We have all gotten a little stuck in our professional lives sometimes. Whether it is feeling like every job description you are looking at is full of experience requirements you don’t have or struggling to find a way to get your business to shift up a gear, it’s horrible when you feel like you can’t reach the next rung on the ladder.
This sense of being left behind has been especially noticeable over the last twelve months, as we have all been cut off from so many of our sounding boards and support structures. We haven’t been able to chat career changes with our friends at the pub, and virtual brainstorming sessions don’t quite have the same creative energy as getting everyone in the same room.
But while we wait to be allowed to share the same space inside, there are options out there to help you take that next step. Online learning has been a tremendous boon for many during the pandemic, as many institutions have pivoted towards this virtual space and made their courses so much more accessible. Here are just a few of the ways that an online course could help you start that climb towards better things.
Boost An Existing Skill Set On Your CV
We don’t need to tell you just how hard the pandemic has been when it comes to the jobs market. While many were furloughed under the government’s pandemic recovery scheme, many others simply lost their jobs as businesses folded under the strain. The job market was flooded, and anyone who had been looking for employment before COVID-19 hit suddenly found themselves in competition with a huge number of people all gunning for the same role.
However, things are starting to look up and the job market is bouncing back, so it’s time to take some confident steps of your own. There are always things you can do to make yourself more attractive to potential employers and taking a specific course in your chosen field will make you stand out. Don’t let this time be wasted.
Discover A New Career Path
For a lot of us, the pandemic has been a time to take stock and think carefully about what we want to be doing with our careers. Particularly if we have found ourselves suddenly out of work after years, if not decades, of working in the same industry. Faced with redundancy in a flooded job market, it can be hard to feel any kind of excitement about going back to the same area of work. Especially if you know that you could be fighting for an entry level position and a lower wage.
So, how do you get started on this new journey? After all, aren’t you going up against people who have a degree, who have demonstrable experience in this area? Well, the first thing to note is that knowing what you want to change in your work life and taking positive steps towards it is very impressive in and of itself. The second is that you almost certainly have transferable skills from your previous employment history that will become evident if you give it some thought.
The final point is that there are so many online courses available where you can learn the skills and background you need to be an impressive candidate. Whether it’s a course in marketing and digital media, video editing or an apprenticeship, if you are willing to put that time in then you can get up to speed and start making an impression.
Take Your Business To The Next Level
Every business owner needs a certain amount of grit and determination just to get their company off the ground, but it seems like everyone will have seen just how much willpower and resourcefulness they had during the pandemic. However, as the marketplace continues to be so competitive even as things start to get back to normal, you may well find yourself wondering how you can find that next gear. If you are going up against bigger businesses with seemingly endless resources, it can seem like you are fighting an uphill battle.
However, committing to learning is a great way to understand how you can use the resources that are already at your disposal. Now, we understand that running a business does not necessarily give you an awful lot of spare time, but this is a sacrifice worth making. If you can maximise the tools and the potential that are already within your company without, say, hiring new staff members or blowing the next month’s budget on an advertising campaign that may not yield the results you want, then you will find yourself one step ahead of the competition. If you can carve out that time, then it’s worth looking into a corporate innovation course. You’ll see that you have more to work with than you may have realised.
Think About Working Overseas With A Second Language Course
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged on over the last year, every piece of news about Brexit felt like an unwanted reminder that another huge disruptive change was coming. Well, it’s here now, and businesses across all industries are feeling the impact. We have all seen the news reports about how hard hit a lot of companies have been that have relied on the EU for business, from fisheries to record labels. If it seems like your place of work may be thinking about moving outside of the UK, then it might be time to start learning a second language. Of course, learning a second language doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed a job overseas, but it certainly will make you stand out as an employee who is looking for new ways to improve.
Now, many of us have enjoyed picking up a few new words and phrases over the various lockdowns with free language learning software, but there’s a big difference between that and being able to confidently converse in another language. This is particularly important in a professional context, where a misunderstanding could have grave consequences. Taking an accredited class is the best way to get to grips with a new language or to polish up skills that have got a bit rusty. Look for a course that includes options for one-to-one tutorials and the opportunity to speak, not just to listen.
Challenge Yourself And Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone
All our points so far have been related to your professional life, but the psychological benefits of deciding to learn something new cannot be ignored. When we talk about feeling stuck in a rut, that also applies to our down time. As we wait for the restrictions to fully roll back, we all need a project that challenges and excites us, and that is where learning a new subject can be so valuable. It doesn’t have to be a new qualification that is going to go on your CV, it could be an art history course or a creative writing workshop. Taking this step can open your mind to so many new things and remind you that there is more out there than the homes we have all been stuck in this last year.
