How to Grow Consistent Skills and Experience in My Job

Some jobs require very advanced skills.

If you really want to get ahead at work, you need to do more than just put in hours. Really getting where you want to be with work involves cultivating skills and experience. However, growing skills and experience is not just about acquiring rudimentary abilities and clocking hours; it involves perfecting skills and spending time on genuinely new projects. Growing consistent skills and experience is not easy, but it can be done, provided you have dedication and passion for your job.

Instructions

1. Cultivate a close relationship with your immediate supervisor. Ask this supervisor to be your mentor. Let him know that you love your job, and want to advance in it. Do not do this by outwardly stating you are ambitious; instead let your supervisor know you love your job by volunteering to work overtime and do more than is asked of you on the job.

2. Take work home with you, and work on it actively. For example, if you work at a call center, and your managers allow you to take data entry work home with you, ask your supervisors for a few sheets worth of data, and spend five to ten hours a week entering this data from home. This will encourage you to see your occupation as a lifestyle rather than a job, an attitude that will help you build experience.

3. Ask more experienced employees to teach you how to perform their skills. If they ask you why you want to know, tell them it's because you want to hone your skills and have more experiences on the job. If you have to come in on your day off to learn these skills, do so; your supervisors will appreciate you for it.

4. Practice your new skills, even if it doesn't earn you money right away. For example, if you have just learned how to design logos, go home and practice making them in your spare time. Of course, also practice these skills on the job at every available opportunity, but be prepared to practice without reward in order to develop consistency.

5. Take a course that relates to your job skills. If you work at a marketing firm, take a marketing course at your local business school. If you work at a swimming pool, take a first aid course. If you work at a small Internet marketing business, take an Internet marketing seminar. Sign up for any courses you can take that involve working on the skills related to your job.

References

• Tip Top Job: How to Develop Your Skills and Move Up the Career Ladder