The value of deliberate career planning is highlighted by an extensive body of scientific literature. Research shows that people who develop and implement strategies to pursue career-specific goals achieve greater career success as measured by remuneration, promotions, and level of responsibility. They also report greater career satisfaction and rate themselves as more successful than their peers compared to those without career plans. A study of 7600 postdoctoral researchers found that, postdocs who developed training plans with their advisors at the start of their appointments, reported greater satisfaction, published more papers, and experienced fewer conflicts with those advisers.

A CDP can be very beneficial, because by developing, implementing and reviewing your plan, you will be able to:

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Anna was accepted as a PhD student at a University in Germany. Her supervisor suggested that they put together a Career Development Plan, as this was a pre-requisite of the University. Anna had no idea where to start, until she got her hands on the EURAXESS Career Handbook. She then decided to use SWOT analysis for her self-assessment, and the PIPERS resources to find out what skills she needs to develop and how she could go about it. She then created a draft Action Plan covering the duration of her PhD studies.

Mark has submitted his PhD thesis and is waiting for his Viva. Meanwhile, he’s contemplating what he should do next. He goes through the Handbook and decides to use the myIDP app for all the steps of his Career Development Plan. He also goes through the VITAE Researcher Career Stories and decides to pursue a career in Academia to gain a tenure track position. He uses the PIPERs resources to find out how he could develop the necessary skills, and the EURAXESS Jobs Database to find a postdoc position in his field.

Ruth is half way through a postdoc position she previously found via EURAXESS Jobs. She feels that she wants to see the results of her research taking actual shape, and she’s thinking of pursuing a career in industry. She goes through the Handbook​​​​​​ and decides to use the Career Development Toolkit for Researchers for her self-assessment. After flipping through a Booklet by Science Careers (Science Journal, AAAS) suggested in the Handbook, she decides that she wants to pursue a career in consultancy.

After finishing his PhD, Alain was able to secure a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship in Portugal. As part of his work during the fellowship, he needs to develop, in collaboration with his supervisor, a Career Development Plan. With the help of the Handbook, he uses the NPA Core Competencies Self-Assessment Checklist to identify the skills he needs to cultivate and puts together an Action Plan.