Research Career

Individual Development Plan – myIDP Tool

In a labor market increasingly uncertain, researchers need to reflect and identify which of the possible career opportunities, inside or outside the academia, fit with their personal interest and professional competencies.

What is an Individual Development Plan?

An Individual Development Plan is an individually structured plan that, after identifying the career path, helps you to reach mid and long-term career goals, as well as the necessary strategies to achieving them. It also helps you to align learning activities with your personal and professional goals, or specific competencies.

Why define an Individual Development Plan?

The Individual Development Plan helps you to:

  • Identify med and log-term goals and activities to achieve these goals.
  • Identify additional knowledge and abilities required to achieve the stated career objectives.
Create an Individual Development Plan using myIDP tool

To help you develop your Individual Development Plan [IDP], you can use myIDP, a free web-based career-planning tool created by Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Jennifer A. Hobin, Bill Lindstaedt, and Philip S. Clifford. The aim of the tool is to help graduate students and postdocs define and pursue their career goals.

myIDP tool guides you through the process of creating an IDP by a four-step process. In the first step, you evaluate your own skills, values, and interests. In the second step, you use the self-assessment as a guide for exploring and evaluating career opportunities in your field, identifying your preferred career, as well as alternative options. The tool will help you determine which of 20 scientific career paths best fits your skills and interests. In the third step, you set some specific goals and outlining strategies to prepare you for the career paths to which you aspire. Finally, you identify your mentoring team, people that can provide you with personal and professional guidance throughout your career.

Access to myIDP tool: https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/