The Interfolio Blog

This week's Inside Higher Ed features a great article on putting together an Individual Development Plan, recommending that graduate students and higher ed professionals plan for short term and long-term career growth, and benchmark the ways they are going accomplish their goals.

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is an idea that has been around for a long time, and applying it to higher ed is certainly helpful, but we think it could use some updating. How can you make your IDP more helpful, more dynamic and more interactive?

There are two key elements to an IDP. The first is that it be a dynamic document that changes over time to adjust for changes in your education, goals, achievements and set backs. The second is that it be easily shareable so that you can work with you mentor(s), get feedback on your progress and ask for guidance on next steps.

One great way to accomplish both of these things quickly and easily is to set up your IDP online, in a place where you can easily share it privately but that it can be edited and commented on. Tools like our online Portfolios, Wordpress or Google Docs make this easy to accomplish, and allow you to work with your mentor quickly and easily. Using tools like this will also allow you to change the document frequently and ensure that anyone you have shared it with always has the most current version.

Another great way to make your IDP more effective is to link it to your actual work. Mentors will be better able to weigh in on your progress if they can see it for themselves, and they'll be more likely to give you more personalized advice if they are familiar with your abilities and have recent examples of your work. So instead of writing goals down on a piece of paper, build an online area where you can share your IDP, link to supporting materials, and share works in progress in order to get feedback.

We believe that creating your IDP online goes hand in hand with career advancement through creation of an online portfolio, and will not only make your life a lot easier, but will lead to more opportunities in the long run. Let us know what you think. How would you use an IDP more effectively for career development?