10,000 hours?

That’s nearly five years of work!

Few of us have that much time to devote to mastering a new skill. Still, continuing to educate yourself is essential to advancing your career and staying relevant.

No matter what industry you’re in, technology is rapidly evolving. The rate of change is increasing. The value of old knowledge is decaying. So if you’re not continually building skills and re-educating yourself, you’re becoming obsolete.

On the flip side? Learning new job skills is one of the best ways to increase your pay, enhance your job security or even earn a promotion.

So take charge of your career and renew your commitment to educating yourself while on the job. Use these practical tips from Exact Staff to build your existing skills, learn new ones and continually educate yourself – without taking a five-year hiatus:

• Choose the right skills to learn. Do some research within your industry to determine which skills are most valuable to employers – and which command the greatest pay increases. Focus your learning efforts in one of these areas.
• Get over your learning anxiety. When you try something new, your incompetence and lack of knowledge may make you uncomfortable. Realize that this feeling is perfectly natural and push through it. After all, everybody has to start somewhere! With a little persistence, you’ll start seeing improvement and get past the initial anxiety.
• Forget mastery. “Mastery” of a skill may take 10,000 hours, but proficiency is often enough to get you where you need to be. Instead of trying to become an expert, focus on becoming good enough at something to get the outcome you want – whether it’s a raise, a promotion or a job interview.
• Find learning opportunities on the job. Share your desire for learning and growth with your employer. Ask for “stretch” projects, cross-training or a mentor to help you acquire new skills in your focus area.
• Leverage the value of informal education. Participating in professional association events and attending industry conferences may be less structured than traditional classroom learning, but they can be just as effective in helping you learn. Create educational goals for yourself before attending an event and participate fully while you’re there to learn everything you can.

Another great way to learn new job skills?

Consider the value of temporary jobs with Exact Staff. If you’re interested in changing fields, temporary assignments enable you to learn new skills quickly (often faster than you would if you worked in a direct position).

When you meet with your recruiter, explain your learning goals and the specific skills you want to develop. Your recruiter can help you select assignments based on the learning opportunities they offer, allowing you to tackle fresh challenges, experience new work environments and acquire new skills with each assignment.

Search jobs in your area or contact an Exact Staff recruiter to get started.