If you feel like you don’t have the right skills to do your job, should you leave or stay and try to learn? What options are available if your role has evolved and your company’s Learning & Development scheme isn’t effective?
This topic has been recurring for me this week. I’ve advised clients, people I mentor and sat on a panel debating generalists vs specialists.
My advice is to constantly develop yourself and find peers. If your organisation doesn’t provide such opportunities, seek them out for yourself.
Read as much as you can, ask questions and remain curious about comms and its role.
Yesterday was seven years since I joined Twitter. I blogged a couple of years ago about what it’s taught me. It has connected me with new ideas and sparked my imagination to improve my understanding of the world of business and communication. You can find me there @AllthingsIC.
If you’re looking for a fresh role, check out the All Things IC jobs page or see @AllthingsICjobs on Twitter for the latest roles.
Further reading: Do you have the right skills to do your job?
If you’re thinking of updating your LinkedIn profile, see their tips for banning buzzwords from your profile:
How to find peers
So you work in a team of one and aren’t a member of any professional bodies. How can you find peers? Keep an eye on what’s happening for comms pros (via articles such as the one you’re reading) and make time to invest meeting with others, either in person or online.
The purpose of my weekly What’s on this week column every Sunday is to highlight courses, awards and events I’ve heard of, so you can see what’s available.
Further reading: See the comms calendar for beyond the next 10 days.
LinkedIn is a great way of searching for and finding professional communicators. Join discussions via Groups and use its search function to help you.
The IC Crowd
I encourage you to also check out The IC Crowd I co-founded alongside comms pros Jenni Field and Dana Leeson in 2012. We’re on Twitter @TheICcrowd.
It’s a network of comms pros globally and is a way for us all to connect, communicate and ask questions. You can even send us Direct Messages if your query is one you can’t be seen to ask, and we’ll ask the crowd on your behalf.
Further reading: Read my A-Z of communication via the All Things IC glossary to help bust some comms jargon.
Being rewarded for developing yourself
I’m an active member and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and place value in its Continuing Professional Development scheme (CPD) as a way to chart my progress.
If you’re a member, you can log 60 points a year to achieve or maintain Accredited Practitioner status.
CIPR says: “Accredited PR Practitioner is a hallmark of your commitment to professional excellence. It shows that you are committed to keeping your professional skills and knowledge up-to-date and continually developing and broadening your horizons.”
Your accreditation will show in the CIPR PR register and Member directory profile. You’ll also receive a logo and certificate to demonstrate your designation.
The CPD cycle runs from 1 March to the last day in February each year. There are two CPD streams: developing yourself or supporting others. You can log points in both and can earn them for a wide range of activities, from reading articles to books and attending courses. So if you’ve started yours, do log in and complete this year’s cycle.
Further reading: Tips for angst-free CPD, via CIPR Inside @CIPRInside.
Find out more via the CPD section of the CIPR website or watch this short video:
What’s on this week for comms pros:
- 25 January: CIPR Debating Group: Gender Pay Gap debate, House of Commons, London
- 27 January: PRCA Corporate Group: Skills for Corporate Communicators of the Future event
- 28 January: Change comms breakfast, The Clubhouse, London, with Christine Crofts, Aviva and Lisa Mudge, RSA.
- 28 January: PRCA: 2016, the year of… event, London
- 31 January: Early bird rate ends for IoIC Central Region Seminar, Leicester.
Recent articles on the All Things IC blog
Do you have the right skills to do your job?
Why 2016 is the year CEOs need to trust employees
Ideas to help you roll out and use Yammer
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Thank you for stopping by, I hope you have a great week.
Rachel
Post author: Rachel Miller
First published on the All Things IC blog 24 January 2016.