Career upskilling is one of the most valuable things you can do with your free time, especially if you\u2019re the kind of person who finds joy in learning new skills. While upskilling at work is commonplace, if you really want to improve your skills at work then it may be worth devoting some of your personal time to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That being said, working a nine to five doesn\u2019t leave much time left over for personal development and the idea of spending your precious free hours doing extra work can seem daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we\u2019d like to break the upskilling process down into simple steps to show how, with the right planning, you can portion out the learning process without ever getting too overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll be splitting the process into distinct, manageable tasks so that you can divide your own work up and keep yourself motivated. We\u2019ll also be talking about ways to integrate upskilling into your regular work hours and persuade your company to invest in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you\u2019re interested in career upskilling? That\u2019s a great goal and an excellent use of your time but before you go any further it\u2019s important to decide exactly what upskilling means to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its simplest sense, the term upskilling just means learning new skills that will be valuable in a career context. That could be anything from building a site so you can practise your SEO to reading a self help book in order to improve your people skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upskilling can be very specific to your job or industry or it can be very general. It can be something that happens during work hours as professional training from your company or it can be a personal time investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And all that is just the what and the how of skilling. The other big question you have to ask is the why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Put simply, you should have a clear purpose in mind for learning a new skill. Does that skill interest you? Which jobs do you believe that skill will open up to you? Do you think the new skill will make you better at what you\u2019re currently doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goals are vitally important because they\u2019re a fundamental part of how we track progress – a subject we\u2019ll be exploring in more depth further on. For now, suffice it to say that without goals, it\u2019s easy to get stuck in the nebulous area of generic \u2018improvement\u2019 without a concrete sense of how and when you\u2019ll have achieved what you\u2019re aiming to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the first step towards career upskilling is all about knowing what you want<\/em> to do, then this second step is about finding out how you\u2019re going to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although, in practice your research and your goals should be more of a cyclical process – the one informing the other – every time you establish a clear aim it\u2019s important to then find out what the steps you need to take are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So you want to apply for x job role? Amazing, now find out what employers are looking for and learn those skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You want to learn something but you aren\u2019t sure how? Go online and start looking for resources. Don\u2019t be afraid to reach out to people in online communities or on LinkedIn to ask what they did to get where they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly, don\u2019t underestimate the importance of learning how to learn. There\u2019s always more than one way of learning a skill, whether that\u2019s speaking a new language or learning to program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re struggling to find a way that works for you, then what you need to do is find out how other people are learning, why it works for them, and the lessons you can take away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although a lot of upskilling does ultimately happen during personal hours, it\u2019s worth noting that you shouldn’t give up on the prospect of being able to learn while you earn. That said, if you\u2019re looking to improve your skills at work, then it\u2019s important to keep a realistic outlook on what your company will accept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While some companies are willing to invest in upskilling and reskilling the workforce, the practical reality is that most will only do so when they can see the clear benefit to them. If you want to find great development opportunities in your workplace, then you\u2019ll need to push for those opportunities, persuading your bosses that it really is worth investing in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be afraid to make proposals. For example, if you ever have hours where you\u2019ve finished your work or you\u2019re between jobs, ask your boss if you can spend those hours doing something productive to the skill you want to develop. That could be shadowing another employee or even taking on jobs outside your main role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make it clear to them that the hours you spend learning will benefit productivity in the long run. After all, you\u2019ll be able to handle more jobs and be a more versatile employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, this does come with an important warning: just because you\u2019ve taken on more responsibilities, that doesn\u2019t mean your company will give you a promotion any time soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although it\u2019s far from fair, the reality is that if your company can persuade you to take on extra work outside of your main responsibilities without raising your wage, then they\u2019re probably going to do just that. If you choose to upskill during work hours, know that you\u2019re investing those hours into yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The payoff comes when you find a new job at a higher pay grade but before you reach that payoff, you may have to spend quite some time working extra hard. Either you\u2019ll have to put in those hours outside of work, or else find a way to make more of the hours you\u2019re paid for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re upskilling at work or in your own time, it\u2019s hard to underestimate the value of a good timetable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re learning on the job, then you\u2019ll probably want to keep this simple. Instead of laying out exact hours you\u2019ll spend doing tasks, instead give yourself milestones and the date you plan to hit those milestones by. If you\u2019re struggling to meet those milestones, put plans in place to help you get back on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those learning new skills in their own time, timetables are an almost vital component to success – especially if you\u2019re already booked up on your days off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a work day, it can be really hard to motivate yourself to squeeze those extra hours in. In the morning you\u2019re tired and you just want to get through the day as fast as possible. By the evening you\u2019re ready to relax and the thought of booting up the computer and getting some more work done isn\u2019t likely to be appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the same, if you\u2019re determined to squeeze that extra work out of your day, then a timetable is great for establishing a routine. You know it\u2019s coming and you\u2019re prepared for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly of all, a timetable helps you measure the time you\u2019ll be putting into a task. Whether two hours a week or ten, this is the best possible indicator of how long it will take you to learn that new skill, helping you to set reasonable expectations for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning is hard. Learning in a vacuum can be almost impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you start learning something new, there\u2019s always the temptation to put off showing your work to someone else. Just one more week<\/em>, you tell yourself. Just one project.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s true that most of the best learning you do will be on your own and it can feel like there\u2019s no use asking for help when you already know the areas you need to improve in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with this thinking is twofold. Firstly, you can\u2019t know for certain that the problems you\u2019ve assessed are the real issue with your current skill level or just a symptom. Secondly, it\u2019s easy to get stuck in a loop, struggling to improve because you\u2019re not bringing anything new to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting feedback on what you\u2019re doing not only keeps you grounded but it encourages you to always try your hardest, knowing that the work you do doesn\u2019t exist in isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With all that in mind, do make sure to be careful who you get feedback from and how. Receiving feedback is a skill and one that you\u2019ll want to practise. In general, try to only solicit feedback from people with experience of the skill you\u2019re learning and enough knowledge that they can explain a problem in your work rather than just pointing to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re not sure where to find feedback because the skill you\u2019re learning isn\u2019t related to your current job, then you\u2019ll have to seek feedback online via communities dedicated to said skill. These spaces can be useful, although always take this feedback with a pinch of salt as it\u2019s a lot harder to know exactly who you\u2019re getting feedback from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day however, almost any feedback is better than none so don\u2019t let these concerns get in the way of an otherwise valuable learning resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve talked already about the value of milestones and goals in tracking your progress but now we\u2019d like to take a moment to discuss why it\u2019s so important to monitor how far you\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, there\u2019s motivation. This might seem minor, but motivation is absolutely vital to career upskilling. When all\u2019s said and done, improving your skills is all about the energy you put in, and finding ways to reinforce the value of what you\u2019re doing is a great way to keep that energy up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tracking your process is also particularly valuable for upskilling at work as it helps demonstrate to your company that you are worth investing the time and effort into. Being able to show how you\u2019ve improved and how your improvements have directly translated into increased productivity is one of the best ways of encouraging your boss to keep putting their faith in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s just the start. If you can clearly talk about how you\u2019ve improved your skills, the steps you\u2019ve taken, and the further steps you intend to take, then you\u2019ll have a much better chance in job interviews. Being able to talk about your progress helps you show how ambitious and hardworking you really are – that you\u2019re just the kind of proactive employee every company is looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not that it\u2019s all about success. Sometimes tracking your progress is just as important for flagging places where you could be doing better. If you spend two months working on a skill and you\u2019re not seeing much improvement, then that\u2019s a sign that something needs to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said – and this is really important – remember that a lack of progress isn\u2019t the same as a complete failure. Many people find a lack of progress deeply demotivating, often deciding that they\u2019re simply not capable of learning the skill they\u2019ve been working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This mindset is pretty defeatist, not to mention misleading. As we noted earlier, there are many ways of learning something and sometimes a lack of progress just indicates that your learning approach isn\u2019t working. Now\u2019s your chance to shift gears and try something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although you might feel as though you\u2019ve wasted time, remember that a large part of learning is about experimenting. Sometimes you have to try something to know it\u2019s not going to work. Try to see it as ticking off one approach on a list and moving on to see what works best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the reasons some companies are reluctant to upskill their workforce is sustainability. Put simply, you just can\u2019t expect a person to work two jobs at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s true for a company is also true for an individual. If you try to push yourself too far and too fast, you\u2019re likely to burn out and this can spiral into larger problems both at work and at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, finding that line of what is and isn\u2019t sustainable is deeply personal. Some people love what they do and are willing to pour countless hours into it. Others need to split their focus, giving them the chance to break from one thing and focus on another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of the time this is also very connected to your other responsibilities outside of work – whether or not you have a partner or a family. The truth is that your capacity to sustainably upskill is something only you can figure out and even that can take some trial and error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re struggling to sustainably learn or you\u2019re worried about hitting that line of burnout, then the best thing you can do is build things up slowly. We chose to present this guide in the form of steps to help you split the task up. Hopefully, this shows how, even if you can only spare an hour a week, by taking clear steps and staying organised both about what you\u2019ve done and what you plan to do, you can keep a handle on your progress and keep pushing forwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Career upskilling is one of the most valuable things you can do with your free time, especially if you\u2019re the kind of person who finds joy in learning new skills. While upskilling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mentoring-101"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStep 3: Talk To Your Boss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Make A Timetable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 5: Request Feedback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 6: Track Your Progress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 7: Keep It Sustainable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n