Development & Career Planning

MIT values learning and development both professionally and personally. Development and career planning is a rich opportunity for managers and employees to plan for and support an individual's growth and development with an eye toward the department and Institute’s current and future needs.

In addition to the best practices and tools below, see our career development resources for employees and managers.

Best Practices

  • Identifies opportunities to contribute to broader organizational priorities
  • Identifies the knowledge, skills, and experience to expand an employee’s contributions and career
  • Incorporates employee interests, preferences, and strengths
  • Creates an Individual Development Plan (below) that identifies and tracks a wide range of development activities (below)
  • Where applicable, incorporates an Individual Career Plan (below)
  • Makes use of MIT’s opportunities to learn and grow

Learning and Growth Opportunities

There are many different ways to learn and grow at MIT. Below are some ideas to incorporate into development planning and learning.

Action-oriented activities

  • Work on department or Institute teams, projects or committee
  • Identify opportunities to learn through job shadowing, cross-training, teamwork, and new assignments
  • Set goals and keep a log for practicing a new behavior or skill
  • Lead team/department discussions about current work projects
  • Give presentations about work projects to colleagues and/or at conferences
  • Propose and organize learning opportunities for others
  • Provide training to colleagues on a topic or skill
  • Organize an Independent Activities Period (IAP) offering
  • Join and be active in trade associations and professional networks related to your field

People-oriented activities

  • Ask someone – manager, peer, colleague, for feedback on progress towards goals
  • Partner with someone to build skills, share lessons learned, and give and receive feedback
  • Find a mentor, coach, or someone in a job or career of interest to interview
  • Volunteer to be a student advisor or for MIT’s Mentor Advocate Partnership (MAP)
  • Find a subject matter expert and interview them. Ask how they developed their skills.
  • Observe how others effectively demonstrate the behavior or skills you are looking to develop
  • Connect with groups at MIT that focus on networking and skill development; for example, MIT’s Toastmasters Clubs, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and the MIT Public Service Center
  • Volunteer and attend MIT-wide events, including Careers Across MIT, MIT’s Excellence Awards, MIT Commencement, GetFit, and the MIT Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast
  • Create an “affinity group” by bringing together a group of MIT colleagues with similar interests
  • Create a book group by inviting colleagues to read and disucss a relevant book or article

Knowledge-oriented activities

Online Learning

Tools and Resources