How to develop your skills and move up the career ladder



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How to develop your skills and move up the career ladder

	How to develop your skills and move up the career ladder Whilst employed, you will naturally build and develop your skill set, which can be used to sell yourself into your next role. However, in order to assist the development of your skills there are several things you can do. Having new skills and knowledge can be invaluable to receiving a promotion and moving up the career ladder.

Transferable Skills There are several transferable skills that can be used from trainee level right up to CEO level, for example, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, negotiating and organisation skills. These are all transferable skills that if can be performed properly will help you promote yourself and move up the ladder at every stage. Try to make sure you are capable of performing these skills and if not, practice them until you are confident.

Join an Association By joining an association or club that interests you, you will meet new people and get involved in activities where you can develop and learn new skills. These may or may not be work-related but whichever type it is, it will help you build a network and get involved in things outside your daily routine. As well as building your transferable skills, you will also learn new skills that you can bring to the job and organisation.

Ask for a Mentor/Supervisor These people will look after you and help you develop the skills you want to build. By talking to them about what you want to improve on, they can help coach and manage your learning.

New Tasks and Responsibilities By getting involved in new tasks at work, you will increase the chances of learning new skills. Volunteer for jobs outside your allocated role - not only will this impress your boss itself, but the new skills you develop can be highlighted when you want to move up the career ladder.

Take a Course at College/University You can take a course in the evenings, at the weekend or even a distance-learning course to develop your knowledge in an area that you want to take forward. This will show your boss you are interested in personal development and willing to invest time in learning. Once you have completed a course, you will have new knowledge and skills that are invaluable to promotion.

Do a Professional Qualification Depending on what line of work you are in, you can always decide to complete a professional qualification e.g. CIMA for marketing or CIPD for HR. These involve a lot of hard work and will allow you to gain professional knowledge that can practically be applied to your current role.

Conferences, Exhibitions, Workshops and Seminars Find out about events going on in your industry. Exhibitions and seminars will normally be free and you can spend a whole day at the events talking to people, asking questions, listening to others and just generally learning. Industry leaders who have a great deal of knowledge and many years experience will usually take the seminars - these people are inspiring and you can learn a lot from them. Conferences and workshops will cost you some money to attend so you may have to ask your company if they will pay. These industry events can provide you with great ideas, future trends and they are a great place to network and seek informative information.

There are various ways to develop your knowledge and skills and it is about being proactive in order to do so. You personal development will allow you to build a positive, impressive picture of yourself when going for promotion and is invaluable to moving up the career ladder.