Personal Development Planning
Personal development planning (PDP) is a structured process through which an individual reflects on their own learning, performance and achievements and uses this reflection to plan for their personal, educational and professional development.
In other words…….
While you are at university, take the opportunity to:
- talk to your personal tutor about what you have learned throughout your degree programme and how you have developed over that time
- keep a record of your achievements, either academically or outside your degree programme
- use the Careers and Employability Centre for advice with preparing a CV, getting ready for job applications and interviews
- use the methods provided by the university to help you become aware of your skills and your aptitudes for future employment
Support provided for your personal development planning:
- know yourself! The Careers and Employability Centre’s Choosing a career page has links to Profiling for success, an online interactive tool which looks at your abilities, learning style and personality and Prospects Planner which also helps you to identify your skills and to match them with graduate occupations
- your department may offer a module to help you with PDP
- record your progress! The university provides RAPID, a personal development planning tool https://rapid.lboro.ac.uk/
For more information on how the university supports you in the PDP process and other methods available to record your progress, the Library’s Know How section may help.
Personal development planning is a good habit to get into. As well as raising your self-awareness it also prepares you for the process of ‘continuous professional development’ which many employers require of you as part of your ongoing learning, development of skills and competencies and training in the workplace.