In the current climate, you must upskill to adapt to the rapid changes occurring globally, be it learning a new technical skill to do your work effectively, learning to be more productive as you work from home, learning a new trade, or whatever you need to get results and advance your career.
If history has taught us that there’s life after uncertainty. What can you do to adapt to the changes in industry trends during and after the current pandemic? We know that industries change, skills change, and people change. There always seems to be a shiny new technology, software, or system, there’s always something new.
The dilemma most professionals face is due to the fact that they pick up random skills as they pop up in the industry, all in the name of “upskilling”. When it comes to your skills and core competencies, you don’t want to be a jack of all trades. You should aim to be an expert because experts get paid more, experts make their competition irrelevant because there’s actually no competition.
If you keep trying to level up on the next best skill, on the latest “new” trend, then you’re sabotaging your career and your chances of being seen as an expert. An expert is someone that is a specialist in something, someone who can solve specific problems that companies face, on the other hand, a jack of all trades is someone who can solve many problems but isn’t necessarily very competent at any of them. If you were a company looking for someone to solve your problems, would you hire an expert or jack of all trades? If you are unable to prove to companies that you can solve their problems or provide results, then they will not hire you.
Companies want results.
Some Steps You Can Take
There are various steps that you can take if you want to be an expert and achieve career success. First, you should make sure that you understand the necessary skills needed to solve a particular problem your potential or current employers face. If you already know your desired career path, then identify the skills you’ll need to help employers solve their pressing problems. Figure out what skill you need to be a master at your craft, a master at what you do, what skill you need to achieve results for your employer.
Once you’ve identified those skills, begin working on acquiring them or perfecting your expertise. Ensure that you are ready and capable to utilize said skills to achieve results for your employer.
Learning every new skill makes you a jack of all trades… Companies want and hire experts. Being an expert increases your chances of getting paid a higher salary, quick career advancements and recognition, and prolonged career success.
Your job is NOT to learn the best next skill because people are talking about it or because it’s a new trend. Your job is to figure out the results your employer or potential employer(s) need and/or want, then walk back from there to acquire the skills needed to get them their desired results.