Fresh out of college? Or just beginning your job search? Here’s what you need to future-proof your career. Upskilling. Yes, that’s the buzzword getting only louder in industry corridors as more and more organisations, chalk out budgets to train their employees in new skills. It helps to know, how your skill set can be honed further, to fetch you that coveted job!
What is Upskilling?
Take a cue from the ‘up’ in upskilling! It means adding more value to your existing skills or learning new skills. How does that help when you’re in an organisation? Well, if you upskill yourself as an employee, you help your organisation close the gaping void between what it needs to do and what you can provide, as a skilled professional. The gap is usually caused by an ageing and uninspired workforce and technological development. When you fill in that gap with all the skills and expertise that you have to offer, you increase your chances of not only being retained but also rewarded by the company.
Why is Upskilling important?
In a post-pandemic world, ‘work’ as we know, is changing form and dynamics, across industries. Covid introduced the world to operating out of digital cubicles, pushing organisations and employees to reinvent their day to day operations by employing more technology. A work trend, that is here to stay. That means, if you’re starting out your career in sales, it would help you to also know, how to decode consumer behaviour data in connection to the product you’re selling.
Consider this. According to Gallup’s latest report, on how How Millennials Want to Work and Live, 59% of millennials say opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important to them when applying for a job. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, because there are many ups to upskilling!
Upskilling helps you
1. Increase your chances of employment
Upskilling, lets a prospective employer acknowledge how vested you’re in your future, how passionate you’re about your field. Therefore, how you’ve dedicated yourself to add to your existing skills. Now, who would want to give up on a future employee, who can bring solutions and inspiration to the workplace!
2. Fool-proof your career
You might have tuned into concerns about AI taking over human effort. The World Economic Forum predicts that over half of all global employees will need to upskill or reskill by 2025 to keep up with the evolution of jobs. That means, if you’re not developing your skills or adding further to work-related expertise, chances are, you will fall short of opportunities to grow further in your organisation.
3. Become more confident
If you’re not happy with your college degree or your basic education, upskilling, can come as good news! As a first time job-seeker, the skills that you equip yourself with, may be considered more by recruiters than the ‘cut-off’, that you didn’t achieve! That’s right, the versatility of the practical implication of your skills, will enable you to find work-related solutions more effectively. A quality every employer seeks. This will help boost your morale and inspire you to perform better.
How to Upskill yourself at the start of your career?
Now that you’ve become familiar with the power of upskilling, you may not know where to begin, right? Worry not, with a clear plan and strategy in sight, it’s all happily possible.
Step by step guide to develop your skills in the most efficient manner:
1. Set a goal
There’s no point spending time and effort in learning things that may or may not serve you. So ask yourself, what is your specific area of interest? What are the careers related to that? Zero down on a few careers. Only when you know what you want to do, can you set your effort rolling in the right direction.
2. Identify your gaps
Now that you’re aware of what you want to do, examine what is stopping you from getting there. Read up on the eligibility criteria specific to entry-level openings in a career of your choice. That will give you an idea of how you can get the upper hand over other candidates, applying for that position. Best would be, talking to someone who has already achieved what you want to.
3. Pick an upskilling strategy
As a digital savvy adult, there’s no dearth of knowledge that you can tap into for improving your skills. If time or budget, doesn’t permit you to take physical classes to enhance your learning, the internet is abundant with a plethora of courses that can help you move ahead. You could begin with the following platforms, LinkedIn Learning, HubSpot Academy, SkillShare, to name a few.
4. Practise what you learn
Once you’ve decided on the course of developing your skills, start the learning process. Try and be as regular as possible. Translate your learning into action from time to time, so you can test the efficacy of your newly acquired skills in real time. You could give yourself a task, volunteer to assist with an ongoing market research with a senior at your internship or simply carry out the assignment suggested in the course.
5. Let the learning grow
Make constant learning a mindset. For you need to consider that the work scenario will constantly evolve. That doesn’t mean you burden yourself with too much information at once. It means, that you stay open and flexible to be updated with developments, specific to your career.
If you’re looking for entry level jobs in Finance and Tech, here’s where you can check the skills required and assess what additional skills might help you nail that work opportunity!
References:
- https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220412-what-upskilling-means-for-the-future-of-work
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/08/24/six-ways-to-upskill-and-adapt-in-your-career/?sh=21865f351d0d
- https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/analyst-report/talent-accelerator.pdf
- https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/en-US/workforce-learning-2021
- https://www.aurora-talent.com/blog/2022/04/6-steps-to-upskill-yourself?source=google.com
- https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236438/millennials-jobs-development-opportunities.aspx