Let’s face it, we all have a desire to improve ourselves, whether that’s an aspect of your social life or at work. This urge to better ourselves can often be quite a headache for businesses, who have to find a way to match the ambitions of their employees or risking seeing them moving on to find a new challenge elsewhere.
For many workers, the only way is up when it comes to career progression, but is that really the case? In a world where employees are expected to be more flexible than ever, there can be great value in learning new skills, gaining more experience and forming a different perspective of life in a slightly different role or even sector.
The need for flexibility
Many companies see the benefit of having agile employees. For example, if HR interacted with marketing more or the sales team was able to incorporate some more technology into their pitches, would it not produce better results?
Taking a step sideways may seem like staying in the same place in terms of your ambitions, but for a graduate employee, the extra knowledge and skills will help you perform better in the long-run and may give you a greater chance of securing the right promotion when the time arises.
Employees need to show their line managers that they would like to take on new challenges and see where their skills take them. It may turn out that you enjoy something completely different to what you thought you would or that your skills are perfectly suited elsewhere.
Skills fit for any business
Technology has already had a huge impact on everyday life and now influences many tasks in the workplace, placing a greater onus on training and development. As a result, companies are more eager than ever to find employees who are able to adapt quickly, hit the ground running and be willing to learn new skills.
These skills are important to every employer, no matter the company or sector, so it can only benefit you if you are able to show that you can adapt and be flexible.
If you’re a graduate looking to kick-start your career, have a chat with Discovery Graduates and see how they can help get you started.
