Competency
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

Establish plans for professional development that support goal achievement

Scenario
Planning a career can be an intimidating process. The question of “what do you want to do when you grow up” is not simple to answer, and it is something that people of all ages are still trying to figure out. A career is more than just a source of income; it represents the story of a lifetime of jobs, accomplishments, learning, and advancing to newer and more fulfilling professional positions. With thoughtful planning and consideration, each of those jobs can serve as a valuable stepping stone on the pathway that is your career.
In this project, you will consider your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to your professional development. You will also consider strategies for professional development in an area of your own professional interest.

Directions
Part One: Professional SWOT Analysis: An important step in the process of planning for professional development is to look inward and analyze yourself. This involves carefully considering your professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. To do this, you will complete your own professional SWOT analysis focused on your professional and career development. Complete the Professional SWOT Analysis Template in the Deliverables section and submit it as one of the deliverables for this project. In your responses, consider best practices for completing a SWOT analysis, and be sure to discuss the following topics as they relate to your SWOT:

Your professional field of interest
How your current or previous jobs have prepared you to pursue a career in that field
Your career goals
Your existing professional skills
Your developing professional skills
Your mind-set related to achieving goals

Note: When completing your professional SWOT analysis, be sure to be as honest with yourself as possible. It might be uncomfortable to list your weaknesses, and it might feel like bragging to discuss your strengths, but it is vitally important to have a full understanding of yourself as you consider possible professional pathways.

Part Two: Presentation on Professional Development: Once you have completed your professional SWOT analysis, you will start considering strategies for planning your professional development. Given what you have learned about yourself through the SWOT analysis, consider what the next steps might be in your professional development, and what specific strategies could help you get there. Create a 6- to 8-slide professional development presentation that includes the following:

Strategies for professional development: Be sure to cover the benefits of at least three of the following professional development strategies and explain how each is relevant to your own professional and career development: 

Networking strategies
Emerging technologies that impact career goal achievement
Mentorship
Professional conferences
Informational interviews
SMART goals

The importance of professional organizations and publications to career development, including: 

Specific examples of professional organizations relevant to your own professional and career development
Specific examples of professional publications relevant to your own professional and career development
Professional SWOT Analysis Template
Name: [Insert Your Name Here]
Professional Field: In the space below, describe your professional field or industry of interest in 50–
100 words. In your description, discuss whether your current or previous jobs have prepared you to
pursue a career in this field.
SWOT Grid: In bulleted lists of words or phrases, list your professional strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats in the grid below:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Analysis: In the sections below, expand on the professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats you identified in the SWOT grid.
Strengths
• Of the strengths you identified, which do you believe are the most important to your
professional development? Why?
• List specific ways in which your identified strengths will help your professional development.
Weaknesses
• Of the weaknesses you identified, which do you believe you most need to overcome in order
to succeed in your chosen professional field?
• What strategies could you use to overcome your weaknesses?
Opportunities
• Of the opportunities you have identified, which could you act on first?
• What steps could you take to learn more about any of these opportunities?
• What are some opportunities to improve yourself?
• Which opportunities might help you advance in your career field?
Threats
• Now that you have identified potential threats to your professional development, what are
some potential steps to reduce those threats?
• Which threats seem most important to address or investigate further?
• What are some of your behaviors or traits that may be threatening to your success?
• What conditions might threaten your advancement in the career field?
Professional SWOT Analysis Template
Name: [Insert Your Name Here]
Professional Field: In the space below, describe your professional field or industry of interest in 50–
100 words. In your description, discuss whether your current or previous jobs have prepared you to
pursue a career in this field.
SWOT Grid: In bulleted lists of words or phrases, list your professional strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats in the grid below:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Analysis: In the sections below, expand on the professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats you identified in the SWOT grid.
Strengths
• Of the strengths you identified, which do you believe are the most important to your
professional development? Why?
• List specific ways in which your identified strengths will help your professional development.
Weaknesses
• Of the weaknesses you identified, which do you believe you most need to overcome in order
to succeed in your chosen professional field?
• What strategies could you use to overcome your weaknesses?
Opportunities
• Of the opportunities you have identified, which could you act on first?
• What steps could you take to learn more about any of these opportunities?
• What are some opportunities to improve yourself?
• Which opportunities might help you advance in your career field?
Threats
• Now that you have identified potential threats to your professional development, what are
some potential steps to reduce those threats?
• Which threats seem most important to address or investigate further?
• What are some of your behaviors or traits that may be threatening to your success?
• What conditions might threaten your advancement in the career field?