Career Dynamix for Sustainability: I3

What makes a career sustainable?  This article focuses on three keys to maintaining career relevance over time.  While there are certainly more than three keys to sustainability, I3 provides professionals with an easy to remember and manageable focal point to work from. 

Involved

There are many ways to be involved in your career outside of fulfilling the responsibilities of your current position.  It is important to be involved in your industry through the prominent professional organization in your industry.  If you aren't a member of your industry's professional organization, become a member.  Your membership will provide you with opportunities to connect with colleagues  attend professional conferences and meetings, professional development opportunities, and newsletter or other communications that will keep you informed of recent developments in your industry.  Be sure to make a goal of attending some of the chapter meetings or the annual convention.  These are excellent sources of information and networking opportunities.  If you have the opportunity to volunteer within the organization and you have the time to commit to doing so, volunteer involvement in your professional organization can be a valuable experience - and those in your industry will get to know you.

Innovative

Innovative career planning and development goes beyond the traditional recommendations of keeping your resume current and having a presence on professional social media sites such as LinkedIn.  Innovative career planning is intentionally positioning yourself for opportunities that will help you gain experience, exposure, or in some way help you get to the next step in your career plan.  For example, if you're lacking experience that is commonly regarded a requirement in your field, find a volunteer opportunity that will allow you to gain the experience.  If you are interested in a particular job or organization, find a connection within your network to help advise you on getting your foot in the door.  If you don't have a connection within your network, find a way to make a connection.  For example, look for a way to partner or collaborate with the organization or a representative of the organization.

Invested

Expanding skills, knowledge and abilities is not something to do "someday", it is something you must do throughout your career.  New skills are needed to adapt to changing demands in your field, the professional knowledge of your field continues to advance - even after you have received your degree and moved on.  You must continue to invest in your skills, knowledge, and abilities to remain relevant and marketable in your career.  Look for opportunities to add new skills through your current employer's in-house employee development offerings.  Look for professional development opportunities through your professional organization.  Finally, consider auditing a college level class as a refresher course at your local college or check out the many free online courses being offered by some of the top universities, known as Open Courses or Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).  These courses generally don't offer credit, but they do offer continued education and knowledge that you can demonstrate (e.g., Berkeley, Coursera, Carnegie-Mellon, Duke, Harvard, MIT, Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, University of Michigan, Yale).