These days, it’s all too common for job seekers to take a job that isn’t in their industry. The lack of jobs and ever increasing competitive job market certainly don’t help, and you’ve got bills to pay, food to eat, and possibly a family to care for.
Related: 5 Great Tools That Showcase Your Skills To Recruiters
Although it’s tough to stay happy at a job you don’t necessarily want, you know the position is taking care of your financial needs at the moment. But how can you advance your skills for a future job?
How To Advance Your Skills
If you’re worried that you might not be getting the experience you need, here are three ways to keep fortifying your professional talents:
1. Actively Seek Ways To Use Your Skills At Work
Whether you’re a writer working in sales or a business major working at a bank, there’s always some way of using the skills you’ve studied and practiced - wherever you go. You just have to actively seek it out.
For instance, I’m looking to be a reporter someday, but my current job involves office administration. I didn’t want my writing skills to suffer, so I decided to make up writing projects any way that I could to continue to strengthen my craft.
I wrote a summary of the company on the company website, I blog about the company whenever I get a chance, and even try to connect with other vendors via social media. All of these things were not in my job description, but as time progressed, I knew I had to use my skills somehow.
2. Ask Your Boss To Give You More Responsibilities
Taking on tougher tasks will help challenge you in the work field, and asking your employer for more responsibilities shows that you’re not afraid of a challenge. It also helps you stand out from the other employees in all of the right ways. It’s a win-win, you get to put your skills into practice and your employer has less work to think about.
Besides, even if your current job isn’t in your professional industry, not excelling at a job doesn’t exactly make you look like a professional.
3. Start A Blog And Utilize Social Media
Even if you’re not into blogging, tweeting, or posting on other people’s walls, learning how to market your company will help you learn more about who you’re working for.
The more you know about your employer’s business, the easier it will be for you to figure out how you can continue to be a valuable asset to that company.
Since it’s more common for employees to job hop these days, the last thing you want is to become expendable.
So, if you’re currently working at a job that isn’t in your professional field, remember, making your job work for your skills can help advance them and even make the job more enjoyable.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
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