By Emily Azevedo-Casey, PhD student
How will you know you are making good progress in your program if you don’t have a plan or a way to track it? Last week, the Graduate School Office of Professional Development and Delta hosted a workshop called “Creating your Individual Development Plan (IDP).” In the workshop, I talked briefly about my experiences writing IDPs as a master’s and now doctoral student. I also shared a current SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goal I am working towards: passing my qualifying exams this fall so I can continue with my goal of transitioning to dissertator status. In this article, I will expand on three areas that can be sticky points for grads in creating their IDPs and share resources for further help.
- Take the self-assessment when you are calm and confident. Your mindset can impact how you assess yourself to the point where you may be underselling (or overselling) your skills and ideas for the future. Take the time before you assess to do what works for you to feel calm. Also, you can always re-take the assessment. Check out DiscoverPD to do your self-assessment.
- Build confidence in sharing your IDP. Ultimately, you will want to share your IDP with your advisor(s), mentors, or program coordinators who are instrumental in your career development, but it can be scary! When opening up about your skill development and goals, you might feel exposed or fear judgment or criticism. If that’s the case, work up to sharing your IDP with your most important figures by sharing in lower-stakes and encouraging settings, like with peers, colleagues, or trusted friends/family.
- Be prepared for changing goals in your IDP. When I was a master’s student in the Environmental Conservation MS program at the Nelson Institute, I was mainly focused on obtaining my degree and getting back out into the work world; my IDP heavily reflected that. However, as I moved through that program and became more familiar with research through taking classes with different professors, a pathway opened for me to continue on and do my own research with the Environment and Resources MS/PhD program at Nelson. Now, the skills and milestones on my IDP reflect a much more research and teaching-oriented career. As you think about your long-term goals, consider your IDP to be flexible with how they might shift as experiences and opportunities come.
Your Individual Development Plan is meant to help you reach your academic and professional goals in a realistic way. UW–Madison recommends all grads create one, and depending on your funding, it may even be required. Consider grounding yourself before you take the assessment, sharing it with different audiences to build confidence, and expect your goals to shift over time. Find more guidance on all things IDP on the UW IDP webpage, DiscoverPD, and ImaginePhD, an assessment and career exploration site (free to use for all grads).
Tips for Grads is a professional and academic advice column written by graduate students for graduate students at UW–Madison. It is published in the student newsletter, GradConnections Weekly.