How to Improve my Skills at Work: The Levels of Skills Evolution

Skills are a combination of knowledge, ability, and confidence. However, high confidence doesn't always translate to high skill levels. As such, it's important to have a firm grasp of your skill levels and rate them accordingly.

As you do so, you can learn which skills need improvement and how to raise their levels. Read more to understand the different skill levels and how you can pass each.

The Evolution of Skills

• Student

  This stage of skill evolution is the earliest one. It's also known as the "know stage," where you acquire the basics of any expertise.

  Usually, feeling super confident during this stage is common. However, it may not translate to the level of skill you possess. Think of it as knowing it in theory but not yet put into practice.

• Apprentice

  As you improve your skills at work, the next evolution stage your knowledge will take is apprenticeship. Becoming an apprentice in a specific skill means you can already play with what you know.

  It's the stage where you're still learning. However, you're already starting to get the hang of things.

• Specialist

  Continuing to practice your knowledge can further improve your skills at work. You may move up the ladder and become a specialist in what you do.

  This skill evolution stage lets you use your knowledge in your work. You become consistent in what you do. In other words, you can put it to more purposeful use, able to do things without much handholding.

• Expert

  By improving your skills at work, you become an expert in your abilities. At this point, you can creatively use your knowledge to resolve problems that may arise.

  Being at this stage means you've been practicing your work for years. As such, you can navigate a problem skillfully on your own.

• Craftsman

  Continuously improving your skills at work will eventually get you to the craftsman stage of skill evolution. By this time, you already have a firm grasp of your knowledge. You may also have an in-depth understanding of it, enabling you to create new knowledge, skills, products, and services. As a result, you can become a credible leader in your field.

How to Improve My Skills at Work

• Be a listener

  One of the ways how to improve your skills at work is to become a good listener. This technique allows you to understand what others tell you and respond accordingly. You may even learn new things from the speaker.

• Cooperate with teammates

  Another way of improving skills at work is developing your people skills. Teamwork can help solve problems better than working as one person.

  Learning how to collaborate with others builds long-lasting relationships. This skill enables everyone to work together in harmony, achieving common goals in line with the business.

• Respect other people's time and pace

  You can also improve your work skills by learning to set and respect work boundaries. Some things you can do are submitting deliverables on time, not sending emails after work hours, and not bombarding your team with unnecessary follow-ups.

  That way, you can discipline yourself to finish tasks during work hours while maintaining a good workplace relationship.

• Develop a willingness to learn

  Another tip on how to improve your skills at work is to have a love for learning. This disposition may also help you learn new skills, making you adaptable to any situation.

Enhance Your Skillset Today

Becoming skilled at something doesn't just involve high confidence. You must also have a deep understanding and the right performance to be called an expert at that skill.

Knowing your skill levels can help you understand what you need to do and how to improve them. This way, you can enhance your skills to match what's required from your job hunt.

Check out Career.com to learn which jobs may fit your skill set.