Hey,
Q4 is comin’ in hot.
You’re probably busy right now with a calendar that looks more like a Benjamin Moore paint chip display than a manageable schedule. If you haven’t booked that dentist appointment or massage yet, I’d get on that—tout de suite.
And if your company gave you a professional development budget, then you have three months to get spending before it ends up in the graveyard of wasted funds (Waste? In this economy?).
While most companies offer PD budgets or stipends, sometimes training and development funds are handled at a departmental budget level, so if you don’t see one in your contract or employee handbook, it’s often possible to request funds if you can make a business case for it.
FYI, 90% of the time these funds go unspent, not because people don’t want to use them, but because they get overwhelmed by choice and don’t know what investment will actually help them grow.
It’s true that there’s a lot of choice out there, but if you’re strategic about how you spend it, your PD fund will not only make you better at the job you’re doing now, it’ll also close the gap between the job you have and the one you’ll land next.
So here’s some ideas for spending your allowance.
* All prices are converted to CAD unless specified
This list is far from definitive, but it gives you a good place to start. Some companies have rigid guidelines about what you can and can’t expense, but more often they exist to give you the freedom to choose how you grow.
If I have any advice to offer, it’s this: In a year from now, the network you’ve built and the new things you tried because you had access to a PD budget will be what expands your world and opens new doors.
Lock in and spend there.
Until next time,
Ines
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