A Look Inside the Professional Development Programs Powering Employee Growth at 3 Colorado Companies

For jobseekers ready to take the next step in their careers, professional development opportunities promise the potential for growth with a new employer.
Written by Brigid Hogan
February 28, 2023Updated: February 28, 2023

When viewers in the United States turned on a new Netflix show last year, they saw a two-year-old boy walking to the grocery store and making purchases for his mom, two three-year-old friends buying dumplings and venturing to a shrine for amulets together and a four-year-old girl taking the bus to visit her mother in the hospital. These episodes aren’t dramatized — each highlights a real Japanese toddler running errands.

The show, known in the United States as Old Enough!, sparked shock and amazement at the trust the featured parents placed in both their young children and the communities around them, but these outings aren’t surprising to Japanese audiences. These children’s journeys are made simpler by structures around childhood mobility including pre-planned safe routes set up by parental groups, cultural norms around tight-knit communities and intentional planning that includes mixed-use development that shortens the distance between the child’s home and destination.

The lesson job seekers and companies alike can take from Japanese toddlers? With planning, preparation and encouragement to learn, individuals can reshape their expectations and accomplish more than previously imagined –– much more.

Offering robust professional development opportunities can be a transformative tool for powering tremendous growth for employees, helping them to level-up their careers and unlock possibilities for their teams, as well.

According to Janni Conrad, an associate product manager at BombBomb, her colleagues are encouraged to seek development opportunities that best suit their own goals. “I’ve seen co-workers pursue their PMP certifications, tackle Reforge classes of all varieties and attend conferences to gain new insights and meet other experts in their field,” she said.

For Conrad, that support has helped her advance, both in growth along a career pathway and a lateral move that she made in order to follow her interests.

BombBomb isn’t the only Colorado company offering robust professional development opportunities to its employees. Built In spoke with Conrad alongside Arjun Kumar at Wunder and Erika Edrington at Trustpilot about how their workplaces have supported their growth with benefits meant to help them level up.


 

Arjun Kumar
Principal, Project Development • Wunder

What are some of the coolest professional development opportunities Wunder offers?

At Wunder, we seek to create an environment in which we all want to work, thrive and grow. As a rapidly growing company, we must all grow alongside the business. If we all commit to methodical and deliberate growth, the individuals who make up our team today will be the future leaders of our clean economy tomorrow. Our operating principles are designed to guide us in all of our pursuits, and professional development is no exception. Therefore, Wunder offers a flexible professional development framework to help team members reach their goals both inside and outside of the office. Wunder team members can use their funding for conferences and training or scuba diving certifications and flight lessons — the only requirement is “as long as you’re learning.”

The only requirement is ‘as long as you’re learning.’”

 

How has Wunder played a role in supporting and nurturing your career growth?

This past year, I wanted to focus on learning more about the wider renewable energy industry, so I spent my budget on the Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellowship. This program is built for early- and mid-career professionals to learn about various clean energy technologies, market policy and the inequities that exist in our present day energy system. While it was challenging to balance the meetings, readings, and work involved with participating in CELI, my team at Wunder encouraged my participation in the program. 

The biggest impact was the fellowship’s emphasis on energy equity and justice. The speakers and weekly readings provided insights into challenges in the energy transition as it pertains to rate design, equitable access and reliability. As such, I decided to focus my capstone project on Solar Supply Chain Ethics, which is my very first published opinion piece. 

 

Looking ahead, what new skills or competencies are you hoping to develop? And how will Wunder help you achieve those goals?

This year, I'm enrolled in two courses to work on building my skills in Ruby on Rails and financial modeling for energy storage, both of which I’ll need as I continue to grow within my role. The remainder of my development budget will either be spent on fees on membership associations and conferences or leadership coaching and mentorship; or perhaps even on courses toward a FAA drone pilot certification for landscape photography and deepening my knowledge on surveying with drones.

 

 

Erika Edrington
Global Talent Partner • Trustpilot

What are some of the coolest professional development opportunities Trustpilot offers?

One of my favorite development opportunities offered at Trustpilot is our “Aspiring Leaders” program. The program gives individual contributors interested in leadership the opportunity to explore if advancing into a management role is right for them. The team keeps it really experiential — actors are even brought in to bring case studies to life. It’s one of our most popular programs and a really fun one to help facilitate.

 

How has Trustpilot played a role in supporting and nurturing your career growth?

I had the opportunity to get a coaching certification through an external program last year. It was great to meet other professionals in the industry and gain more confidence in my coaching skills. The whole talent development team participated, and I’ve noticed a big difference in how we coach within the business and facilitate coaching skills with leaders. It’s a skill I know I’ll use throughout my career.

 

Looking ahead, what new skills or competencies are you hoping to develop? And how will Trustpilot help you achieve those goals?

I’ve been learning a lot more about talent management as a whole, and it’s been great to have access to so many knowledgeable Trusties on the people team. Having exposure to people who are willing to connect, answer questions and share their experiences is invaluable. I’ve also loved being able to jump into a LinkedIn Learning course or listen to a Blinkist summary when I need a refresh or want to explore new skills in the space.

 

 

 

Janni Conrad
Associate Product Manager • BombBomb

What are some of the coolest professional development opportunities BombBomb offers?

I had the opportunity to support our mission to re-humanize the planet by taking a course in corporate social responsibility through University of Colorado Boulder. This class helped me connect my background in the nonprofit and public sectors to my role at BombBomb on the marketing team. I drew connections from past experience to create and find new value as our marketing campaign manager. Leaving this opportunity, I gained a new network of driven professionals as well as a certificate from CU Leeds School of Business. 

Now, a year later, I am constantly learning in a new role on our product team. I got certified as a Scrum product owner through “Passionate Product Leadership” with Jeff Patton — a must-have experience. Even in a busy phase of business, I am able to supplement my continued development with access to Reforge coursework and online courses. 


 

How has BombBomb played a role in supporting and nurturing your career growth?

I started at BombBomb in July 2020 as a marketing campaign specialist. As I grew in my understanding of marketing automation, email marketing and marketing operations, I became our marketing campaign manager. I achieved this largely through trial by fire, learning from those around me and the continued support of my colleagues. 

Eventually, I found myself drawn to growth marketing. When an associate product manager role opened, specifically focused on our growth efforts, I was excited to learn more and explore a new opportunity. Now, nearly a year into that role, I couldn’t be more pleased. I love exploring the world of product development, product-led growth and working in close collaboration across every department of our company. Through that network of peers, I am constantly challenged, perpetually learning and being driven to grow. 

The amazing professional development opportunities I have been afforded stand out to me on my journey, but I value even more the people around me who have taught, mentored and supported my growth. In my experience at BombBomb, if you work hard, express curiosity and push for growth, you will find it. 

I am constantly challenged, perpetually learning and being driven to grow.”
 

Looking ahead, what new skills or competencies are you hoping to develop? And how will BombBomb help you achieve those goals?

I am in a high-growth position as an associate product manager — inherently aiming to reach the title of product manager. In order to measure my progress, I have a clear set of objectives and competencies that support me in this journey. They provide clarity and alignment in my professional development, enabling my supervisor and I to have shared language and understanding. We focus on the pillars of product knowledge as well as process, skills, and techniques and people skills and responsibility. 

I’m currently concentrating on process, skills and techniques, especially in strategy and optimization. I’ve received great feedback from our leadership to continue to develop better perspectives and frameworks when I consider the long-term strategy of my team. The same applies to optimization — when I first started as an APM, this was a difficult skill to practice as I was simply learning the job. Now, I am able to concentrate on optimization and have more releases with which to iterate. At this moment, most of my growth comes via a structured growth ladder, actionable feedback and the opportunity to improve with more exposure to different types and scopes of releases. 

 

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