Nearly every workfield is constantly changing and evolving as new ideas and technologies impact our world. And it can seem like an impossible task to keep your skills relevant for your job. How do you know what skills to work on to prepare for the future of your line of work?
Fortunately, you are not alone in facing these problems. With pretty much every line of work impacted by technological developments, it is common for people to need to develop new skills late in their careers. So, how should you get started?
Tip One : Learn!
Easier said than done, a key component to staying relevant in your job is to be able to adapt to the change that happens around you. If you aren’t very tech savvy, we recommend checking out some articles on free courses, or alternatively going on Youtube and watching instructional videos.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you’d like to transition into a new career in finance or change into a different role in your current financial career. One tip is to make sure you learn all you can about the field of finance you’re interested in. So, if you’re interested in a career in private and public equity funds, for example, you should read articles related to that field.
The key thing is to keep learning skills that you think may be applicable to your job, and pay attention to developments happening around you.
Tip Two : Online Networking
If you’re experienced in your line of work, chances are you know a good amount of people that you connect with on popular professional networking sites like LinkedIn. It’s important to create a professional looking profile for yourself because it is the first thing people will see when searching your name up on LinkedIn.
We recommend taking a look at existing LinkedIn pages for inspiration on how to create your own.
Once you’re happy with how your LinkedIn page is set up, you can begin reaching out to your current and former colleagues. It’s important to follow people you have worked with in the past as well as the present so you can have a larger outreach.
Tip Three : Attend Trade Shows
Trade shows are the place to go to when it comes to learning about changes in your industry. In fact, many companies will send their own representatives to these exhibitions just to learn about new products that could impact their business.
Whether your boss sends you to a trade show or you decide to go to one near you, there are a lot of opportunities to network there as well. Collect business cards, and follow the people you meet on sites like LinkedIn. That way, you can keep up to date with what they are doing. This will help you stay relevant in your industry.
By attending trade shows, you can become among the first to learn of new technological developments that could impact the industry you work in. If you get the opportunity to go to a trade show through your work, you should definitely take advantage of this.
By keeping learning new information, staying up to date with your contacts on networking sites, and tuning into trade shows here and there, you should be career-relevant in no time.
