Think about your career aspirations and the skills and relationships you’ll need to succeed in the next 3–5 years. Use AI prompts to uncover skills and networks you may not have considered.

• What are my future career aspirations?
• What skills are critical for my role today?
• What future skills (AI literacy, digital fluency, data skills, adaptability, collaboration, change leadership) should I start building now?
• What interests me most?
• Who do I need in my network to broaden my perspective and influence?

AI as Your Thought Partner: Suggested Prompts

• What skills will matter most for my role 3-5 years from now?
• What emerging skills in higher education and administration should I start developing to future-proof my career?
• Based on my role description and department goals, suggest 3–5 skills that are becoming more important.
• Suggest colleagues or professional groups I should connect with to expand my network.
• Ask me five questions to help me uncover blind spots in my performance.
• Based on my EPMS feedback and coaching notes, create a SWOT analysis of my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Compare the skills in my PD to my supervisor’s PD. What gaps should I work on if I want to advance?
• What learning or training would help me prepare for my future goals, or perform better in my current job? Given my role (upload position description) and my department goals (upload or paste goals), suggest 3–5 skills that are becoming more important.

Coaching Guide: Employees could bring these outputs to their manager and ask:
Do you agree with these strengths and gaps? Which should I prioritize?

Prioritize What Matters Most

Identify aspirations, skills, and relationships that matter for success now and in the future. Align with your values, interests, and long-term direction.

Turn Priorities into SMART Goals

• Include at least one long-term goal (3–5 years) tied to a future skill or relationship.
• Add short-term goals (1–2 years) tied to immediate performance or networking needs.
• Work with your manager to set priorities and connect goals to USC’s success.

The most effective goals are SMART:

• S – Specific
• M – Measurable
• A – Achievable
• R – Relevant/Realistic
• T – Time-bound

Goals drive personal and professional success.

• Clear goals boost motivation, focus, and productivity.
• Defined goals show managers’ commitment to employee growth.
• SMART goals reduce stress, clarify priorities, and deliver stronger results.

Types of Goals

• Personal Goals – Skills or activities that enhance your personal life and well-being (e.g., time management to balance work and home).
• Professional Goals – Activities that strengthen effectiveness in your current role (e.g., improving computer skills for data reporting).
• Career Goals – Development activities that advance your career beyond your current role (e.g., earning a certification or degree).
• Networking & Relationships – Building connections to broaden your perspective, strengthen collaboration, or expand influence (e.g., joining a cross-campus committee or finding a mentor).

AI as Your Thought Partner: Suggested Prompts

Clarifying Priorities

• Help me brainstorm the top skills I should develop in my current role to be more effective.
• What skills are most important for someone in [your role/field] to succeed over the next 3–5 years?
• Based on these three areas I want to grow in — [list areas] — which should I prioritize first?

Writing SMART Goals

• Turn this draft into a SMART long-term goal for building [digital fluency].
• Turn this into a SMART long-term goal for building my professional network.
• Rewrite this goal so it’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound: [insert draft goal].
• Give me an example of a short-term SMART goal for improving [skill].
• Help me create a long-term career development goal for [desired career path].

Personal, Professional, and Career Goals

• Suggest a few examples of personal goals that would support better time management.
• What are some professional development goals that would make me more effective in my current role?
• What networking goals would help me prepare for future leadership roles?
• Give me examples of career goals for someone who wants to advance into [future role].
• What professional development goals will help me prepare for leadership roles in the future?

Aligning with Organizational Impact

• How could improving [specific skill] benefit both me and my department at USC?
• Reframe this goal so it shows how it supports my college/division’s priorities: [insert draft goal].
• Rewrite this skill-development goal so it’s SMART and aligned to USC priorities.
  
  

Choose activities that help you perform better today, build future skills, and strengthen relationships.

Examples of Development Opportunities

• Education: degree programs, digital credentials, technical upskilling
• AI + Skills Practice Labs, Playbooks, and workshops (OPD & USC partners)
• Challenging assignments, growth-focused projects, cross-unit assignments, or innovation task forces
• Professional certifications (e.g., Project Management, PHR/SPHR, Microsoft)
• Mentoring, job shadowing, or reverse mentoring for digital skills
• Conferences, associations, faculty/staff senate, or community leadership roles
• Audio books, podcasts, or online courses
• Professional conferences and discipline-specific seminars
• Service on committees, professional associations, faculty or staff senate
• Service on your homeowner’s association, a church committee, a volunteer organization
• Professional organization memberships
• Other growth opportunities

Choose activities that directly build the skills linked to your goals and that excite you or fit your work style.

Best Practices

• Balance long-term learning (certifications, degrees) with short-term wins (workshops, projects).
• Consider availability (time, funding, flexibility) when selecting activities.
• Look for opportunities to broaden your experience beyond your department.

AI as Your Thought Partner: Suggested Prompts

• Suggest 5 learning experiences (courses, stretch tasks, projects, AI+Skills, etc.) that would help me build skill X.
• Estimate how long each of these activities might take, their effort, cost, and potential impact.
• Which activities could broaden my experience outside my department?
• What colleagues or mentors could I collaborate with to grow skill Y?
• Suggest 5 learning or networking activities that would help me build skill X and expand my connections.
• Which activities could broaden my experience outside my department?
• What mentors or colleagues should I collaborate with to grow skill Y?

Sustain momentum by setting clear measures and timelines for both skills and networks.

• Define success criteria: How will you know you’ve built the skill or strengthened the relationship?
• Set milestones: Courses completed, dashboards delivered, new mentors identified, committees joined.
• Establish target dates to celebrate short-term wins and keep moving toward long-term growth.

AI as Your Thought Partner: Suggested Prompts

• For my networking goal, suggest measurable indicators to track progress (e.g., number of new cross-campus collaborations).
• For my goal of improving skill X, suggest measurable indicators to track progress.
• What would success look like in 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year?
• Help me build a timeline of milestones to reach my long-term goal.

Success means applying new skills on the job and leveraging new relationships for impact.

• Track what you’ve completed and how you’ve applied it.
• Ask: Am I building both my capabilities and my network for the future?
• Adjust based on results, feedback, and shifting priorities.
• Use the Results section of the IDP form [PDF] to:
  • Note completed tasks and milestones.
  • Document how new skills have been applied.
  • Identify areas for improvement.
  • Capture encouragement and recognition.

Reflection Questions:

• Am I applying new skills in my daily work?
• Are my activities delivering the results I intended?
• What’s working well? Where do I need more support?
• What adjustments are needed?

AI as Your Thought Partner: Suggested Prompts

• Ask me reflection questions to assess how much of the new skill I’m applying in my work.
• Suggest ways to gather feedback from colleagues or managers about my growth in skill X.
• Help me adjust my plan if I’m falling behind or if priorities change.

Reflection & Action Snapshot

• My Top 3 Growth Areas (including at least 1 future skill or relationship):
• SMART Goal I’ll Focus on First:
• Activities I’ll Start This Month:

AI as Your Thought Partner: Suggested Prompts

• How can I use AI and MS 365 Tools to stay on track?
• How can AI help me save time on routine tasks?
• Which MS 365 tool (Teams, Planner, OneNote, Outlook, etc.) will I use to stay organized?
• What’s one area of my work where AI could give me a head start (e.g., drafting, summarizing, analyzing)?
• How can I combine AI with MS 365 to keep myself and my team accountable?
• What new habit will I try with AI or MS 365 to stay focused on my goals?