Farrah Azizi, Marisa Colón, David Kietzman, Patti Sanchez, and Sara Straubel are members of the 2016 EPIP LA Senior Mentorship Cohort.  This tool was developed as a reflection of the conversations the mentorship cohort engaged in throughout the year within the cohort, and with the individual mentors in one on one discussion. 

Investing in Yourself 

We often think of investing in terms of dollars and cents and though financial investments are important, investing in ourselves goes beyond monetary measures. As we progress through the various stages of our careers, there are always opportunities for improvement, but these can only be realized if we commit to seeing them through.

Investing in yourself is an ongoing process that requires intentionality and proactive effort. The benefits of spending time on these activities will not only help advance your professional career, but will also help to prevent burnout by focusing on your long term goals and the actions you can take to work towards them.  In nurturing our professional growth, we contribute to stronger organizations and a more impactful sector.  This tool, The Career Investment Framework, is designed to help you: visualize the different areas that you can invest in, take stock of what you may already be doing, and set specific action steps in each investment area throughout the year.

 Be sure to check in throughout the year and make mid-course corrections as you need to.  Evaluate each activities’ ROI and keep in mind that you may be oversubscribed in one bucket and don’t need to continue investing in that space. This document and the activities are intended to be a guide; this shouldn’t be overwhelming! If it is, then scale back to understand what works best for you. And don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back for the work that you are already doing! You have probably engaged in many of these activities to some capacity already. Now is the time to start tracking and reflecting. Use this framework to ensure that you are engaged in your career and consciously moving forward in your development, for yourself and for the ongoing growth of the sector. Invest in you!

Download The Career Investment Framework tool here.

Written by: Farrah Azizi, Marisa Colón, David Kietzman, Patti Sanchez, and Sara Straubel

Farrah Azizi, Marisa Colón, David Kietzman, Patti Sanchez, and Sara Straubel are members of the 2016 EPIP LA Senior Mentorship Cohort.  This tool was developed as a reflection of the conversations the mentorship cohort engaged in throughout the year within the cohort, and with the individual mentors in one on one discussion.