7 Steps to Build Skills and Get Hired

1.  Ask your employer for training options

One of the best places to get insight about where to focus your skill development efforts is your employer, says Nikhil Arora, CEO of learning technology company Epignosis. “In the modern workplace, culture is king and skilling is queen,” he quips.

Your employer likely has a vision for the future of the company and the skills it’s going to take to get there, Arora says. The organization may already have learning and development programs meant to expand employees’ skills or policies, or benefits that support learning opportunities, such as sponsorship of continuing education opportunities or tuition reimbursement.

2. Keep up with changes in your field

Kamath recommends spending some time looking at trends within your industry. She and her team often look at skills requirements in job ads to get a sense of how various roles are changing. In addition, webinars, conference themes, and articles from trade media and associations can give valuable clues about changes that are coming — or already here, she says. 

“We’re always looking at kind of what other training organizations are doing,” she says. “We often look at what policymakers are focusing on or trade associations in terms of the ways the industries are changing.”

3. Find the right skill-building resources

Kamath adds that there are many resources to help you build your skills, ranging from free articles and online presentations to fee-based workshops, courses and seminars. She recommends checking out the free materials and planning from there based on your needs.

Myers says online sources like LinkedIn Learning classes, Facebook groups and YouTube tutorials are options, too — with one caveat. “Just be sure you’re signing up for something that’s up to date before investing time and money in training,” he says. “I’ve taught pro-level [social media marketing] and PR training for over a decade, and the classes I taught in 2012 aren’t going to be as helpful in 2024.”

4. Look to your (younger) mentors

Arora says that mentors can be a valuable resource to help you identify skills that need reinforcement or building. And while it’s common to seek out more experienced and seasoned mentors, he also suggests building relationships with younger mentors, too. Mentors of all ages who are the most tech-savvy may be learning about changes even before they’re happening. “They’re understanding the implications of [changes] very early on, and perhaps they could be a great teacher to you,” he says. 

5. Carve out “learning time”

Keeping your skills current is an ongoing process. Myers recommends integrating learning and skills development into your regular work schedule. When he started upskilling, Myers regularly had personal, one-on-one consultations with experts in the field, found the best online training courses (and took them) and stayed up to date on industry media about the topic. This also gave him the knowledge to help his company look for new talent that could help the business build their internal skills. He estimates that it took him about 20 hours to get comfortable enough to make presentations to his clients about the skill he had been studying.

6.  Seek feedback

Asking for feedback about your abilities and skills can be daunting. What if you get negative feedback or are told that you’re underperforming in some way? That’s a gift, Arora says. “For you to even pursue and learn anything new, you need to know what you don’t know,” he says. Think back over your performance reviews or feedback from supervisors and peers. Are there areas where you have gotten the same feedback about improvement more than once? Are there areas where you’re struggling? Thinking about such feedback may give you valuable clues about where you need to focus on building new skills. 

7.  Embrace the challenge

Adding skills-building to an already busy schedule may not be appealing at first. But Myers points out that learning and staying ahead of trends can be energizing. Staying on top of the latest developments in his field has been a source of pride in his career. “It’s almost like a game,” he says.

Myers recommends blocking out an hour a week to take an online class, sit in on an industry webinar and ask questions, or read up on a new skill that will give you an advantage in your profession. “You’ll not only keep up with the generations coming up behind you, you’ll be able to lead as well as learn from them with your combination of wisdom, experience and adaptability,” he says.