Broaden Your Horizons
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 At
6:30 AM
Employers sometimes complain that employees don’t have enough understanding of what is happening outside their particular career specialism. For example, marketing people don’t tend to know enough about HR issues, and sales people frequently don’t appreciate the pressures that finance departments can face.
Do you read a ‘quality’ newspaper at least three or four times a week?
Consequently, read outside your area of expertise – even if it’s just skimming through the Financial Times once a week at your local library. It’ll broaden your knowledge and give you at least a passing familiarity with the world of business – a very useful skill when you’re being interviewed for a new job and when the interviewer could potentially engage you in business chit-chat.
Use the World Wide Web
There is a lot of useful information out there. But buying lots of books can be expensive as information on work and careers gets outdated very quickly. So try to get yourself access to the internet.
Do some searching for articles and information to advance your career. Two particularly good search engines for getting career-related material are:
Do you read a ‘quality’ newspaper at least three or four times a week?
Consequently, read outside your area of expertise – even if it’s just skimming through the Financial Times once a week at your local library. It’ll broaden your knowledge and give you at least a passing familiarity with the world of business – a very useful skill when you’re being interviewed for a new job and when the interviewer could potentially engage you in business chit-chat.
Use the World Wide Web
There is a lot of useful information out there. But buying lots of books can be expensive as information on work and careers gets outdated very quickly. So try to get yourself access to the internet.
Do some searching for articles and information to advance your career. Two particularly good search engines for getting career-related material are:
- www.northernlight.com – which features a large index and collects documents from newswires, magazines and a variety of databases;
- www.google.com – considered by many people to be the best search engine on the World Wide Web.
- www.indsoc.co.uk – the website of the Industrial Society, a not-for-profit organisation offering advice on topics as wide ranging as employment law to skills development;
- www.learndirect.co.uk – a site aimed at promoting life-long learning among both businesses and individuals by providing a range of learning opportunities;
- www.globeroom.com – offers information and free subscription to a magazine on how to get more out of working life;
- www.flametree.com – targets people interested in work/life balance;
- www.trainingzone.co.uk – has a l i s t of workshops and courses that you can complete on-line.
- Keep exposing yourself to new challenges at work. The more you are challenged at work, the more quickly you will learn and eventually achieve your career goals.
- Don’t just think about development as being limited to work. Personal growth is important too.
- Read voraciously! Pick up newspapers and surf the internet to gather as much information about the world of work as possible.