I was recently watching my favorite team, the 49ers play football.  Listening to the commentators discuss the extensive training professional football players put in to their careers made me start to think what if we all looked at ourselves as professional athletes within our own field of expertise.  You see, a football player understands that he is the product.  As mere civilians working the daily grind we are all so focused on creating the product that we do not focus on our own product—us.

Just like all good products, we need to constantly refine ourselves, become better, more appealing to the market.  When a football player is cut from one team they look to get picked up by another team.  But if they have not continued a training regimen to stay highly marketable then they will be passed up.

When you look at it from this perspective you immediately have a serious commitment to prioritize the continued development of your number one commodity–you.  

So what would your own training regimen consist of?

There are certain skills like communication, time management and organization, teamwork, creativity and leadership are transferable and sought by all employers.  But there are other, more specific components you should include in your strength building plan.

Industry Advances- Identify and join one or two industry associations.  Then block out at minimum 30 minutes each week to catch up on the latest information about your field.  The associations should provide you with additional training alerts.  Pay attention to training that might be worth your while. 

Position Development- Within your own position, what are your current areas of weakness?  For instance, there are several areas of expertise within human resources—recruitment, training, compensation, benefits, etc.  To be a well rounded HR professional it should be a goal to gain knowledge and experience within each area.  Talk to your manager about taking on additional responsibilities and let them know that you are interested in continued growth.

Brand Building- It is also extremely important to development your brand name among your targeted audience.  You must make a concerted effort to seek out ways to build your brand.  One way to do so is to respond to discussion topics within your field.  You want to look for ways to get your name out there.  For a more detailed discussion on brand building see archived blogs.  

The professionals who will be most successful at navigating the twists and turns thrown at them throughout their career will be those who recognize they are the product– just like professional athletes.