When you’re a freelancer, you’re always working to stay relevant in your work. The market never stays still, so it’s important that you make sure that your skills are up to date.
Look for a MOOC or other online class that can help you improve.
MOOCs, or massive open online courses, are online classes offered by universities to the public. The cost varies by institution, but they’re typically free or very low cost. One great place for MOOCs is Coursera, which offers more than 2,000 different classes from many universities, including Stanford University and Yale University. Another (more pricier) option is GetSmarter – which has hundreds of courses from top universities. Lastly, there is Udemy which has more than 50,000 courses available for purchase or free with coupons within its marketplace. There are tons of open source platforms for development practitioners to learn new skills such as the World Bank Open Learning campus or the USAID ‘Links’ family of websites.
Try to build on areas for development when working on projects.
When you’re working on a project, try to pick an aspect of the work that you need to strengthen. Maybe it’s a specific thematic area or task that you don’t know too well.
Once you have identified an area in which to improve, make a list of what skill sets you need to develop further—both for this particular project and for your future freelancing career. Do some research online and ask friends who might have relevant experience for suggestions on where to start learning more about these skills.
Once you’ve made your list and started learning from books, websites or tutorials (YouTube is a fantastically underrated resource!), review the work that you have done so far and see if there are any changes that can be made based on feedback from others (e.g., “I should have included more details about X.”). It’s important not only as part of improving your own performance as a freelancer but also because it will help build trust among potential clients by showing them how attentive and thoughtful of their needs/interests you are as well!
Take advantage of opportunities to teach others.
Teaching is a fantastic way to keep your skills sharp as a freelancer. It gives you an opportunity to master the material, experiment with different ways of explaining it, and share knowledge with others in your field. In addition, teaching offers access to a whole new network of people who can be helpful when you’re looking for work or proposing new projects. It’s important that you find students who are willing and able to learn from your expertise—and that can be hard sometimes! But if you’re patient and persistent, it’s totally worth it.
Conclusion
It’s important to keep your skills sharp. As we’ve shown, you can learn new things at any time of day and from a variety of sources. We’re sure you’ll be able to find a few that appeal to you, and if not, there are always more resources out there. Have fun with it, and remember that the important thing is just to keep learning all the time. You never know what new ideas or insights might catch your attention or change the way you work for the better!