When it comes to moving your career into a position where you feel challenged and inspired, you will need to do plenty of research into all of your training options. Jumping into your new career training with both feet can be scary. There will be lots of uncertainty at first as you reach out into new directions and build up your own confidence in an area that you may have little experience in.
There are many different options open to you when it comes to finding ways to develop your own skills. Some will be free, and others will cost you a considerable sum. You will need to know that the courses that you undertake will get you to the end result that you require.
Get The Right Advice
If you know the career path that you want to follow, then it will be much easier to identify the next step on your journey. For example, if you are aware that you want a career as a pilot, then you will be wanting to find out about the top aviation colleges. If you want to work in the medical profession, speak with the recruitment department of your hospital or health service for advice as they may be able to signpost you to the best courses in the area.
A career advisor is always a good place to start if you are unsure of the direction that you want to take for your next role. They will be able to match up your existing skills, personality types, and passions and find a job role that may suit you will. From this, you will be able to look at the entry-level qualifications that you may need to join that profession. Then, you can set to work in achieving them.
Routes To Study
There has never been a better time for you to go and study anything that you want. With colleges and night classes on offer in most towns and cities across a wide range of subject matter, you should be able to study around your current life commitments.
If you are currently employed, find out whether they have the chance for you to take a course alongside the job. Being able to work on your studies and potentially get paid for it will help to motivate you.
There are a vast number of online courses that you may find useful. Some will be accredited and will provide you with a recognized qualification. There may be unaccredited courses that will give you a taster of the subject matter and which you may be able to take further.
Picking the right option for you will mean working out how much time you have that you can give over to studying right at the moment. Think about where and when you will do any of your studying.
You should also think about the way that you learn. Some people thrive when they know they have exams, while others less so. If you know what is coming then you can make sure that the course is right for you.
Hard Skills Vs. Soft Skills
When it comes to most jobs, you will need several different skills. There will be a combination of both hard and soft skills. While both of these skill types can be developed, hard skills will be teachable and measurable skills. They may involve maths-based skills or computer programming. These skills will require a mixture of taught training, and some work on your own or with a group.
Soft skills are things that cannot necessarily be taught. Although you can still work on these on a personal level. These will include interpersonal skills, people management abilities, work ethic, flexibility, and adaptability.
Developing Your Soft Skills
Soft skills are extremely desirable to many employers, especially as you start to climb up the ladder towards positions of management. These can be hard to measure, and many may seem subjective and abstract.
Gaining experience is one way of developing these skills. If you are in a position where you can take unpaid work in order to work with teams and develop leadership skills. You could potentially get these skills outside of the workplace by joining a club. Alternatively, becoming a youth leader for an organization such as the scouts of guides could also help.
Find ways to demonstrate examples of when you have used soft skills when it comes to applying and interviewing for jobs. If you have a collection of great examples thought out already, you will be able to deliver these with confidence.
Developing The Capacity For Ongoing Learning
You are never too old, and as we go through our lives, we are all still learning. Developing the capacity for continued learning will help you in the long run as this is a quality that many employers will want. No employer wants someone who cannot be trained on the basic hard skills that they need for the job. To help yourself learn better try and keep it fresh. You may find that you need the changes or there will be little stimulation and a lack of concentration.
When you know that you will be learning, get plenty of sleep the night before. Take good care of yourself by eating well and drinking plenty of water. Keeping your focus sharp will mean looking after your brain and your body.
If you are studying outside of work, be patient enough with yourself. Getting distracted is fine, there is no need to be harsh on yourself for it. You may think that the distraction is taking you away from the problem, the chances are that when you not consciously thinking about your training, your brain is still working quietly around the problem in the background.
Mixing up the skills that you will be learning in a session can be great in order to keep it fresh and exciting. This may mean studying two or three completely different subjects at the same time.
