Author: Kayla Humphries
The Value of Certification: Improving Employability, Credibility, and Career Opportunities
Certifications are more than just credentials; they’re powerful tools that can enhance your professional credibility, open new career opportunities, and showcase your expertise in a specific field. Certifications can bolster your professional credibility significantly, whether you are in the beginning stages of your career or a seasoned professional.
1. Validating Expertise:
Certifications validate one’s skills and abilities in a particular area. Anyone can claim they have experience or the know-how to complete tasks. Still, an industry certification proves proficiency as individuals must demonstrate their ability to obtain a certification.
2. Increased Job Opportunities:
In today’s competitive job market, listing certifications on your resume can draw an employer’s eye, help you stand above applicants, and increase your chances of landing an interview.
3. Career Advancement:
Certification can be a stepping stone to career advancement as it shows high commitment, experience, and relevant development in your field, as many certifications require one to stay up-to-date with changing software developments and trends.
4. Building Credibility and Trust:
Certification enhances your professional credibility with clients, employers, and colleagues. It also assures your capabilities and commitment to continuous learning and development.
5. Personal Growth
Lastly, certification is a significant accomplishment, fostering personal pride and a sense of achievement. It can help to boost your confidence in completing tasks and validate the work and dedication you have put into your profession.
In summary, certifications are not just a piece of paper but a validation of your expertise. Investing in certifications can unlock a world of opportunities for personal and professional growth. It enhances your employability, opens doors to career advancement, builds your credibility, and fosters a feeling of achievement.
Embracing Change and Trusting Yourself to Thrive
As our work environment changes, we must learn to adapt and evolve to learn new skills and support the organizations we work for. It is difficult, and I experienced this firsthand over the past year.
With a drastic change in our business, I had to learn new skills, take on a new role, and train others on my skills. It’s easy to feel discouraged or overwhelmed. But let me tell you, resilience doesn’t mean you are immune to these emotions; it’s about finding the strength within to adapt and forge ahead. It’s about being able to bounce back from situations that are tough and learning to grow from them. Remember, change can often lead to exciting opportunities and personal growth. In this case, it happened to me.
I have learned now more than ever how to communicate with other team members and my direct supervisor to ensure that our goals are aligned. With the help of my supervisor, I learned not to be afraid to voice my own opinions and ideas. She taught me that my concerns and ideas are valuable and that expressing them confidently will help me not only find my place in this new team but also help with my self-trust and growth.
I embraced change and remained adaptable during a period of rapid transformation. This allowed me to explore new opportunities and acquire valuable skills. Although the journey was initially intimidating, I learned to navigate unfamiliar territory by being open to shifting directions. As a result, I experienced self-growth even in uncomfortable circumstances.
So, if you are going through a big change, take a moment, breathe, and believe in yourself. Each experience, be it positive or challenging, has helped you get to where you are now.
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Turning Your Passion into a Side Hustle: A Guide to Starting Your Small Biz
So, you’re thinking about starting a small business? Awesome! Get ready for a rollercoaster of excitement, challenges, and a whole lot of cool moments. This guide is here to help you go from daydreaming to doing it! Let’s get into it!
Dream It, Define It:
First things first, what’s your vibe? What problem do you want to solve? What unique product or service do you want to offer?
Next, nail down and define your vision and your why. This is a personal statement that should help potential customers see why your business is important and inspire positivity and action. Your vision will also help keep you going when the small business life gets a little too real.
Audience:
Even though you may think that EVERYONE would love your product (and they might), you need to be honest with yourself and scope out who and what age range you want to direct your marketing toward. To help narrow down your audience, think about who benefits from what you’re putting out there and what makes you different. You can also check out your competitors and see what they are doing to push their products. Eventually, you will find your niche and will be ready to bring your take to the scene.
Sketch Out a Business Plan:
Time for a plan, but don’t stress out! This is just your roadmap, not a strict rulebook. I can’t tell you how many times I pivoted when building my business plan…and I still do! Start with the basics: what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, how you’ll get the word out, and where you want to be in a year. I like to call this my brain dump! Any and all ideas, just get them out and onto paper! Once you get everything down on paper you can create achievable goals to help you move forward one step at a time.
Legalities:
Sort out the paperwork, grab any licenses you need, and make sure you have all your state requirements done! If you are in business with a best friend or partner, make sure that all expectations and details are agreed to and written down. You can go here to follow the steps and learn more.
Cash Flow:
What are your start-up costs? Determine where your initial cash investment will come from. Are you rolling with savings and loans, or getting the squad involved? Whatever you decide, keep it simple but smart. When you get sales, where is that money going to go? If available, consider opening a business bank account, and sort out some simple accounting (there are many online accounting programs available).
Brand Vibes:
Time to brand yourself. What’s your vibe? Create a logo, nail down your visual style, and tell your story. I really love to use “mood boards” to make sure my brand has a cohesive feel. You can do this by gathering photos online and adding them to a Word doc, or my personal fav, creating a board on Pinterest! Consistent branding is like having a solid music playlist –people start recognizing your tunes. 
The Online Game:
We live in a day and age where EVERYTHING is online. So, set up a website, get on social media where your target audience hangs out, and maybe dip your toes into online sales. Being online is like having a 24/7 open mic for your business!
Connect the Dots:
Networking is just making friends in the business world. Hit up events, join some online groups, and connect with other small business owners. I have made some of my closest friends by collaborating with other businesses. Don’t be afraid to reach out and start connecting with people!
Treat Your Customers Like VIPs:
Customer service is the secret sauce. Treat your customers like VIPs – listen to what they’re saying, be open and appreciative of feedback, and always look for ways to level up your game. Always be willing to go above and beyond. Happy customers are your best promoters.
Roll with the Punches:
The one thing you can count on when running a small business is that things change! Not everything is going to go exactly how you plan it. Sometimes you will be flying high, and others, you will be hitting rock bottom. Stay flexible, keep an eye on what’s new, and be ready to switch things up. The best businesses are the ones that can ride the waves and come out on top. Remember your company vision and why. This will help you keep going when things get hard.
Conclusion:
I would recommend you take a course to really give you that extra oomph to start your business. This one here is a good one to start with! Starting a small biz is like starting a band – it’s a journey full of highs, lows, and killer tunes. Keep it simple, stay true to your vision, and enjoy the ride!
Protect Yourself Online
Evolving Threats
Cybersecurity threats are ever-growing! I for one am not the most up-to-date on what is happening and how I can protect myself. With the rise of hackers, we need to educate ourselves on how to protect our information! I was able to take a short cybersecurity course with a coworker recently and learned how to do just that! And MAN, I have learned that even the simplest things that I was doing were putting myself and others at risk! I wanted to share what I learned from this course.
Protect Yourself When You Leave
By understanding how hackers can get my information I am able to better protect myself, my family, and my coworkers. Work is a place where I have grown comfortable enough around the people I am with that I HARDLY ever lock my computer when I leave my desk to go grab something from the print, refill my water bottle, or run to lunch. Well…that is a big mistake! The idea is that if you don’t lock your work computer when it’s unattended, a hacker is going to stroll up to it, sit down, install some malicious code or swipe some important files, then sneak back out before anyone’s the wiser may seem like something out of a movie but it’s a more common threat than you think. As an employee, you have access to your organization’s data and network. That access alone is something that is valuable to hackers – “access” to company networks and results in the loss of sensitive data, and sometimes financial loss. Even if it’s to walk 10 steps away, take the extra second to lock that computer of yours.
Stay in the Know
Cyber threats are constantly happening around you and the hackers keep getting better and better every passing second. It’s important for us to stay up to date on the latest trends and tactics that are being used. By educating ourselves we can stay ahead of these attacks and threats and protect ourselves and others around us.
LearnKey’s Cybersecurity: Protecting Yourself and Your Organization
This course simplifies what individuals and organizations must do to protect digital assets. Topics include: protecting email, protecting information, protecting devices, physical security, and working remotely.