The power of micro up-skilling

In some industries times are tough right now and a lot of people globally have been made redundant in the past few months. It's scary and difficult when these things happen, so how can you future proof your career to (hopefully) make sure it does not happen to you?

By up-skilling and making yourself an asset for any business (not just your current one).

How important is up-skilling?

In most jobs your skills, strengths and experience will be far more important than your formal education. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule and sometimes a degree or qualification is the gatekeeper to get through to your first few roles and interviews as you start out in your career.

Every week I chat to mid-career professionals who worry that they need to go back to university ("back to square one") to make a career change into a slightly different field and/or look more appealing to future employers. This is not true in almost every case. What you do need however is a plan of how you're going to up-skill to meet the needs and add value in the role you want instead!

But how do I do it?

Up-skilling can be done in SO many ways! The key is to know what you want to learn and why. Is it a requirement for the role/industry you are moving towards or is it a 'good to have' that would position you well to get through to an interview?

A few common up-skilling options (some of them completely FREE as well!);

• Study part time (evenings and weekends) to get a more formal certificate or diploma. Often this can be done fully online to work around your other schedule. (This is what I did with my coaching diploma whilst working full time)
• You can register for less formal paid online courses and learning platforms (for example Skillshare or Udemy)
• You can find free online courses to improve specific skills (for example through HubSpot or coursera.org)
• You can learn a huge amount about systems and all sorts of topics for free via YouTube. Naturally you need to be a bit mindful and fact check things, so try and follow channels that are reputable.
• You can follow key people in your industry on Linked In (or other social media platforms) to keep a finger on the pulse of what they are reading, learning and listening to. Make sure these are people you genuinely look up to who have created impressive results!

Why micro up-skilling?

To build the right muscles (or professional skills) we need to form habits and do regular repetitions. So rather than overwhelming yourself with a huge amount of learning, lean into micro up-skilling.

Here is how you start:

1. Make a list of 5 key skills you'd like to learn more about. For example: digital marketing, advanced Excel, Salesforce CRM, presentation skills
2. Pick a 5-10 minute window daily (or 60 min window weekly) when you have time and (head)space to learn and focus.
3. Start by picking 1 skill and 1 action towards that skills. For example: Monday: Find 'introduction to podcasting' video on YouTube and watch first 5 mins. Tuesday: Finish above video and write down my 3 key learnings. etc...
4. Track your progress weekly or monthly. Set up a simple document, spreadsheet (or use a free tool like Trello) and watch the progress you're making.

The compounding effect of this way of learning is nothing short of amazing, because you will inevitably find recommendations and further (sometimes unexpected) learning along the way. If you commit to focus on learning for 5 minutes a day you'll have over 152 hours (!) of learning new skills behind you in 5 years' time. Plus the added bonus of people you connect with along the way and the potential job offers they may result in!

So what have you possibly got to lose?

The bottom line is by learning and educating yourself you strengthen your skills and position in the job market. You invest in both your current and future self to give yourself more options.

And you get to learn more about things that interest you: what a win-win!