The Best Ways to Upskill Professionally in 2021

Hustle culture has almost become glamorized and for many, living to work overshadows working to live. Burnout is real and there needs to be a balance between productivity and relaxation, no one can be productive 100% of the time, nor should they be. However, it is important to make time to keep up to date with your industry and interests, develop new skills, improve current ones and grow as a professional. By developing professionally you can move forward in your career, potentially improve your self confidence, your happiness and become more efficient. It can be beneficial to set quarterly learning goals for yourself. If you’re wondering how to develop professionally or how to upskill we’re here to help!

Mentorship

By either finding a mentor or becoming a mentor you can grow your network, be exposed to new ideas and perspectives and gain valuable, actionable feedback.

If you’re interested in becoming a mentor, Mentoring.org may be a good place to start exploring.

If you would like to find a mentor, see if your workplace has a program in place that could pair you with someone. Another option is to utilize LinkedIn and search for someone in your industry, potentially an alum of your school or someone that has mutual connections. A mentor could be someone you already know in person as well.

Courses Through Your Employer

Many companies offer development classes or training courses in order to foster the growth of their employees. The classes may be one time, ongoing, in house or outsourced. It’s worth checking if employers sponsor or would reimburse you for any courses you’re interested in taking that they may not already offer.

Independent Courses

Nowadays there are numerous online platforms that offer affordable, or even free courses that you can easily sign up for! There are courses suited for just about every industry, every software program or skill you want to learn, and every knowledge level, from beginner to intermediate to advanced. The majority of classes allow you to go through the material at your own pace and determine the depth level and time frame that fits your needs. Most include optional assessments and you have the ability to earn a certificate after successful completion! A few of these platforms are LinkedIn Learning HubSpot Academy, Udemy, Edx, Coursera, and Skillshare.

Community Classes

Although there are a plethora of platforms to take courses through online, sometimes in-person options are the most ideal or effective. Towns usually offer local community enrichment opportunities and hold classes during the evenings. Enrolling in a course or two at a community college as a non-degree seeking student is another possibility. This is a great way to refresh your knowledge of a certain subject or test out a subject you have a growing interest in.

Documentaries

Documentaries are a wonderful way to gain an understanding of complex topics or situations relating to your industry or interests. Watching a documentary that follows someone’s career can be very inspiring as it will show ups and downs, challenges, failures, and triumphs. Learning from other people’s business or career mistakes can prevent you from making the same ones.

Podcasts

Podcasts are so popular these days and it makes sense why. They’re a convenient medium to learn through. You can listen while you’re driving, cooking, exercising, or just relaxing. Podcasts cover a multitude of fields and subjects. You may even be able to hear directly from your career role models if they have their own podcasts or are guests on someone else’s.

Books

Reading books is one of the most tried and true methods for learning! Hearing about how companies were built, how someone started their career and climbed the corporate ladder, or just educating yourself on a new method or program could spark your next great idea!

Looking for a place to start? Here are books recommended by some of the entrepreneurs and businesswomen we’ve interviewed!

We hope you find these ideas for how to develop professionally and upskill in 2021 to be helpful! There is no right or wrong way to go about increasing your knowledge, we all learn differently and prefer different mediums for doing so. Knowledge is power and acquiring more of it can definitely improve our chances of success, and who wouldn’t want to make time for that?

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Emily Movsessian is a writer, explorer, and foodie. You can follow her Boston-area food adventures on Instagram at @ems.eats.n.experiences