Strategic Career Planning for Library Professionals

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take the next step, Strategic Career Planning for Library Professionals is designed to help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and intention. This course supports library workers at every stage in defining career goals, recognizing their strengths, and preparing for new opportunities in a changing profession. 

Through guided career mapping, reflection, and real-world leadership practice, participants will develop practical strategies to set meaningful goals, identify and leverage transferable skills, and engage more fully in professional communities. 

The course emphasizes leadership at any level, focusing on how to lead effectively from where you are rather than waiting for a formal title or role change. Participants will also address common challenges such as imposter syndrome and job-seeking anxiety, with the goal of navigating career transitions with greater confidence. 

Course participants can expect to learn:

• Career clarity and intentional goal setting 
• Leading from where you are 
• Articulating professional value and navigating transitions 
• Sustainability, boundary-setting, and long-term resilience 

By the end of the course, participants will feel better equipped to focus their time and energy, communicate their value, and adapt to change with less stress, supporting both personal growth and stronger service to their communities. 

Course Description:
This 4-week course will provide a weekly structured, asynchronous learning experience that combines curated readings and resources, application activities, and reflective discussion forums. Through assignments and discussions, participants will apply course concepts directly to their own career context, including career mapping, articulating professional value, exploring leadership opportunities, and developing sustainability strategies.  

Additionally, the course will include two live 60-minute online sessions:

• Tuesday 4/21/26 @ 10AM Pacific Time (11:00 AM MST, 12:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM EST) 
• Tuesday 5/5/26 @ 10AM Pacific Time (11:00 AM MST, 12:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM EST) 

Please make every effort to ensure that you are able to attend these two meetings before enrolling in the course. If this is not possible, archived recordings will be made available. 

Course Outline: When you log in to the Infopeople online learning site, you will see weekly modules with these topics: 

• Week 1:  Career Clarity and Intentional Goal Setting 
  • Assess current skills, experiences, and interests in relation to short- and long-term career aspirations. 
  • Develop a personalized career map that identifies professional goals, transferable skills, and concrete action steps. 
  • Apply reflective decision-making techniques to evaluate career options and ensure alignment with personal values and priorities. 
     
• Week 2:  Leading from Where You Are 
  • Apply leadership behaviors from any position by identifying opportunities to demonstrate initiative, influence, and impact within their current roles. 
  • Adopt an opportunity-minded approach to career growth by recognizing and leveraging informal leadership opportunities and stretch assignments. 
  • Engage strategically in professional organizations and networks by identifying service and leadership roles aligned with career goals. 
     
• Week 3: Articulating Professional Value and Navigating Transitions   
  • Evaluate and clearly articulate professional value through skills, accomplishments, and leadership experiences for resumes, interviews, and networking. 
  • Identify and address imposter syndrome and job-seeking anxiety using evidence-based strategies to increase confidence and readiness for career transitions. 
  • Assess skill gaps and development needs and prioritize targeted professional growth activities. 
     
• Week 4:  Sustainability, Boundaries, and Long-Term Resilience  
  • Demonstrate effective boundary-setting strategies to manage workload, expectations, and professional responsibilities. 
  • Create a personalized self-care and resilience plan that supports long-term career satisfaction and leadership effectiveness. 
  • Integrate sustainability practices into career and leadership planning to reduce burnout and support continued growth with clarity and purpose. 

Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 ½ hours per week, for a total of ten course hours. Each week's module contains various options for assignments, discussions, or online meetings. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.  

 Who Should Take This Course: This course is designed for librarians, library administrators, and paraprofessionals across all departments. It is particularly valuable for early-career and mid-career library professionals looking to define their goals and recognize their strengths.

Do you work in a rural or tribal library? If so, you may be eligible for a course fee waiver for this course. This Infopeople course has up to five no-cost seats allocated for rural or tribal libraries. Fill out a fee waiver request, and if a no-cost seat is available you will be notified via email.