When it comes to establishing yourself as a professional and commercial entity, it’s important to consider how to build your knowledge base. Of course, however, knowledge is often only useful if it’s applicable to something, at least if it’s to be used in a professional capacity. This isn’t always the case, but it’s true enough to make such principle something of a soft rule.

For this reason, expanding your technical skillset in the field you inhabit can be a great idea. If you work in marketing, for instance, learning about SEO, social media marketing and how to track metrics can be a good idea. This is hardly the only example however, and so investing in your skillset and the skillsets that orbit your potential career choice can be a tremendous idea, especially if you hope to use those transferable skills in other fields on day.

But what are the fundamentals of learning laterally in this way, and how can you apply those lessons to promoting yourself as an individual brand or professional?

Equipment Use

When professionals first consider expanding their technical skillset, they often think along the lines of qualification or academic study. This isn’t an incorrect approach, but it can sometimes discount your ability to regard practical equipment use as a necessary utility to foster. For instance, interfacing with a bud trimming machine, power tools, or embarking on a first aid course to help you commit to immediate and sustained help in a time of crisis can be essential for your potential craft and the ramifications thereof. In this respect, signing on for specialized training can help you flourish.

Qualifications

It can be worth your time to consider the ancillary qualifications that may help your current understanding of your field. For instance, you may find that qualifying yourself in an aspect of digital marketing, such as prime graphic design or motion graphics, can help you appeal to further employers or more confidently take your personal branding to the next level if you hope to strike out on your own. For some, qualifications can imply speaking at a public convention after attending events such as Toastmasters, for others it could mean understanding the theorycrafting behind the product that justifies their industry. What matters is accrediting yourself as appropriate.

Practical Experience

Practical experience is often hard to beat and can look great on your resume, and so sometimes, going above and beyond to get this can be important. For instance, you may have been reading about stage design and prop placement in university, but despite your great qualification you need to get some hands on experience. Taking a starter logistical position can, even in this most creative of fields, help introduce you to the concepts you have been theorizing about, while getting your name on the credits of a range of show efforts. This is just one example – your industry may offer thousands of ancillary placements like this. They’re worth checking.

With this advice, we hope you can see the true value of extending your technical skillset.