Want to keep learning and developing your knowledge? Here are a few ways you can boost your skills as a Young Professional!
If you are an ambitious young professional, you are likely already thinking about how you can move towards your short, medium, and long-term career goals. No matter where you are in your journey, it’s never too early to start thinking ahead and planning your career development.
Perhaps you have asked your workplace for more training and development, but have been told that there is not currently the budget or capacity to provide it. If this is the case, don’t despair. There are still lots of things you can do to develop yourself, improve your skills, and further your career.
Read on to learn about a few of them.
Volunteer
Volunteering is any kind of work that you do without being paid, and is usually associated with charities, good causes, and not-for-profit organisations. If you want to develop your skills in a particular area or make your CV more impressive for when you go for that next promotion, volunteering is a great way to do it.
Try to find volunteering opportunities that directly align with your career goals. For example, if you are in the marketing field, why not offer to take on social media management or content creation for a local charity or community organisation? Or if you’re interested in events management, you could offer to work at a fundraising event.
Volunteering of any kind looks great on your CV but, if you’re smart about it, it can also be an amazing career development and learning opportunity.
Job-Shadow a Colleague
If your company does not have any funds for additional training, they may be willing to allow you to do a day (or more) of job shadowing with a more experienced colleague. Job shadowing involves observing a person in their role, and sometimes taking on (or assisting with) tasks alongside them in a limited capacity.
Job shadowing costs nothing other than your time, and is a fantastic way to learn more about other areas of the business. It’s also a great way to get a sense of whether a particular career path might be right for you.
To get the most out of job shadowing, partner with a colleague who is in the kind of role you might like to take on someday. Come to the experience armed with questions, a positive attitude, and a desire to learn.
Find a Mentor
A mentor is a more experienced person who can support and advise you in your career development journey. Mentorship can be formal or informal, and can be organised through your workplace or independently. Ask your boss if your workplace has a mentoring scheme. If not, you could approach a prospective mentor directly or use an online platform to match you with a suitable person.
A mentoring relationship works best when you both have a clear understanding of your expectations, responsibilities, and hopes for the process. If you are lucky enough to find a mentor, try to meet with them regularly and make the most of the relationship by asking questions, taking their feedback on board, and showing appreciation for their time and expertise.
Take a Short Course
If you would like to learn more about a particular aspect of your field or enhance your skills in a given area, taking a short course can be a great way to do so.
There are lots of ways to take a short course, from the formal to the informal. You could sign up for an evening or weekend class at your local college or university (or for an online version of the same, which gives you a wider pool of options to choose from.) Bear in mind that these courses often–though not always–have a cost attached, so do your research and due diligence before signing up.
There are also countless short courses online, many of which are free or available at a very low cost. These can often be studied in your own time, so are ideal for fitting around a busy working schedule. Again, not all courses are of the same quality, so do your research, check out reviews, and look up the tutor’s credentials before you dive in.
Click the button below to explore short courses that will help you to develop your skills for life and work 👇
Explore short coursesAsk for More Advanced Projects
Many people learn by doing, and sometimes direct experience is the best way to improve your skills and knowledge. If you feel confident with your regular duties at work and are ready for an additional challenge, speak to your manager and ask if they would be willing to assign you anything more advanced.
These “stretch” projects can be a fantastic way to expand your horizons, grow your skills, boost your confidence, and prepare you for the next career step when an opportunity comes along. Your manager will also be super impressed with your initiative and drive!
Make the Most of Your Downtime
Depending on the exact nature of your job, you may have periods of downtime at work (for example, when there are no customers or while you are waiting for your computer to complete an automated task.)
If this applies to you, then try to make the most of that downtime as a lifelong learning and development opportunity. You might use those moments to study a short online course (see above), watch educational videos, or read a book relevant to your field.
If you are going to do this, make sure that all your work tasks really are completed before you start working on development activities. It can also be a good idea to speak to your manager, let them know your proposed plan to use your downtime for career development, and get their buy-in. This way, they will know that you are using the time to educate yourself and not slacking off!
