The workplace is changing faster than ever before, and keeping your skills up-to-date is imperative in taking the next steps in a successful career.
Introduction
Since the invention of the internet, the workplace has changed significantly every day. One second you will learn an important skill that keeps you relevant and able to perform your job to the best of your ability, and then you blink and you feel like you are back to the beginning. No matter if you are in a technical job like web design or engineering, or a more artistic role such as graphic design, there are some skills that will help you elevate your career to the next level. Below are five that will help you stay competitive in the modern workplace.
Willingness to Learn
As technologies improve and businesses adapt, everyday tasks start to mold into something completely different from what they were in the past. If you started in the marketing industry twenty years ago, you would be actively working with agencies to put ads on billboards and in the Sunday paper. Today, even though those mediums still exist, placing your brand on only those mediums is a recipe for disaster. With social media, search engines, video platforms, blogs, search engine optimization, and so many more advancements have shown themselves, the industry is a shell of its former self.
What is important to note, however, is that an industry that changes is an industry with endless opportunity. Instead of viewing these changes as the enemy, you can view them as a way to improve your business and progress your mission statement. No matter the industry, change typically means growth and companies need people who are able to look at these opportunities with vigor and determination and get the job done. If you are willing to learn and take newly discovered skills to the company you work for, then your employer will notice you when it comes time for a promotion.
Diversity and Learning a New Language
It’s a small world after all. You know it. I know it. That ride at Disney World knows it. Colleges, businesses, and neighborhoods are changing and people from all over the world are showing up in our lives. Many of these people come from drastically different places, and even more will start to appear as the world develops. So, what can you do to stay competitive in the workplace?
First off, you can be welcoming to those that come from other areas. Whether you share the same views as someone else or not, everyone deserves the respect that you would give a close friend. On top of that, it is likely that at some point in your career, you will have a call or meeting with someone from another country. If they are from a country that does not speak English as its primary language, then they likely know two languages, which is not only impressive but also incredibly difficult.
Learning a second language might not be part of your job description, but that does not mean it is wasted time. Even if you never pass a remedial understanding of a second language, understanding a little more about how others communicate and structure sentences can help the conversations that you will have in the future. In addition, in the United States, it is easy to expect everyone to know English, but if you even give the smallest effort to understanding a colleague’s first language, then you will show that you really care, and create a lasting work relationship. Apps like Duolingo are free, easy to download and make learning a language more fun with daily lessons and challenges.
Cooperation with Colleagues
Working well with those sitting around you has become more important than working well alone. No one person knows how to do everything, and more than that, no one has the time to do everything that needs done in a given day by themselves. Completing projects by splitting work up into a more manageable level for you and your coworkers is an effective way to deliver a finished product. It helps management give praise to those that deserve it and constructive criticism to those that need it.
Cooperating with your desk mates is not all that matters when working together. Contributing your own ideas and talking through others in a constructive way, while always keeping the end goal in mind, is another important piece of the puzzle. Everyone has great ideas that they can share, and even if the idea that someone has is not perfect, valuable components could be utilized in the final solution.
At Stefanini, we value cooperation so much that our slogan is “co-creating solutions for a better future.” We know that making a better future is hard work and no one person or organization can do it alone. That is why everything that we dedicate our time to is making our customers’ lives easier because that makes the world a better place.
Time Management
Work usually starts with coming into the office, sipping a cup of coffee and checking your agenda. You might have a meeting – or five – and, if you are lucky, you will be able to work on the tasks assigned at the meetings. It is no secret that the corporate world is full of meetings that take time away from your job, which is why time management is so important.
Chances are you have more work to do than time in the day to do it. Understanding how to stay on task and accomplish your goals will make you a better employee and give you plenty of career advancement opportunities in the future. Being able to push forward and avoid apathy setting in will make you an asset for any company that you may end up working for.
Resilience
If everything in the world was easy, working would be a little easier but the challenge would be gone. Luckily for us, work isn’t easy. Instead, we face challenge after challenge, each trying harder and harder to take you down with it. Even in the least stressful jobs, work can be so difficult that it is hard to finish and it takes a toll on your mentality.
Being resilient, persistent and able to tackle whatever life throws at you turns you into a desirable worker. If you can push forward through even the hardest of times, then you could be the employee that keeps a project on task when all seems lost and everyone is losing hope. If you can remain resilient time and time again, then you could be the first person that’s looked at for promotion in the office. So, next time you face a challenge that you struggle with, keep at it and do not let it affect your positivity.
Applying These Skills
The world changes constantly and that can be hard for companies and the workforce to handle. If you are able to attack these challenges head-on, learning all you can, being accepting of others, working with colleagues, managing your calendar and getting back up every time life pushes you over, then you’ll be the perfect candidate for your current job and any job you will have in the
