Technology is evolving at lightening speed and is forever changing the way the world works. For those of us who have made working online a way of life, it can be a struggle to stay up to date on the latest trends and skills.
Continuous learning is a must.
How can you ensure you stay sharp and relevant? We asked the Upwork Facebook Community how they keep their skills current and the response was outstanding. Here is just a sample of the amazing advice they had to offer.
“I think reading ebooks and info online (including articles, surveys, and anything interesting) is a very useful way to keep up to date with your profession’s demands. You can learn new techniques or changes within your area of expertise (for instance, new conventions or standards) and become a cutting-edge freelancer. And if you want to go further, I think online courses and lessons, or even webinars and blogs, are even better choices. These allow for deeper communication with other professionals who have a lot to teach. These are, in my opinion, good ways to improve your skills and stay up to date, and almost every freelancer can do this, no matter his/her profession.”
– Ramiro Yaben
“Each project taken up on Upwork is a learning experience in itself. Interact with both clients, and other freelancers if you are working with a team, to learn from their experiences. Browse jobs that are related to your skills as many will mention additional requirements. If you are not aware of them, then look for online courses in MOOC sites like Coursera, Udemy, edX, etc. and enroll for the courses. There are many sites which provide useful articles, tips, and knowledge banks on various topics which can be found by a simple Google search. A combination of all of these elements will help in updating one’s skills, which will in turn help provide better service to clients as freelancers.”
– Shrinidhi Hasyagar
“If you don’t learn something new in a day, that’s day is wasted.”
– Ali Asif
“Just put yourself in difficult positions and find the way to escape from them. It is the best way to learn new things.”
– Kuljeet Babber
“I search videos and tutorials on YouTube, check other people’s work on Google, and search and read articles related to my field and projects.”
– Vajahatenvar Alquraish
“Get out of your comfort zone and try new things. Every experience, good or bad, is a priceless lesson.”
– Efren Paguirigan Gatan
“For keeping my skills up to date, I am subscribed to various online learning schools about freelancing skills. With writing, I read about other writers that I look up to, to comprehend their style and how they deliver their articles. I enhance my vocabulary by using the new words I learn from reading and listening. I blog about food and I learn new words and dishes from YouTube vloggers and chefs that I’m subscribed too. This way I get to know about the trending topics and can upgrade my skills as a cook and writer. I join food events, attend writing workshops online, and socialize with other bloggers as well. As for my virtual assistant job, I work with an amazing client who motivates me to polish my skills in social media, communication, and hone my leadership qualities. I’m still a work in progress and eager to learn more.”
– Hazel Ramos
“Never say ‘No’ to new things. Always accept challenges, for these will nurture and enhance your skills. Don’t limit yourself. Make sure you’re enjoying your work so that you may ASK FOR MORE!”
– Sah Mabalay
“To keep your skills up to date:
- Keep on working and encourage yourself to learn new stuff.
- Use the Internet to learn from the experts (Google, LinkedIn, and Lynda.com are my favorite sources).
- Subscribe to sources that can help you better hone your skills (I wanted to improve my leadership skills so I subscribed to a lot of team leading groups, both on LinkedIn and anything I found on Google).
- Read books from authors that are experts in your field (I bought lots of Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, and J. Maxwell who are great in leadership).
- Keep track! Write it down and follow your progress.”
“There are several means (both offline and online) to keep yourself updated in your field. Join local small business organizations that conduct regular meetings or workshops. Join trade shows, seminars, and conferences to give you new insights that are useful to your venture. Meet people from your network. These people include your customers and affiliates—and sometimes your competitors. It’s alright to keep good relationships with the other players in the field. You can learn a few tricks from them. Like and follow online pages, related blogs, Facebook, Twitter groups, etc.”
-Marwat Ismail
What do you do to keep your skills up to date? Tell us in the comments!
Editor’s note: Responses edited for grammar, spelling, and clarity. The statements above are those of their authors and do not constitute the views or opinions of Upwork.
The post Staying Sharp: How to Keep Your Skills up to Date in a Fast-Paced, Online World appeared first on Upwork Blog.
from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2bx8ZXU
No comments:
Post a Comment