Using your progress to influence: tips to keep growing (and pay it forward)

At the start of your Prosper journey, you set a series of career goals. Now, you’ve reached a point in your journey where you can tick off (some or all of!) those goals.   
Firstly, take a moment to stop and reflect on your distance travelled. By their very nature, true goals push us beyond our comfort zone, to achieve things which we know will require resilience, drive, determination and consistency. You should be proud that you have managed to reach your goal and recognise the behaviours and attributes you have developed along the way.  

Now to ask – what comes next?  
Career development isn’t a one-off project. It’s a continuous, evolving process, shaped by your values, your strengths and experiences.  

The obvious first step should be to identify areas for ongoing development, appropriate to your new circumstances. You didn’t get here by accident, and you won’t reach your next opportunity by staying still. 

To support you in this process, you could start by asking yourself these questions: 

• What skills helped me get to this point?  
• What might I need to build for where I want to go next?
• What feels exciting, energising or meaningful now? 

You can use the values and priorities activities, which you’ll find on your Prosper dashboard to support your exploration – as well as https://prosper.liverpool.ac.uk/learning-development-clusters/skills-identification/.  

Remember, not all goals have to be dramatic. Maybe you have just switched sectors, or achieved a promotion, which can make the idea of setting another landmark goal seem daunting. So, choose goals which will simply keep you moving in the right direction. It could be to: 

• Build your professional network in a particular area (https://prosper.liverpool.ac.uk/postdoc-resources/explore/the-power-of-networking/);
• Lead a collaborative project (https://prosper.liverpool.ac.uk/learning-development-clusters/leadership/);
• Take on a new task or responsibility (https://prosper.liverpool.ac.uk/postdoc-resources/act/making-the-most-of-your-current-role/);
• Work more sustainably or with more balance.

We’ve linked some resources here to support with each of the above examples.  

The key thing is to regularly reflect, adjust, reshape, and keep aligning your goals with what matters to you. 

You have gained insight, perspective, confidence – which are not just valuable to your own journey, but could have a positive impact on others who are in a similar position to the one you found yourself in. Sharing your lessons learned is a practice which offers a growth opportunity to others, as well as providing you with a new skill set and even extending your own on network.  

How might you do this? The Prosper Ambassador community is one way. Being part of the community doesn’t require a formal commitment, it simply means you may be invited to: 

• Speak on a panel at Prosper or wider research culture events;
• Share your story as a case study or short testimonial;
• Support postdocs who are earlier in the journey. 

That said, it is not only through organised events, case studies or mentoring where your experiences can have impact. We have heard examples from various postdocs who have told us they share the reflective tools, and mindset shifts not only with colleagues, but with friends, partners, siblings, peers outside academia and anyone at a career crossroads.

Sometimes the most powerful change is quiet: a conversation, a question, a story shared at the right moment. 

To find out more about the Prosper Ambassador community, email prosper.postdoc@liverpool.ac.uk or join the list below.