It is easy for millennials – or anyone else – to feel stuck in their careers. One of the easiest ways to get over the hump is to gain more useful career skills. Sounds great, you may think, but who’s got the time to do that? As it turns out, pretty much everyone. Here are ten useful career skills you can learn the basics of quickly.
Public Speaking
Public speaking has long been America’s biggest fear – scarier to most people than heights, snakes, or even zombies. But with just a little bit of training – we suggest a free online class like the one offered by the University of Washington, or just jumping in with both feet by joining your local Toastmasters – you can easily get to a point where talking in front of a bunch of people is, if not easy, than at least better than living through a Walking Dead scenario.
Foreign Languages
In today’s globalized marketplace, it is more important than ever to speak languages other than Engish. You can’t become completely fluent in a whole new language in three months, of course. But with dedicated study, you can learn a surprising amount in a short time. We recommend the principles laid out in this piece from lifehacker.
Photography
Being able to take good photos will give you a leg up at corporate functions, parties, and lots of other places as well. Learning the basic principles is fairly simple, and your friends (the outgoing ones, anyway) will love being your subjects while you’re practicing!
Acting
You may not want to be another Olivier, or even another Sly Stallone. But learning to act will help you overcome stage fright (duh!), and will make you a more confident person. The collaborative nature of the art form will also help your communication skills.
Design
Knowing the principles of design is a very useful career skill. Once you get those down, you can make everything from spreadsheets to websites to office spaces look great, and that’s sure to make you stand out. Now get started!
CPR
You can get certified in CPR after taking only a few hours’ worth of classes. It’s a great resume booster, and there are additional benefits to being a workplace first responder.
Computer Programming
One of the most important useful workplace skills you can have is computer programming. No matter what your job is, having even a little inside knowledge of 0s and 1s will look great to your boss. We recommend getting started with the very common and comparatively easy C++. Make sure to check out Code Academy for some great (and free!) online classes.
Psychology
You can get a leg up on all the mind games going on in your office with a rudimentary understanding of psychology. Many universities, including Yale, offer free intro classes.
Statistics
If you spend all day looking at numbers, it would be helpful to know what they mean! You can find an intro class from UC Berkeley on iTunes.
Notary Public
In most states, all you have to do is pass a test to become a notary. Once you ace it, you’ll be able to perform basic legal functions and be a witness for signatures. You can make some extra dough, and maybe even find a new way to interact with people at your workplace.
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