Working during the day and attending school at night or vice versa can be physically and mentally exhausting. It also slows the pace or completely stops a professional from growing in his/her respective career path. Here’s 5 ways to consistently improve your skill set as a busy professional.
Manage Your Time Wisely
Time management is essential to balancing personal and professional pursuits. It enables you to utilize every waking hour of the day to only important activities. Without a plan, a professional can spend his/her downtime procrastinating and doing things that do not align with his/her desired goals.
Take MOOCs
MOOCS, or massively open online courses, are the latest educational trend today. There are tons of free courses covering different topics, ranging from science to business. You can even learn useful skills, such as time management, coding, etc. MOOCs can be powerful tools for adults who are busy working but wish to continuously learn something new whenever their schedule permits it.
Attend an Online-Based School Curriculum
It sounds similar to the last one, but online schooling tends to be more structured and is able to go deeper in terms of the technical information being taught to students. This can help boost almost any career in nearly every industry. Those in the healthcare industry can peruse an education in health information management online, while accountants can work towards a CPA certificate.Getting more education in whichever field you are interested in will play a huge role in advancing your skill set and job position.
Integrate Job Skills in Other Activities
For example, if you’re a nurse or any type of healthcare professional, you need to know how to wear gloves quickly and without tearing through it. At home, you can practice gloving before washing dishes or cleaning your floors and cupboards. Another good example is if you’re a data entry clerk and you need to speed up your typing with minimal errors. You can volunteer to type family members’ or friend’s school assignments or paperwork.
Surround Yourself With the Right People
Hanging around with friends and colleagues who are as passionate and interested in something as you are can make learning skills effortless. A Wall Street guy, for example, should surround himself with other traders and investment bankers who are hungry for success and only speak, breathe, and eat their profession.
These five ways can be implemented regardless of what profession you are in, whether you’re a fireman, entrepreneur,an accountant. Determination and willpower to change is what makes the difference between stagnation and continuous professional growth.
This guest post was written by Emma Sturgis. Emma is a freelance writer based in Boston, MA. She writes most often on business and education. To see more from Emma, say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2.
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I have been out of work for 5 years due to medical issues and can not find an answer, as to what to place on my resume for this time lapse. Nor, how to answer the question on an interview. I am a Professional during this lapse has completed certifications, keeping abreast of my computer skills and volunteering. I am most ready willing and able to return to employment and always had such passion for any position I have held. “They say,if you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life”. I am so passionate about my career and when I see people going to work, I say to myself I wish that was me. Please Help!!!!!!
@Gail, thanks for your comment. We understand how this can be frustrating. Because you continued to complete certifications and volunteer during the time you were out of work, the gap on your resume is not as big of a deal as you’d think, because you can explain the gap. Your certifications and your volunteer experience also help explain the gap. You may also want to include your volunteer work as work experience on your resume, by listing it among your past jobs. We hope that this information is helpful.