We live in an age of information where it is relatively simple and often inexpensive to learn new skills. Sometimes it can be as simple as typing in a google search or finding a tutorial on YouTube. It is fair to say that most of us wish to add to our level of knowledge or discover how to do new things. Often your employer can be very slow to upskill you in the workplace and you might feel that this is holding you back.
You can speed up your development and potentially advance your career more quickly by simply upskilling yourself. By doing so you will also make yourself more employable as your broad repertoire of skills will separate you from the pack. So, what are some of the things you could be doing?
Learning a New Language
It has never been so easy to start learning a new language. As native English speakers many of us have no or at least very limited knowledge of any additional languages due to the widespread use of English. By picking up an additional language you will be making yourself stand out and will be far more attractive to an employer.
Living in a globalised age there are far more opportunities to travel in people’s careers and thus the ability to speak more than one language becomes even more valuable. Many companies have branches spread all across the world and you may open up the chance to work in another country by knowing the local dialect.
There are so many phone apps and computer programs available nowadays to get you started and if you would rather go to classes these are relatively common too. Upskill yourself by learning at least one extra language and even if it is just at a basic level it will make you a more favourable proposition to any employer.
Read, Read, Read
Whether you read books or off a computer or tablet screen the basis of learning new skills and information still comes through reading. By absorbing knowledge continually, you will start to consciously learn new things but also subconsciously.
You will find yourself in situations where you just know something you didn’t realise you did or are able to figure it out due to exposure to similar information or having just taken something in without realising.
You should try reading specific books connected to the area you wish to upskill yourself in as much as possible. Focusing down into a subject will open up more and more paths to follow and you should try looking at famous people’s biographies and such as well.
Find A Trainer
You need to find somebody to supervise you and help steer you along the right path. If you can find a mentor, then you will be putting yourself at a massive advantage over others. They do not necessarily have to be a professional trainer or coach and could just be somebody who has retired or just somebody with more experience than yourself.
You can even do this through training seminars with free personal development courses available which will help you to upskill yourself from your own home. The sharing of knowledge is one of the greatest ways to learn new things so any sort of interaction with a trainer will be of massive benefit to you.
Find somebody who you feel comfortable with and who sees things slightly different to yourself. You don’t always have to agree with absolutely everything they suggest and having a difference in opinions can actually prove to be very valuable.