How to keep your skills sharp

Whether you are a new graduate like myself or a more experienced professional, pursuing professional development opportunties is one of a great career move. Improving our skills increases our human capital (here’s a recent definition I came across: “any form of wealth  capable of being employed in the production of more wealth”) which improves our job security or ability to locate employment. Here are some of the strategies that I am using to develop professionally. I have also found that professional development is a great way to keep my spirits up when in transition between positions. It definately beats whining or watching old DVDs again! If cost is an issue, remember that many types of professional development are eligible for tax credits (this is true in Canada at least; for advice, ask your accountant).

Taking short courses through organizations like SLA, the Professional Learning Centre, or Simmons GSLIS has many benefits. These organizations tend to be recognized by your peers and superiors which can make it easier to get time off work to attend or funding. Since these courses are tailored to meet the needs of professionals in our field, it is also a great place to meet new people and learn about the sheer variety of options that people work in. I’ve met people who work in the federal government, hotels, public libraries, universities, law firms and TV. This week, I am taking two courses through the PLC: Web Analytics and Information Management Fundamentals – both should be great. I have taken a course with SLA earlier this year and found it to be worthwhile. The Simmons program is new to me (heard about it through Twitter last night) but it looks good as well.

Taking technology courses either self-designed or through a local college presents the chance to develop broader skills. Does your public library subscribe to Safari Books Online (mine does!)? If so, you are well on your way to learning about everything from blogging to MySQL. Though some reference works offered are not very useful to a novice, there are plenty of books (even video books that walk you through all the steps) that provide instruction. While I am learning from some books, I want to balance this by taking a course through one of my local colleges that offers technology courses like George Brown College. In doing an unscientific comparison between the costs of the courses referred to in the last paragraph and the ones referred to here, it does look like these courses are cheaper. Beyond technology, I would also suggest learning some more business skills (e.g. marketing, sales, finance) and take on a second language. I’ve studied French and German myself – few things in life stretch me than learning to communicate in new languages.

Finally, share what you learn with others. When I worked as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Western Ontario, I found the discipline of communicating, motivating and engaging with undergraduate history students to be rewarding. If you have difficulty explaining how to do something to somebody else, then that’s a sign you need to study further. Sharing can take different forms. Two good options are blogging about what you learn and simply informally discussing with your colleagues in the workplace.

Related posts:

1. Skills Over Rules: there is no royal road to information literacy