Pitching your own professional development
How to convince your employer to support you in learning new product skills
In the hustle and bustle of a newsroom environment, it’s easy to overlook personal growth. For news product thinkers, particularly PMs, it can be challenging to advocate for yourself in order to pursue professional development opportunities. This is particularly true when there are limited resources or when there’s a delicate balance to navigate the complexities and politics of the workplace.
NPA Board Secretary, Elite Truong, recently shed light on the art and science of pitching your professional development as part of NPA’s community call on August 11, 2023. Elite, VP of Product Strategy at The American Press Institute, is an experienced product leader, technologist, and journalist focused on helping local news organizations drive revenue, create smart product and editorial strategies, and sustain a healthy culture.
Elite defines professional development as investing in your role and career with time and resources, both on the clock and off. This could include attending webinars, workshops, and conferences, and joining professional organizations like the News Product Alliance. It also entails continuous research, reading books and articles, developing your subject matter expertise, and learning frameworks to do work more effectively – just to name a few!
If you're looking to make a big ask — like asking your employer to support your participation in a training program like the News Product Management Certification (NPMC) — here are Elite's tips on how to advocate for yourself for your professional development :
1. Understanding the Spectrum of “the Ask”
Consider the full range of possibilities for professional development, what you now need and what your employer may be able to accommodate.
Small asks are generally in the low $100s and could entail participating in webinars and virtual workshops, free or low-cost courses, local conferences, books, and other resources.
Medium asks could be in the mid-$100s and include online conferences (e.g. NPA Summit) or regional conferences with travel. These options are especially helpful if you’re remote and remind your employer of the benefits of a distributed workforce.
Big asks are typically in the $1000s and could include national/international conferences with travel (e.g. ONA), employer-paid fellowships (e.g. Sulzberger, Nieman, etc.), or rigorous training programs to help you learn or cement new skill sets, such as a General Assembly course or the NPMC.
2. Interpreting Employer Attitudes
Observing your employer's responses to development requests can be telling. If they constantly appear too swamped to entertain such discussions, it might be a red flag about the organization's priorities and capacity to invest in their employees. Reading the room, and finding the right time to make – or hold off on an ask until circumstances are more optimal – is crucial.
3. Identifying the Decision Makers
Hint: It's not always the person you report to. Often, decisions related to professional growth come from HR or even higher up in the leadership chain. Understand this dynamic to pitch effectively. What are the relationships between you, your supervisor, and the decision-maker? Assess and reflect on how to best leverage your relationships.
4. Big Organizations, Big Opportunities?
While larger newsrooms might boast heftier professional development budgets, their bureaucratic processes can limit accessibility. Fresh faces in legacy organizations might feel particularly left out. While smaller newsrooms or organizations may have more restricted budgets, they often value existing employees learning new skills since it may have a proportionally greater impact on their team and bottom line.
5. Mastering the Art of Asking
The newsroom is a web of interconnections. Finding intersections where your growth can benefit multiple teams can be the key to unlocking those coveted growth opportunities. By leveraging these intersections, you can build a case that convinces multiple stakeholders.
Build your asks. Be clear on the return on investment (ROI): share lessons, and attribute future wins to the last time they invested in your development. It will be harder for a decision-maker to see the ROI for big asks if you haven’t looked at alternatives and lower-tier investments first.
6. Show and Tell
Your contributions mustn’t go unnoticed – keep a personal log of your achievements and how they further your organization’s goals. Importantly, the more visible you are in championing and sharing organizational successes, the more likely leaders are to invest in your growth. If leaders see your active participation and understand that you will share the insights you gain, they are likely to see the value in investing in you. Be generous with your time and skill-sharing!
7. Be Flexibly Goal-Oriented
Instead of locking yourself into one developmental trajectory, have a clear end goal and be open to various paths leading to it. This makes it easier for decision-makers to say 'yes' in tight situations, especially when budgets or other resources are constrained. Don’t know what you want yet? Network with others in your field whose career paths you are interested in learning more about. If you haven’t yet done so, join the NPA Slack, where you can easily connect with others in news product roles.
8. For the Decision Makers: Formalize Processes
Professional development shouldn't be an ad-hoc decision. Those in charge of approving professional development opportunities should aim to formalize processes, ensuring they are equitable and not just based on subjective feelings or the organization's immediate financial standing. Codify procedures and ensure fair access to opportunities.
9. Harnessing Niche Expertise
Dynamic teams thrive on specialization. Leaders should encourage their team members to delve deeper into areas of interest, ensuring that the team remains at the forefront of emerging trends, technologies, and practices. News product thinkers should stay up to date on the emerging areas of professional development and anticipate where their teams may benefit from or need these skills.
10. The Roadmap to Development
A clear roadmap for team members helps align personal growth with organizational vision. In Truong's experience, strategic goals, like mastering AI in local newsrooms, can drive targeted expertise. Professional development is a two-way street. While individuals must strategize their growth pitch, organizations too must recognize and facilitate the symbiotic benefits that arise from such investments.
Stay tuned with the News Product Alliance for more insights into navigating the ever-evolving world of newsroom dynamics and personal growth.
Are you looking for your next professional development opportunity in news product to help advance your career? Consider applying to the News Product Management Certification (NPMC), designed for news professionals to gain the product strategy, technical expertise, and change management skills necessary to lead news product development and innovation. Applications open on September 5, 2023!
