Encl. (3) to COMDTINST 5357.1A
Individual Development Plan (IDP) User Guide for
Civilians/Officers/Auxiliarists
What resources are available to help me?
Conduct research pertaining to any occupations, assignments or
positions that you desire. An excellent way to find information on
federal government occupations and positions is at
http://www.opm.gov. To explore the different types of occupations
select Career Opportunities. An excellent way to find information on
officer assignments and issues is at the Coast Guard Personnel
Command's web site at
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cgpc/opm/opmmain.htm. Next, determine
what knowledge, skills, and abilities you need to develop.
Draft your initial IDP following the steps in "The IDP Form" before
moving to the next steps. Doing so will enable a career counselor,
advisor, or supervisor to better understand your individual needs
and goals.
Step 2: Meeting with
Meeting with a career counselor or advisor is optional. However,
a Career Counselor
the objective of meeting with a career counselor is to review the
information you have collected and developed so far, conduct a
commercial self-assessment if you desire, and learn about goal
setting, career fields, and career development resources that are
available. A counselor can also assist you with documenting your
goals and determining which competencies you need to develop
to reach them.
The advantage of working with a Career Development Advisor
(CDA), Command Staff Advisor (CSA), Education Services
Officer (ESO) or Transition/Relocation Manager (TRM) is that they
can often help you learn about opportunities that are available to
personnel through the Coast Guard or external sources. They can
also inform you about learning activities that may include formal
training, a developmental assignment, on the job training, books to
read, etc. They can even work with you to link the appropriate
developmental activity to the competency and goals. Keep in
mind that you may not find the answer to all your needs or
questions from one person since the roles of each of the
positions listed vary depending upon their specific role/function
in the Coast Guard. You may need to work with several different
types of career counselors or advisors to find the information you
need to complete your IDP. See "Who Can Help?" on page 8 for
more information on the services of a CSA, CDA, ESO, or TRM.
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