Personal development should come before personal time

It is important, more so than ever, to consider where you are and what you want to do with your personal and professional lives. In today's tightening job market, professional development may mean the difference between landing that next position or not. But a word - Professional development is not something just for the "white collar" workers amongst us, the academics and those people who "work in an office type environment" - professional development is essential for everyone.

If you have not been on some sort of training course in the last 12 months, you are not serious about the work you are doing, or the work / job you say you want to do. And for those students out there, believe me when I say - if you want to keep on top of your chosen field, then be prepared to never stop studying and learning.

Can you imagine what would happen if a surgeon had finished his / her course of study and then never picked up another professional journal or went on courses to see the latest techniques and treatments? We might as well hit ourselves over the head and hope we stay out long enough for them to do what they need to. How many lives would have been lost if that had of happened? Really doesn't bear thinking about does it?

So, when was the last time you looked at your career and said, I need to ensure my current skill levels and abilities match the market place. What do I want to do, and do my skills match? If you are not sure how to do that - go to any of the online job boards and type in your preferred job / career. You can almost guarantee there will be a job on offer, so download the application / information pack and see what you need to be able to do, and what kind of qualifications you need to have. Then of course you can see where the gaps are - and you can do something about rectifying the situation.

I know money is tight at the moment - but there are a lot of free resources out there you can use. It doesn't cost anything more than time to go to your public library and browse the collection, and you can borrow them - and as long as you return them within the alloted time frame - they are free. The internet of course has become THE place to go for courses and items to read. We will never get through the vast swathes of information available online to us now, so be selective. What do you need to know in order to get you to the next level? Read it, study it, build on the information and knowledge you gained today and add it to what you will learn tomorrow, and the many tomorrow's after that.

Of course there will be people who will mutter they don't have time to read books or take courses, but they will always find time to go down the pub or meet with friends a couple of times a week or spend several hors every night watching television. These should be pleasure items after you have done what you need to do. Don't you say to your children when faced with torrid amounts of homework and a burning desire to go outside and be with their mates - homework comes first. Well, we should be as strict on ourselves as we are with our children. Homework and personal development first - unless you are happy doing what you are doing and don't intend changing that is. In which case - as you were, sorry I disturbed you.