5 Ways to Develop Your Career Through Continuous Learning

Many people begin to feel that their career is becoming stale, but they aren’t sure how to give it the shot in the arm that it needs. Here are five ways that continuous learning can help you to develop your career.

1. Keep Up with Reading

No matter what you are learning, it is all but certain to include a significant amount of reading. It doesn’t matter whether you are reading websites, news articles, industry publications, or books, as long you as you are reading something, you will be sharpening your reading and comprehension skills. The more you read, the faster and more efficiently you will be able to take in information.

Regardless of the specific field that you work in, being able to take in information from written sources is an important skill. It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that if you are a competent reader, there’s not much left to learn. In actual fact, reading and taking in information (comprehension) are two distinct skills, both of which are important.

2. Write an Article, Paper, or even a Book!

Writing isn’t for everyone. It is, in fact, something that many people assume they can do, but writing is a difficult skill to develop, and it needs to be developed in different ways for different audiences. However, it is well worth developing your writing skills as this is one of the most effective ways that you can boost your career.

One study suggests that 83% of employers would prefer to hire candidates with strong communications skill, including writing. Not only will your extra-curricular writing make a great addition to your CV, the more articles and other pieces you have published under your name, the more it will raise your profile in the industry. This could lead to businesses approaching you with offers of work.

3. Learn New Skills

After working in the same job, field, or career for a long time, it is easy to start thinking that you must by now know all the skills and knowledge that are relevant to your job. However, this is rarely the case. In fact, in the majority of industries, it is those that take the time to learn the skills that others don’t who stand out as the most talented and exemplary practitioners.

There are now more ways for people to learn than ever before. Anyone who wishes to learn a new skill or subject can now do so, often from the comfort of their own homes. Enrolling in evening classes is always a fantastic way of learning a new skill but enrolling in an udemy online course is now a popular way of learning. The great thing about learning online is that it is cheaper, sometimes even free! You just need to know where to look.

Another excellent way of learning new skills is to enrol in an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships can be a direct route to a particular career or trade. Apprenticeships are also useful for those who are looking to make a change or to enhance their existing skillset. You can find out more about apprenticeships from cityandguilds.com.

4. Explicit CV Building Skills Within Course Content

The sooner you build your professional profile, the better. This includes technical qualifications but also “soft skills” such as time management (working to deadlines), verbal and written communication, emotional intelligence, negotiation, and many others one can bind browsing resume examples online. Many highly sought-after skills in the job market form an essential part of university course work, but they are not always signposted to students or presented to potential employers as much as they could be. For example, history graduates can think critically, evaluate, and present information. Universities can help students to identify and develop these important skills so that even as undergraduates they are already consciously working towards professional goals of best practice, skills and knowledge.

5. Join Professional Organisations

No matter what form your continuous learning takes, it can provide a viable entry point into a number of professional organisations. For any given industry, there will be a range of organisations that represent members of that industry. Not only will this help to further expand your network, it will also be a valuable addition to your CV.

Learning never has to stop if you don’t want it to. As we grow older, some of us feel that there are fewer opportunities to learn and expand our knowledge, but this is not that case. Continuous learning will help to set you apart from other candidates and boost you to the top of your chosen field.