Become more employable: 6 ways to gain new skills

Formal qualifications and good connections aside, it’s fair to say that possessing skills and having areas of expertise are useful when hunting for a job. While many job ads list certain skills as requirements for a successful candidate, many skills can also help you stand out in a crowd of otherwise equally qualified applicants.

To boost your employability and professional opportunities, try these tips.

1. Go online

There are plenty of online sites and resources to help you learn pretty much anything you like. Coursera offers courses on everything from big data to psychological first aid, and much of their content is still completely free. Many other resources are also worth checking out, such as Codecademy for learning coding, and countless helpful YouTube videos for learning how to play the guitar, use Photoshop, or run a successful business meeting.

Or, if you prefer to learn in a less structured setting, you can exercise your skills in patience and tolerance by arguing with people on the internet. That works, too.

2. Don’t just study for a bulk degree

This one goes out to all the students out there, aspiring to graduate with a fancy degree. Instead of just trying to complete your assignments with minimum effort, I encourage you to consider them an opportunity to gain areas of expertise within your field.

For example, if you get to choose the topic of an essay or a presentation, consider choosing a topic that would help you learn about something professionally valuable, instead of something simply fun or easy.

Depending on what and where you study, you might also have an opportunity to attend courses outside of your own field. If you can, do it - what you learn there might give you an edge over other people in your field and diversify your knowledge base.

3. Go freelance

If you already have some skills but would like to improve them and gain professional experience, try offering your skills as a freelancer. Sites such as Upwork and Fiverr offer a lightweight way of giving freelancing a go and earning some money while you're at it. Doing that can also help you get a better idea of the things you don’t yet know, to help you focus on improving them next.

In any case, I would recommend taking a look at the different job categories in those sites and similar ones - you might be positively surprised to find that you already have valuable skills you have never considered before. Or have you ever thought  you could put those social media snooping skills to good use and sell your services as a Web Researcher?

4. Exchange with a friend

Do you have a friend who has a skill you don’t have? Do you know something they don’t know? Great! Similar to tandem language learning, exchanging skills can be a very rewarding learning experience.

For example, you could teach a friend to give presentations and she could teach you how to do basic data analytics. You would both benefit, and as a bonus, you would both get experience with teaching.

Note: If all your friends are identical copies of yourself, you might want to consider meeting other people. Just a suggestion, though.

5. Volunteer for a good cause

Whether it be for keeping company to lonely senior citizens or raising money for homeless horses, volunteer organisations are always looking for more people to help their cause. In addition to the core functions, such organisations could probably also use volunteers to do administrative work, marketing campaigns, bookkeeping, and so on. You could be one of those people, and learn how to do such things, while advancing a cause you personally find meaningful.

6. Take initiative at work

If you are in the lucky position of being currently employed, you can use your current job as a platform for trying and learning new things. Is there anything you could do that would be interesting, potentially useful for you, and valuable for your employer?

For example, this could mean redesigning the company’s website, analysing your workflow and improving it, or writing a guide for future employees about the job you are currently doing.

At worst, you might discover that you don’t like writing guides, and at best you would get experience, learn a new skill, and impress your employer.

Opportunities are everywhere

The main takeaway is this: Treat everything as a potential opportunity for learning new skills. And while you’re at it, check out my previous post about how to showcase your awesomeness in your job application and be one of the top candidates.