How A Short Course Can Help Your Career in the Long Run

What’s the speediest way to get your skills up to date, test out a new career path or polish your CV? A short course, of course! 

Let us walk you through the benefits of a short course for your long term career goals. 

Show Employers You’re Invested In Learning

Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field –  Brian Tracy

The most successful people always have their training wheels on – they’re continually learning something new and investing in their professional development. 

Employers love life-long learners because they can count on them to bring new skills and abilities to the table while keeping a finger on the pulse of new developments in their industry. These are the people they want on their teams! 

Taking a short course a couple of times a year and attending industry events and workshops is the perfect way to prove your commitment to learning. 

Bridge A Knowledge Gap Quickly

A short course can help you bridge a knowledge gap super quickly.

Let’s say you’ve been put in charge of leading a project for the first time. You might know the technical skills for the job inside out, but be lacking in the project management skills it’s going to take to successfully lead the team.

Diving into a short course on the fundamentals of project management, for example, will bring you up to speed quickly.

It will also score you some brownie points with your boss by demonstrating how committed you are to making the project work.

Take Your Potential Career For A Mini Test Drive First

Taking your potential career for a little test run first is a smart way to mitigate some of the risks that can come with taking the leap in a new direction.

Check out short course options in the field you’re considering for deeper insight into the industry and to get a feel if it is, in fact, the right fit for you. 

If you do decide to move ahead with the career change, you’ve already got new industry knowledge under your belt to update on your CV. Along with your existing skills, the short course can help you break into your new field. 

Boost Your Career Confidence (Especially If You’re Returning To Work)

Confidence counts at work and a short course is a great way to inject a renewed sense of capability into your professional life.

This is especially true if you’re returning from a long career break.

Am I still good at what I do? Has this career break set me back while everyone else is moving ahead?

These are the kind of anxious thoughts many people deal with when returning to work. Taking a short course or two will put new, up to date skills under your belt, along with a new sense of confidence!

Show Your Boss You’ve Got What It Takes 

Still on the lower rungs of your company’s ladder but have your sights set on the top?

A short course in management can help give you the professional tools to take you to the next level and prove your capabilities to your boss. 

Investing in learning management skills, even if you’re not actually a manager yet will help you raise the professional bar on how you act, communicate, and strategise at work. 

This will show your boss you do have what it takes for that next step.

A Short Course Is Easy To Fit Into A Busy Schedule

If you’re serious about moving ahead in your career, you’ve got to make time for professional development as a priority. This is why successful (read: uber busy) people LOVE short courses. 

The small time investment for the right short course can have a huge pay off – one that keeps paying career dividends down the line. 

The fact that there are also so many short courses online makes it even easier to fit in around your current schedule. You literally don’t have to leave your living room to get ahead in your career!

Polish Your CV

If you’ve recently started out on the job hunt you should be doing everything you can to make your CV shine. Especially if it’s been years since you’ve applied for new roles.

Having a recently completed short course or two on your CV shows your personal drive, discipline, and a strong willingness to learn – qualities every employer is looking for.

It also invites conversation and questions during an interview where you might be asked what knowledge you gained from the course, what drove you to enrol and how has it benefited your work? So be prepared to answer those questions!

Grow Your Network

A short course isn’t just about what you’ll learn, it’s about who you’ll meet too!

Building your network is an important way a short course can open up career opportunities and helpful connections in the future. 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, you’ve probably noticed a lot of professional networking goes on online these days.

This means even if you’re taking an online course, many course providers still create ways (forums, online groups, etc) to connect with other students virtually. 

You’ll Develop ‘Hybrid’ Skills 

Want to future proof your career? Here’s a red hot tip – build your hybrid skills to boost your career prospects. 

More and more employers are looking for knowledge diversity in their employees. They want multi-skilled people who combine various skills sets and a short course is a brilliant way to diversify your knowledge with complementary skills.

For example, a content writer may choose to learn about using graphic design software or if you’re a marketing professional, you might take a short course in data analytics.

How Short ARE Short Courses?

How long is a short course? It depends entirely on the area of study, workload and goal outcome. 

Some short courses might be week long, like an introductory session into an industry or certificate. Others could be a day-long, 20 hours, 5 weeks, or a few months. 

Find The Perfect Short Course

Don’t rely on your employer to advance your career with short course opportunities. If you want to future proof your career and your employability, you need to take charge of your personal development. 

Soft Skill Short Courses Examples	Technical Short Courses Examples
Mindfulness – Raise Your Leadership Effectiveness  Essential Selling Skills Critical Thinking And Problem Solving	Digital Marketing Circuit  Certificate in MYOB Essentials Developing AI Strategy Certificate In Xerox Payroll

 

Check out our huge range of short course options ranging from 1 day to 6 months and find one perfect for you!