How to Ask for Money for Professional Development - The Muse

How to Ask for Money for Professional Development - The MuseHow to Ask for Money for Professional DevelopmentYou somehow missed the class on navigating Excel spreadsheets. You dont know how to read HTML. You dont have the first clue how to fix or even size a photo in Photoshop. While not integral to yur daily role, these things keep popping up, and you groan inwardly every time they do. You see, you really should know the basics of creating a PowerPoint presentation by this point. You ought to have a handle on spreadsheet formulas by now. You cant keep relying on your co-worker to do it for you- how many favors do you owe him at this point?If you feel youre missing a key skill thats bound to help you on your chosen career path, or at least not hold you back from getting ahead and kicking butt at work, you need to fill in the gap. If youre certain that a conference or class will motivate you like nothing else, but, well, you dont exactly have any extra money in the bank to pay for it, why not ask your boss if theres money for professional development. (Provided of course, youve ruled out the option of finding one for free).The only caveat Be careful not to pursue a skill that you should already know how to do. Growing into and beyond your role is one thing. Demonstrating that you dont know what you were essentially hired to do is another kind of conversation altogether.Assuming thats not the case, here are two different email templates, depending on what kind of company you work at If Your Company Has a Professional Development BudgetHiName of Boss,That was a great and insightful kollektiv meeting we had last week. In fact, your follow-up email about the future of our product as far as our team is concerned got me thinking that Id really like to have a better, stronger sense of industry trends.I came across this speaking event link to the event, and there are still some tickets left Based on the description, I think it would be an excellent out-of-office learnin g opportunity, and Im confident Id come back with item youre hoping to learn/gain from attending event.Please let me know if theres budget available for me to attend. If we cant cover the entire thing, but I can be reimbursed for part of it, that might work. Keep me posted Thanks so much.Best,Your NameIf Youre Not Sure if Theres a BudgetHiName of Boss, Im so pleased that the team has taken an interest in enhancing the design and feel of our marketing materials with limited professional design help. Ive never been much of an artist, but I have to admit Im enjoying the free software tools weve been introduced to this quarter. I do, however, think that I could really up my creative skill set and work faster if I took a related course. I looked up a few options and heres what I found include links to courses youd be interested in pursuing.Weve never discussed whether or not theres team budget for this, so I dont want to get ahead of myself, but the price point is a bit out of my persona l reach. If theres a way for me to enroll in the course and be reimbursed for the professional development, I would love that. Id be eager to share my learnings with the group as wellI completely understand if we dont have the resources for this at this time will you please let me know if anything changes?ThanksYour NameThe idea with these inquiries is that it doesnt hurt to ask. At the very least, you demonstrate to your manager that you care about your job and youre interested in what ways you can further excel in it. After all, youre not demanding reimbursement. Youre not refusing to do your job unless. Youre simply drafting an email and starting a dialogue. The worst that can happen is that your boss turns you down because the budget simply isnt available. But the best? You get a yes and start getting even further ahead.