My career

Where do your talents lie and which of your competencies are suitable for further development? A useful way of gaining a clearer idea of this is to ask your manager, colleagues, employees, or customers for feedback. This could be in relation to the competencies that form part of your current position, but also to a possible next step in your career.

Use the digital feedback instrument to ask other people to give feedback on competencies chosen by you. Log in to the UFO website to find the digital feedback instrument, together with an instruction guide in the menu.

Exploratory interview

Do you need advice on where you now stand in terms of your career and on the development opportunities available to you? Make an appointment for an exploratory interview. The purpose of the interview is to look at what exactly you are looking for and to advise you on the appropriate options.

If you decide, post-intake, to take part in a career guidance track or training course for example, or to take coaching, this will always be in consultation with your manager – this is because it may take time or incur costs.

If you would like a clearer picture of your own abilities and ambitions, then the abilities and ambitions scan could be helpful to you. The scan throws light on your options and opportunities. You can then discuss the results with your manager or advisors at the Career Development Centre (CDC).

If you would like to find out the challenges and lessons that lie in your current or possible future position, then the development assessment will be a useful tool for you. The assessment provides pointers towards the direction in which you could proceed and towards how you might work on your personal and professional development. You will receive a report with an assessment and advice.

The scans and assessments are not generally free of charge. Talk to your manager to find out whether a scan or an assessment would be appropriate in your exploration of your career options. For advice on which instrument would be most suitable to your situation, get in touch with an advisor at the Career Development Centre.

Getting a fresh perspective can sometimes be very stimulating – this could be achieved in an exploratory conversation with a colleague, for example, or by shadowing someone in a position that interests you. It is a chance to experience the ‘reality’ of the position and the ambience of a particular working environment. Other benefits include networking opportunities, learning from others, and acquiring new experiences and insights that you can use in your own work setting.

Who am I, what do I want, what am I capable of? To make any progress in your personal and professional development, an important first step is to have a good idea of your own personality, abilities, and wishes. To assist you with this, we are offering five tests that you can do at a time and place of your own choosing.

Only you will be able to see the results and they will not be stored. If you would like to keep the results, you can store them yourself at the end. Should you not do so, they will not be retained.

Digital skills tool 

In an increasingly digital UT work environment, our digital skills are increasingly important. Use this Digital Skills Tool to gain more insight into your digital talents and digital development opportunities. The tool is designed as a conversation tool, which you can walk through together with your supervisor or colleagues, but is also suitable for individual use.

PLEASE NOTE: Download and also use the workbook to best understand your development needs.

Or take the 'Level up your digital skills' & 'Excel Essentials' courses on GoodHabitz

GOODHABITZ ASSESMENTS 

Get To Know Yourself

1. Pick a test that suits you and start right away
2. Receive your results in a report
3. Get started with personal tips

Are you looking to enhance your professional skills or broaden your knowledge of your field?

UT believes very strongly in the development of its employees, with a view to achieving inspirational teaching, ground-breaking research, relevant innovation, and outstanding professional support. Training courses are an excellent way of boosting your current position or of preparing for your next career move. Every training course for the University’s employees can be found at the Centre for Training and Development. They have been categorised according to six themes: 

• Research, 
• Teaching,
• Language and communication,
• Leadership, 
• Career development, 
• Personal effectiveness. 

There is also a specific range of options for PhD students and postdocs. Take a look at your training course options on the Centre for Training and Development website.

Mentor program

If you would like to work on your career or other development with the help of a senior colleague, then you should consider the mentor program. In four discussions with your mentor, you have the opportunity to examine your personal career issues. This could deal with such questions as to how to expand your network? What are the unwritten rules at UT? How can I prepare for the next step in my career? It is also a chance to spar with your colleagues during peer-to-peer review sessions.

COACHING

Would you like to develop in the area of personal effectiveness or leadership? Or are you running into issues in your work where you feel you are not getting the best out of yourself? Coaching is a very effective and intensive way to support you in your development issues. A coach helps you distance yourself from your situation, see things from a broader perspective, and handle them. In coaching, your learning process is central. It may concern issues relating to your job or your personal development. We have various qualified coaches on offer for different questions, each with their expertise, e.g. leadership, communication, or self-assurance.

There are costs associated with a coaching process. Talk to your manager to find out together whether coaching suits your development at this time.

Is your job right for you, or is it time to move on?

Do you actually know where your talents, qualities, and ambitions lie?

Careers' advice can help you achieve a better understanding of who you are, what you are good at and what you are looking for from your work. The result will be concrete advice on what your next steps should be.

The process is as follows. First, the Career Development Centre conducts an intake interview. We then jointly decide on the next step. Short programmes are managed internally by the Career Development Centre advisors. For more detailed programmes, we work in partnership with various companies that specialise in career advice.

The more detailed programmes are not free of charge; you should discuss the options for embarking on one with your manager.

In the annual performance appraisal you have with your manager, you look at both your performance and your development. What competencies would you like to work on in order to be able to do your current or future work more effectively? Are you in the right job? What might a suitable next step be?

Your annual interview is also a good time to talk with your manager about how the two development days that form part of the Collective Labour Agreement are to be used. You can use these days for a wide range of activities that contribute to your personal development and deployability in the context of your current or future work.

You and your manager may conclude that you would benefit from personalised advice. If so, please contact the advisors at the Career Development Centre.

360-degree feedback

The Career Development Centre offers a range of tools that can help you during discussions on your development. For example, there is a 360-degree feedback instrument (Login to the UFO website, then you will find the digital feedback tool with a manual in the menu) in which you ask for and receive feedback from everyone you work with, manage, or who manages you. In other words, the feedback is more wide-ranging than what you receive from only your own manager.

Would you like to find out what developments are taking place in your field at universities abroad and would you like to learn from them? If you are planning to go abroad, you may be eligible for a grant. Visit the Staff Mobility website to explore your funding options. If you have found a suitable grant, discuss with your manager whether a visit to an international university would be a good investment for broadening your knowledge and experience.

Being on an internship or secondment involves working at a different location or even with a different organisation. This could be to gain fresh knowledge for your current position or as a means of exploring possible future options.

It is a good idea to consider beforehand the purpose of your internship or secondment and where this purpose can best be served. You should discuss this with your manager or HR advisor.

The initiative for finding a suitable place in or outside UT lies with you, so you should use your own network for this. The Career Development Centre can help you find a suitable place by using its regional networks or at universities in the Netherlands.

Are you curious to know what jobs are available at UT, or what the job requirements are? Then take a look at the UT Jobs Map. Here you can see what jobs there are at UT and whether there is something among them that you like. To give the UFO profiles a better idea of what a job entails, vacancies and old vacancies are also linked.

It is also possible to explore the various possibilities based on your competencies, under the heading Competences. If analytical ability is one of your core qualities, in which jobs does it come into its own? If you want to expand your self-insight on this first, take a look at Testjezelf.

To get a realistic picture of whether a position is right for you, a networking interview or a day's job shadowing can be useful. Feel free to contact the Career Development Centre for the possibilities. Or explore them together with your manager or HR adviser.

You can also ask for feedback on the competencies associated with the position you aspire to with a digital feedback tool, which can be found on the national UFO page. This will give you an impression of whether the requested competencies are already present or can be further developed.

Are you ready for the next step? The Job Alert will keep you informed of all vacancies at UT.

If you are about to apply for a job at or outside UT, good preparation is essential. What constitutes a good CV? How do you write a letter that grabs the reader’s attention? What kind of questions will you get asked during a job interview? How important is social media nowadays?

The Career Development Centre will give you feedback on your letter or CV, on request. There is also a special training course for PhDs and you can check out the Career planner by Academic Transfer.

Are you ready for the next step in your career?

If so, keep a close eye on the vacancies at UT. One way to do this is to sign up for a Job Alert. You will receive an email whenever a new vacancy arises at UT.

Would you like to stay up to date regarding other vacancies? For academic positions, see Academic Transfer (or Academic position or Research Gate) and for jobs elsewhere in the region, twente.com.

You, as a leader, take the time in (one-on-one) conversations to elaborate on what the other person truly needs. You challenge them to take control of their own development and that of the team. You realise that a diverse and inclusive team is a strength and you adapt your leadership style where necessary.

Discussing development can take place in any regular conversation, at the initiative of either party. By regularly discussing development, you gain insight into the qualities and development points of the employee and you as a manager are better able to provide support in this regard.

Relevant questions are: "What qualities does an employee have that could be better used? What aspects can an employee develop in order to improve his or her performance? What are the long-term aims with regard to his or her development? What would be a good next step from an employee’s current position, at UT or elsewhere?"

As a manager, you are one of the most important discussion partners when it comes to personal development. You have a clear idea of your employees’ performance and qualities and you can provide them with valuable feedback. In addition, you are in a position to encourage and facilitate their development. Employees themselves are in control of their own development and careers. For professional support with personal development and career-related questions, you can refer your employees to the Career Development Centre. They can use the centre for an obligation-free interview and get advice on relevant steps to take and activities.

In addition to discussing individual development with the employee, it is also important to work on your own development as a manager. You have an important role in the organization and this sometimes entails major responsibilities.

Take responsibility for your behaviour and actively engage in self-reflection and evaluation on your behaviour, viewpoints and methods. You are open to change, when necessary, and actively seek feedback from your colleagues.

You create space and time for your own development and well-being. You know how to be vulnerable. You can admit to not knowing everything yourself and you truly believe that you and your team are in it together. You know your own qualities and pitfalls and actively ask for feedback to reflect and grow. By doing so you lead by example.

You are not alone in your development, discuss your wishes and needs with your own manager and/or HR advisor and feel free to contact the Career Development Center for tailor-made advice.

A good time to discuss personal development is during the annual performance appraisal. During the interviews, you look not just at each employee’s performance, but also at how they wish to develop in both the short and long term. There is also room in the conversation for Recognition & Rewards and Well-being.

You are visible as a leader and you are not afraid to engage in difficult conversations and are comfortable in confronting people with their own behaviour. You evaluate the consequences of developments in an active and open way and incorporate ideas and opinions of others in your solutions. You take the time in (one-on-one) conversations to elaborate on what the other person truly needs.

To get a broader picture of the employee's development and performance, you have the option of using a 360-degree feedback instrument (Log in to the UFO website, then you will find the digital feedback tool with a manual in the menu.) This digital feedback instrument can be used by employees to ask the people he or she works with for feedback on pre-agreed competencies. The competencies in question could relate to the employee’s present university-job profile or those that belong to a possible next step. There is also room for giving open feedback in the form of tips and tops. Asking for and providing feedback can contribute to a transparent working environment in which open communication is central.

For assistance in conducting a development-based annual or other interview, you can always ask your HR advisor. 

As well as the development of individual employees, you are responsible for the development of your team as a whole.

Possible questions are: "What professionalisation is needed now that our services are changing? How can we make the team work together more effectively? How can we communicate better with each other in the team? How can we gain more insight into each other's talents and get to know each other better?"

Team development is important and can contribute to more efficient work and a better working atmosphere, but it is not always an easy process. As a manager, you can therefore use useful tools that you can quickly deploy yourself. There are also options for more support and longer team processes. You can contact the Career Development Centre for custom-made advice and support. Also view further information under Team development.

What is a team? Plus how do we collaborate effectively and inspiringly?

But what exactly is a team? Especially in this day and age, when everyone is part of multiple (project) groups and teams, it is a question to consider. The ingredients for a team are: a group of no more than about 8 people, working together towards a common result and relying on one another to achieve it. Does this sound like the teams you are either in or leading? And what can you do to strengthen your team as a whole?

The model below shows the 5 factors that contribute to team effectiveness. All factors are important and there are unlimited ways in which you can develop within them — after all, there is always room for growth. As for your own teams, see how you score on the various parts. Click on each factor for more information.

If you would like to work on one or more of these factors, please contact us.

The communication offering helps the team give and receive feedback, communicate effectively, respect and understand each other and exchange knowledge.

Does this offering not address your challenge?
Then contact the CDC for customised training.

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Tips

The Team & Talent programme helps maximise the use of talents within the team and place tasks and responsibilities in the right places.

Does this offering not address your challenge?
Then contact the CDC for customised training.

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Tips

Hybrid work helps you and your team collaborate with each other and stay engaged without being in the same room together.

Does this offering not address your challenge?
Then contact the CDC for customised training.

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Tips

The vision/objective package supports your team in formulating a common interest, making plans and goals, setting priorities and formulating the team's identity.

Does this offering not address your challenge?
Then contact the CDC for customised training.

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The collaboration programme will help you and your colleagues get to know each other better and work together on constructive cooperation and safety within the team.

Does this offering not address your challenge?
Then contact the CDC for customised training.

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Tips