Every employer is looking for experienced and creative employees who can solve the most varied tasks. However, in the majority of cases, when you start your career, you’ll have only basic knowledge and a desire to become better.
Often, this very thirst for self-improvement and self-education is the only difference between successful workers who steadily climb the career ladder and «perpetual assistants».
But how to find the time and effort to improve your skills when your duties take all your time? Will you have to sacrifice the quality of the work? Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to mix business with pleasure. Let us introduce our five simple pieces of advice that will help you significantly develop your skills on the job.
Use all Educational and Training Opportunities Offered by Your Company
Nowadays, a lot of companies have reconsidered their position about employees. They are not a simple, paid workforce anymore. Now, authorities see a team, a family. They are companions who are united by one common goal and do their best for collective well-being.
Surely, practice shows that such a point of view brings much greater success for everyone. And according to this approach, employers are ready to invest in their employees in all ways possible. Numerous training courses from foreign language learning to car driving are available in many companies.
Find out whether your company offers some courses. The best way is to choose the most interesting and useful and take them.
You never know when you will need one or another knowledge. Additional educational programs are an excellent opportunity to improve your skills almost for free. And there are high chances that your new talents will help you get a more profitable project or promotion tomorrow.
Visit Interviews
Not every employer is ready or can provide you with the necessary feedback about your work. But an efficient specialist should understand his/her successes and failures as well as desirable improvements. Job searching and interviews are this way to get information about the current situation in your profession.
Interviews do not obligatory mean that you look for a new position. The regular analysis of the labor market is often used to see what modern employers look for in your profession.
In the interview, you can see what education and experience they require, what professional tools are most needed, and so on. Thus, you get a clear understanding of what skills you need to improve or acquire.
Though this method may be very efficient for your self-development, please mind employers do not always tolerate such job searching and interviews with other employers. So, first of all, learn more about your authorities` policy towards this question to avoid any problems.
Communicate with More Experienced People
They say that you can tell a lot about a person by his friends. This saying is equally just concerning to colleagues.
If you want to develop and learn something new, you`d better communicate with more experienced and educated people on your job. We don`t talk about cold calculation. Though good relations with your actual and potential bosses are highly important for career, business networking shouldn’t turn into simple benefit searching through flattering and pseudo-friendship.
Right communication is all about that your social circle affects your actions and thoughts. Try to look at how your seniors fulfill different tasks, which decisions they make to solve problems, etc.
It`s also a great idea to ask somebody for feedback about your work. Constructive criticism made by professionals is the basis of further self-improvement. You can see all your problems with someone else`s eyes and understand more precisely how to overcome them. It`s absolutely true that a wise mentor in one company costs a high salary in another.
At least, such an approach will allow you both to develop your professional skills and represent yourself as an eager employee with great perspectives.
Transfer Your Knowledge and Experience to Young Specialists
It`s an interesting fact, but skills can be significantly improved not only through communication with more experienced specialists. When you become a mentor for beginners, you get the opportunity to refresh and structure your own knowledge. Sometimes, the long-abandoned skills can give you a push or inspire you with interesting professional thoughts.
Just like other people tell you about your strong and weak sides, tutorship allows you to see yourself in your young colleagues. You notice previous mistakes, wrong approaches, which we accepted long ago and stayed with you to date.
Besides, such tutorship over others helps you develop your organizational, communicative, and managing skills. As we all know, these bricks are necessary for everyone who wants to occupy the position of a manager one day.
Take the Initiative and Don`t Be Afraid of New Projects
None employee is obliged to take the lead. Many people prefer to fulfill well-known old tasks over and over, never finding the courage to try something new.
However, successful self-development almost always means getting out of your comfort zone. When they offer you to take part, or even manage a project, give it a chance. Your task should be slightly beyond your current skills.
Firstly, such an initiative shows that a person wants to get new useful experience and can act independently, making his own decisions.
Secondly, new challenging projects activate all your knowledge and hidden reserves. Since a task you have never done before is always a stress, your organism helps you gather strength. It results in faster learning and better concentration. New work is a motive to meet people and read new information that you happened to miss before.
Once again, you won`t be left alone. There is always a team next to you that you can rely on. You can also ask for advice.
So, the initiative is a grand means to gain experience and improve both your skills and resume.
Conclusion
“If it is important enough to you, you will find a way. If it is not, you will find an excuse.”
Even with great business, we all have a lot of opportunities to become better specialists. All we need is to struggle against our fears and, let`s be honest, laziness. We wish you successful career growth and good luck!
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