professional involvement
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for a workshop on 'professional development: the what, why and how' at the CILIP New Professionals Information Day 2011TRANSCRIPT
Professional Involvement: what,
why & howBethan Ruddock
@bethanar#npid2011
What is professional involvement?
‘learning from my peers and professional networks and being to help/assist/collaborate in and out of workplace.’
‘learning, developing and contributing. I also think entitlement to 'professional' label is based on involvement (or CPD at least)’
‘'professional involvement' = continued learning’
Learning
‘Sharing experiences/approaches with fellow professionals, including (especially) what didn't work!’
‘It means knowing (some of) what's going on, what issues are big etc., and having a means to vent my opinions on that. It also means contributing to everyone's prof dev - by speaking/writing/organising stuff - & supporting colleagues informally.’
Sharing
‘I think it's about active participation and engaging with peers in your industry’
‘It means interacting with librarianship and / or the library industry, beyond your own job and institution.’
‘being in contact/discussion with other professionals across sectoral boundaries, engaging with topical issues’
‘Having an awareness of what is happening across the profession and contributing to that in some way through prof org or not’
Participating
‘a chance to influence the direction of my profession and my career within it.’
‘have your own opinion, but be prepared to change, don't be afraid to make mistakes, be open’
‘testing ideas & tweaking to make them work effectively for all. Finding ways to improve.’
‘Having a good group of people on Twitter to ask random q’s on a Friday afternoon, & getting immediate, useful answers!’
And more…
(thanks to @girlinthe, @mandahill, @barbaragordon, @lukask, @suzyredrec, @wigglesweets, @el399, @estherarens,
@therealwikiman, @nunuthunder, @thomasconnelly and @samanthahalf)
… engaging with the profession in any way that is beyond the normal demands of your job
Professional involvement is…
Professional organisations
Run events/conferences/training courses
Provide opportunities for networking
Provide opportunities for structured professional development (eg Chartership)
Provide a mentoring or peer support program
Publish journals/magazines/newsletters/blogs
Have committees, staffed by members
Provide careers advice & employment support – throughout your career
What can they do for you?
Join! Membership organisations need your support
Volunteer for something: join a committee, write an article/blog post
Attend events & provide feedback Network – share ideas, support other
members Become a mentor
What can you do for them?
Create your own…
Professional involvement can be whatever you want it to be…
But what else can I do?
Blogging
Tweeting
Advocacy
And much, much more…
Knitting
Image from http://www.ravelry.com/projects/girlinthemoon/classmark-mittens
Jigsaws
Images from http://intothehobbithole.blogspot.com/
Cartooning
Images courtesy of http://derangementanddescription.wordpress.com/
Travelling
Image from http://www.itinerantpoetrylibrarian.blogspot.com/
‘They provide the opportunity for: benchmarking;
discovering solutions to problems; finding out about
tools others have used first; making you realise you are
not alone in your struggles; encouraging professional
engagement’
‘They are great for informal training, sharing good
practice, bouncing ideas around, commiserating and
supporting in times of trouble - and giving good advice.’
Why… ? Peer networking
‘To be effective anyone in the library/information needs to be able to network with peers. Not only can this help either directly or indirectly with your career but is stimulating and thought provoking to find out how others tackle particular issues. Your peers are also a valuable information source in themselves!’
Why… ? Peer networking
Why…? Opportunities
43% of opportunities came from prior personal contact
41% came from previous professional achievement/involvement
16% came from ‘traditional’ methods, eg call for papers
Why… ? Reputation
Library Journal ‘Movers and Shakers’ 2011
Why..? Skills
Why... ? Employability
Why… ? Fun!
How do I get involved?
YES!
Can I help?
1. Practitioner experience
What professional involvement (if any) have you tried? What works for you and why? What positive experiences of professional involvement have you had? What
negative experiences?
2. Boundaries and control
Are there any barriers to your professional involvement? What are these barriers? Why are they there? How can you address them?
3. Future of the profession
What are you doing as a practitioner to prepare yourselves for the future? Is it possible to prepare yourself? What help do you need to prepare for your future career? Where can you
get it?
@bethanarbethaninfoprof.wordpress.combethan.ruddock@manchester.ac.uk