DevelopMe 2.0 creates opportunities for growth at Purdue

Human Resources is offering a new take on an existing professional development program for staff interested in opportunities for advancement on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus.

DevelopMe 2.0 is a cohort-based career exploration program that provides staff with mentoring, coaching, networking and job shadowing opportunities over a span of four to six months. The program supports the Equity Task Force initiative of Purdue’s Next Moves by providing expanded mentoring and community-building options and enhanced career development opportunities for Black staff.

Derived from DevelopMe, a program that fosters an independent approach to career development, DevelopMe 2.0 allows staff to connect with other participants in their cohort and meet with two Purdue employee mentors of their choice.

Before selecting their mentors, members of the cohort complete a 30-question career initiative assessment, which introduces them to behaviors that increase job satisfaction and enhance future career possibilities. Participants then build a career plan by identifying their work and project preferences, creating short-term and long-term goals, assessing their work-life values and skill sets and seeking out relevant career options within the university.

The program has two active cohorts and is set to graduate its first participants in December. After graduating, DevelopMe 2.0 alumni will continue to work with Human Resources to strategically build their careers.

“DevelopMe 2.0 will help staff members establish a career strategy and build the networks needed to attain their career strategy,” says Adedayo Adeniyi, director of leadership and organizational development. “We have made some changes based on the experiences from the first cohort, and the feedback has been positive.” 

Theresa Martin, assessment systems and specialized accreditation lead for the Institutional Data Analytics + Assessment office, enrolled in the program earlier this year with the goal of advancing her leadership skills. She’s found that the program stays true to its name.

“I think this program specifically is very important because it gets you in touch with some folks high up on the food chain — if you choose them — who have so much knowledge to share and are very generous with that knowledge,” Martin says. “It helps develop you, and they introduce you to other folks that you would not have known. I think it’s a win-win on both sides, from what I’ve seen.”

Registration for the next DevelopMe 2.0 cohort will open in February, and program meetings will begin in April. Full-time and part-time staff with one or more years of service and successful performance are eligible to enroll. Participation is limited to 25 individuals.

Questions about the program can be directed to lod@purdue.edu.