Developing new skills can boost your career and prove extremely valuable later on in your life as you search for jobs or look to be promoted. It can be difficult to isolate opportunities for growth, but there are many ways to gain new skills that will help you advance in your career.
Get a Mentor
A mentor can help you gain new skills and experiences. Working with someone who is familiar with your industry and has direct experience in your field will give you valuable guidance and support. A mentor can offer you advice and realistic industry insights. If you are unsure as to what skills you should focus on developing, a mentor can point you in the right direction and work with you to pinpoint your weaknesses and reach your goals.
Take an Online Class
If you want to learn new skills, you should consider taking an online class. Online classes are offered for a multitude of skills, including business skills, web design, marketing, legal aspects of entrepreneurship, and more. Taking an online class to learn a helpful skill is much more affordable and convenient than going to school (or back to school) to earn a degree, and you can usually go at your own pace.
Just be careful not to try multitasking. It can be tempting to multitask when taking an online course, but you should focus on watching videos without distractions. That way, you’ll absorb the information better and get the most out of your course.
Volunteer
Working as a volunteer or intern can expose you to new skills and help you gain valuable experience for your career. Volunteering is a great option for broadening your horizons and skill set when you lack other opportunities to do so.
Volunteering can be an easy way to get your foot in the door of a space where you can learn new skills, without needing to navigate a hiring process or take on a serious time commitment. Although you won’t be paid for your time and work, you will be able to gain precious insights into that industry, cultivate necessary skills for work there, and add to your resume. Besides job-specific skills, volunteering helps you in unexpected ways, such as by helping you build better time management and people skills.
Gaining new skills for your career does not need to be expensive, difficult, or complicated. Consider working with a mentor, taking an online class, or volunteering. Adding new skills to your resume will set you up for career success in the future.
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