What should a career development plan include?
Include your current situation, a direction or capability to develop, evidence of your starting point, a specific goal, actions, support, a target date and a review date. A personal development plan can also cover capabilities within your current role; a career plan can include exploring a different role.
Keep the first version small. One useful goal with time to practise is easier to review than ten ambitions with no next action. The worksheet can be opened in a spreadsheet or copied into a document; its fields also appear below.
How to identify the right skills gap
Compare the work you want to do with evidence from work you have already done. Read relevant role descriptions and ask someone doing the work which capabilities matter. Mark each requirement as demonstrated, partly demonstrated or not yet demonstrated, and note the evidence behind that judgement.
Prioritise a gap that matters to the role and can be tested within your available time and budget. Separate mandatory qualifications from abilities you could demonstrate through a project. Self-ratings help reflection but do not independently verify competence.
A SMART career goal with a completed example
Fictional example: Sam wants to explore project coordination. Instead of “become a better leader”, the goal is “By 30 November, coordinate one small team project using an agreed task plan, record weekly progress and obtain feedback from two colleagues on clarity and follow-through.” The goal describes an action, observable evidence and a deadline.
Starting evidence: Sam already organises a weekly handover but has not managed a project timeline. Actions: observe one project review, draft a plan with a manager and coordinate a low-risk task. Support: a weekly 15-minute discussion. Review: compare planned and completed work and record feedback. This is an editorial example, not a customer result or promotion guarantee.
Prepare a useful career development conversation
Bring the goal, your evidence and one question about the gap. Ask which work opportunity could help you practise, what good performance would look like and what support is realistic. Agree what you will do and what the other person has actually committed to.
If you do not have a manager or mentor, discuss your plan with a relevant practitioner or careers adviser. A conversation should test assumptions, not simply confirm that your preferred route sounds appealing.
Review progress without turning it into paperwork
As a starting routine, spend ten minutes each month recording action taken, evidence gained and what you learned. Set a deeper review after the project or experiment ends. These are suggested rhythms, not universal requirements.
If the goal no longer fits, change it and record why. Lack of progress may reflect access, time or an unsuitable action rather than lack of ability. OTO Careers is designed to organise this evidence; its private workspaces remain in preview, while these worksheets are available now.