This article reflects on the construct and practice of continuing professional development (CPD) and its significance for the professional careers workforce. The article presents the idea of the CPD triad and considers how professional bodies, employers and individuals can each benefit from a practitioner's ongoing commitment to continuing professional development. The tension between the practitioner's quest for lifelong learning is set against professional body demands, leading to the conclusion that these are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Consideration is given to propositional, practical and procedural knowledge, and to overall competence. The article explores an existentialist approach to professional learning, and concludes that, along with personal agency, this could usefully be adopted by career practitioners to weather turbulent times.