Urban Planner Career Fundamentals Course

This module will let you know how to navigate the course and how to get the most out of the trainings, request additional trainings, and access regular live hot seat coaching and additional training workshops for course community members.

It’s important to know where you want to go with your planning career so you can get there as quickly, efficiently, and effectively as possible. This module will take you through all of the steps to get clarity around your planning career, explore different career path options (areas and niches within the broad field of planning), and establish a vision for your career.

Networking is something that can feel intimidating or uncomfortable for planners but is an essential element for career fulfilment and success. More opportunities open up, the more quality professional relationships you have. Nearly 70% of job opportunities are in the “hidden job market” and are never advertised. This module will walk you through tips and strategies to grow and leverage your network strategically as well as identify a circle of planning mentors. 

Marketing yourself effectively for planning roles starts with finding the right planning job opportunities to begin with. This module will help you to identify the the best planning job opportunities for you, establish a strong web presence and professional brand, as well as effective resumes and cover letters, and learn a trusted process for managing your job search well. 

Once you have some interviews on the horizon, this module will walk you through the basics of interview preparation including strategies for making sure you are adequately prepared to stand out and shine in interviews, as well as make the most of your interview experiences. This module also contains training on negotiations.

This module focuses on the basics of strategic professional development, including how to close skill, knowledge, and experience gaps to help you market yourself for and transition into a new planning role. Also included is a bonus workshop for goal setting and career mapping so you can plan forward once you have landed your dream planning role!

Absolutely! In addition to supporting practicing planners or recent graduates, this course is perfect for helping students get set up for success with their job search and for launching a successful and fulfilling career, whether that’s an internship or a permanent urban planning job. 

Yes! This course covers in detail how to make strong job applications. What I've found from years of coaching planners in landing roles is that it's usually a combination of factors that helps planners and aspiring planners to successfully land roles and that it's not just one thing like having a great resume or being really good at interviews. The UPCF course covers all of the "keys" to being successful in marketing yourself for ideal roles (not just any role!). 

This course is based on what strategies have worked for most of my coaching clients in the North American job market and planning field (predominantly the U.S. and Canada) and may not be as helpful for those looking to practice or land jobs in other geographic job markets. That said, I have supported clients in other countries with landing roles in those specific geographies so may be able to provide support in another way. Please reach out to me directly to discuss your situation further. 

In most cases, yes. I have worked with those in traditional planning roles as well as adjacent roles to advance their careers and successfully pursue new job opportunities or paths. Planning is a really broad field and the content in the course is broadly applicable no matter which area of practice you are focused on. Many of the strategies and approaches may also be helpful generally speaking for professionals in any industry. That said, it is a course of "planning career fundamentals" so much of the information is tailored for a planning audience. 

This course will benefit predominantly anyone in the early to mid- stages of their career, or who may be in a later stage of their career but have been in the same work environment or role for quite some time and are looking to make a pivot. The strategies are helpful no matter what stage of your planning career you are at. Many of the clients and community members I have worked with over the past several years have used and applied these same tried and tested strategies again and again to continue to advance their career substantially. 

Some individualized support is provided through access to live hot seat coaching sessions and on-demand trainings based on community feedback. This course is intended to provide participants with the “fundamentals” they need to know to support them in launching, growing, or making a transition in their careers, in an accessible and on-demand format. Included with course community membership is also special access for course member only live events and trainings, and discounted private coaching options. I am confident course participants will walk away with many applied strategies by the end of the course, no matter their specific situation.

The course can be completed at your own pace and is flexible so you can focus on areas specific to your needs with the time you have to dedicate. Inside the course, there are over 15 hours of recorded trainings and bonus materials, plus exercises and resources to support implementation. 

If you are taking full advantage of the course and implementing the lessons, you will likely spend quite a bit of time taking action and working on various aspects of gaining clarity around your career path, networking, marketing yourself effectively, and developing yourself professionally. 

All course members will get 6-months of access to the course, all materials, and live support opportunities, from the time they sign up.