5 questions to help you identify areas for upskilling

1. What am I interested in learning more about?

Getting started can be the toughest part of any journey, so it’s good to begin with something you have always been interested in. Perhaps you’re a HR professional with a strong interest in coding but never had the opportunity to learn it; or you might be interested in public speaking even though your job doesn’t require you to do so. List all the areas you have an interest in and do an online search to find resources you can tap into. Start with something that calls out to you—this can be a course, workshop, webinar, or podcast. Again, this doesn’t have to be directly related to your work; you’ll never know when these additional professional skills will come in handy.

2. What will make me shine at work?

Now that you’ve gotten started, keep the momentum going. For many, the best way to do so is to learn something directly relevant to your work, so you can easily see the immediate payoffs of your learning efforts. Identify areas of your work you’re already good at, explore what will make you stand out further, and focus your efforts on improving yourself within these areas. For a content marketer, this could be brushing up and keeping updated on the latest SEO and SEM trends to make sure your content is not only engaging but is also reaching out to the right audiences. While you may not become a specialist in just a few months, these skills will broaden your perspective and allow you to consider wider aspects of your work.

3. What will make me less frustrated at work?

Upskilling doesn’t just have to be about learning new things—it can be about re-learning the basics too. Tackle aspects of your work you struggle with by taking some time to think about what frustrates you the most every day. Is it your overflowing inbox, or your ever-growing to-do list? Is it spending large amounts of time on tedious administrative tasks, or perhaps communicating effectively with others? Once you’ve identified the ’weak links’ in your daily work, find ways to improve these areas. This could include reaching out to a colleague to find out how they complete their administrative tasks quickly (they may have secret shortcuts!) or reading recommended articles on how you can manage your time more effectively.

4. What will help me develop a competitive advantage outside my job?

Even if you see yourself staying at your current role for the long-term, your career goals should not be tied to your job and company. In the long-run, what do you see yourself doing—and what are the skills needed for you to work towards your goals? If you’re a developer but have plans to become a manager in future, you will need more than technical skills to land the desired role. For instance, you will need to possess leadership skills, the ability to communicate across teams and stakeholders, as well as manage multiple project timelines. By developing these soft skills that many companies perceive are lacking in technical professionals, you’ll eventually find yourself with an advantage over your competitors, be it for a promotion for an internal role, or for a role in a different company.

5. Am I thinking holistically?

While it’s good to have specific upskilling areas to work on, also make sure you’re considering the bigger picture, and you’re not leaving out any other opportunities for improvement. Evaluate whether you are too focused on the soft skills and not enough on the hard skills, or vice versa. Are you exploring all the resources that you can be tapping into, or mostly just relying on a single approach, such as webinars? Are you challenging yourself enough—or perhaps challenging yourself too much such that it’s unsustainable in the long run? Upskilling yourself is a long and continuous journey, so it’s best to make sure it’s sustainable, personally interesting, and provides growth in various aspects of your professional life.