 tips on professional development that will make a difference in your path.

First, where to start professional development?

First, you need to understand what you want and what your professional ambition is. So that you can understand which path you should take. Therefore, ask:

• Who am I, where am I today?

• Who do I want to become in 5 or 10 years?

• How can I become a more qualified professional at the end of the 365-day period?

• What skills and abilities do I need to acquire or improve to achieve my goals?

From these questions, I'm sure you will already acquire good answers that will favor your professional development. In addition to these questions, we have prepared 7 tips that will help you in this process. Check below:

1. Invest in learning

There is nothing more important to professional development than education and knowledge. After all, it is necessary to keep up with the market that is increasingly competitive. Creating learning goals starts with identifying gaps in your current knowledge. It's an excellent way to recognize your weaknesses in specific skills and abilities. Here, the question is again: what do I need to improve to reach the position or level I want? Am I out of date in my field? What subjects are important for me to know in my area of expertise? Do I know about the main market news about the branch I work in? It all starts with education. After all, you only chose a specific area to work based on a course or apprenticeship in your professional career. Is not it? In addition, learning must be constant for those who intend to build a successful career. Never believe you know too much or settle where you are.

2. Professional development: plan your career

If education is the first step, planning is the second and most important step for those who seek professional growth and development. Knowing where you're going is one of the best ways to build a solid trajectory towards your goals. Therefore, set real and possible goals, set up an action plan and follow it. Your professional career depends on it. Don't forget to question yourself and score what you need to do to achieve the results you want. In addition, you also need to include unforeseen events and deadlines in your career plan. Create a timeline after you've mapped out your plan. This is also an excellent way to achieve your goals, whatever they may be: promotion, career transition or return to the job market.

3. Network

We all know that creating good networking at work and beyond is very important. Nowadays it is possible to find many qualified professionals in the market. Therefore, it is not enough just to be a dedicated professional in your field. You have to stand out and be recognized. To help get recognized, you need to have good indications and create a network that is inspired by you and rooting for you. Have you ever heard of the famous IQ? It means who indicates. It may seem a bit unfair, especially if you're new to the job market and just starting your career. But, know that even at the beginning of your career it is possible to do and cultivate good networking. An excellent strategy for this is LinkedIn. Also, being a proactive professional, asking the right questions, sharing your experiences, expressing your opinions objectively and with common sense, and asking the right people for advice can open many doors. In other words, making people associate your image as an active professional who is always concerned with learning, is the ideal attitude, especially for those who are just starting out and don't have a very wide network.

4. Professional development: invest in your personal brand

You know that saying “who is not seen, is not remembered?”. Well, one of the most important elements of professional development is enhancing your personal brand. This is the best way to present yourself to the job market and get good results. In other words, when you share your experience and knowledge, as a result, you become more recognized in your field. The more you share, the greater the chances of you building a network of contacts who will admire your work. But, remember that this is an ongoing process and requires patience. Show yourself to the world, and dedicate some time of your day or week to show your achievements and discoveries in your career. An excellent network to do this again is LinkedIn.

5. Develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence

Any professional must deal with pressure every day. After all, these are deadlines that need to be met, customers that need to be served, among many other demands. And any mistake can bring a huge financial loss and even end up in unexpected labor lawsuits. It is for these and many other reasons that it is so important to develop emotional intelligence.

But where does self-knowledge come in?  Managing your own emotions is an essential skill that not everyone has and can be a competitive advantage in your career. And it's only possible to learn to manage your emotions when you understand how your own emotions work. For this, self-knowledge becomes essential. In summary, when you understand which emotions are predominant in certain situations in your professional routine, it becomes easier to control or act in the most appropriate way possible. Investing in self-knowledge and developing emotional intelligence is one of the most efficient ways to deal with unforeseen events and react intelligently in complex moments. In addition, an emotionally intelligent person manages conflicts at work much better, helping to maintain a healthy environment and climate.

6. Take advantage of feedback

Feedback is certainly a powerful form of personal growth and development. It is through them that we manage to obtain a return on our actions, behaviors, and main results. Thanks to the feedback, it is possible to recognize our strengths and areas where we need to improve. Therefore, take advantage of feedback on your work performed. Whether they are positive or negative, try to understand the reasons for the evaluations of the manager or the people around you. Leaving your comfort zone to listen to criticism and suggestions will help you to develop professionally, regardless of your area of expertise. If the company you work for doesn't have a regular feedback system, ask for one. Ask the manager to evaluate your work and explain your goals to him. Be open to hearing everything, good points and even uncomfortable points at first.

7. Get a professional mentorship

Finally, it has been a while since professional mentoring became part of the context. This is an ideal way to instruct recent graduates to enter the job market, or even get a replacement.

In short, mentoring is an experienced professional support technique. Through it, you get help and suggestions from a more experienced mentor and usually from the same area of expertise you chose. It will guide you through the beginning of your career so that you can make the right decisions and start developing effectively. In addition, if you are an entrepreneur, it is also possible to get mentoring to leverage your results. 

One of the great benefits of this practice is the exchange of experiences and the assessment of gaps. 

That is, the experienced professional will assess your knowledge, experience, and skill. And, after the evaluation, if necessary, he will indicate training, courses and measures that you should take to improve yourself as a professional.