Thing 23 - I've finally made it

I’ve finally made it though there were times I thought I might just quietly stop and hope nobody would notice.

My professional development plan reads more like a To-do list for next year and I've decided to split it into a more manageable 3 categories - Essential/Time-specific, Realistic/Achievable and Nice to do if have the opportunity.

Essential/Time-specific
Continue with revalidation
Find mentor

Realistic/Achievable
Carry on with blog - ie Revalidation and general work
Improve my blog
Continue to tweet
Improve my LinkedIn Account
Contribute to online library discussions
Contribute to a “library day in a working life project” wiki
Continue with CSG committee
Try to participate in a CPD activity each month

Nice to do if have the opportunity
Investigate online course on podcasts mentioned in one of the 23 Things
Look into Prezi and Slideshare
Get involved in advocacy work
Organise a library event
Do some voluntary work or job shadowing
Try to get involved in some project or extra activity at work

I also did a SWOT analysis and came up with the following:-

Strengths
Currently have a library job
Professional development is encouraged
I'm chartered
Don’t mind which library sector I work for
Always keen to look for opportunities to widen skills and develop professional awareness

Weaknesses
Very little opportunity to do professional work in current job
Quality and depth of my professional library experience is limited
Not skilled enough for a lot of the library jobs on offer - can stretch it to get to the interview stage but interviewers can soon find the gaps
Can’t move to a different area in the country to find work, tied to the East Midlands

Opportunities
Being made redundant may offer opportunities including voluntary work
Nearly paid off mortgage so may be able to consider part time work in the future

Threats
Job isn’t very stable
Wider economy - lack of library opportunities in general
Getting too old