DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS FOR THE JOB YOU WANT?

From NEWS CANADA

Are you a few key skills away from reaching your dream job? Can you picture yourself working in that office down the street, but you’re not sure how to get your resumé in shape?

Here are a few tips:

Take time for yourself. Plan to take a few weeks or months to really consider your path, your mental health, and what you might do differently if you could make some changes. Take care and try to focus on your interests. Talk to trusted friends and family about your thoughts and see what you discover about possible next steps.

Consult a professional. There are experts across Canada ready and willing to help you find the right program and direction for you. Trained professionals ask the right questions, listen, help you reflect and can offer a perspective you may not have considered. They can help you answer questions such as: What gets you excited? What job will you feel pride in? What industry is the one in which you can balance your bank account and live in relative comfort and happiness?

Choose a platform. There are many online educational platforms to choose from – supported by the government of Canada. ABC Skills Hub, a program of ABC Life Literacy Canada, offers courses for free to help you improve useful work skills like reading, motivation, how to use Zoom, teamwork, time management, and more.

Learn for life. Learning is constant, and with an evolving job market, you need to constantly be learning as well. By keeping yourself in the practice of learning, you can keep on top of trends and stave off any learning loss.

Learn and learn often, and before you know it, you’re where you wanted to be. And then you can readjust your sights.

Was there ever anything you wanted to learn, but didn’t? Do you feel like it is too late to begin learning it? What barriers are stopping you? For some of us, a barrier is simply knowing where to find good resources.

The Internet is full of free information, and sometimes it can feel like there is too much out there. There are lifetimes’ worth of free education online and it can be difficult to figure out where to go, how to use it and how to make it work for you. So, look for those created with the adult learner in mind.

For instance, if you’re looking to improve your financial literacy or money skills, the ABC Skills Hub online learning platform offers free, reputable courses on a wide spectrum of skills, such as money safety, ways to save and banking basics. If you think you need to brush up on interpersonal skills, take a look at courses on communication, teamwork or confidence. Or, maybe you can take a course on Snopes and Fake News if you’re concerned about trusting the news on television or social media.

Improving your literacy skills in any space takes a concerted effort, but with the right resources it can be easy and accessible.

More info at abcskillshub.ca.