02- How To Quickly Learn New Job Responsibilities

Summary

In this episode, we will break down one of the best ways to quickly learn new job responsibilities. Either you’ve just landed a new job, or you’re starting a new project, or maybe you’ve just been given some more job responsibilities. Whatever the case is, you need to learn something new and fast.

Episode Transcribed

Every industry, job and company has its own terminology. So when you start something new, you need to understand that new language In order for you to be able to work on it or contribute in meetings. That is why it is so important to learn the terminology quickly. However, since the topic of the job is new to you, it may be difficult to do that. It’s almost like learning a new language. That brings us to this week's smartcut...."Think about learning a new job like learning a new language. Immerse yourself in the terminology."

When you need to learn a new language, think about it. What are the first things you do? 1) First, you need to learn the alphabet, grammatical rules, vocabulary. Maybe you download an app like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone. 2) Next, you need to learn how to read it.. 3) Then you need to get used to hearing it, so you listen to podcasts or watch youtube videos or TV with subtitles. 4) Then you need to learn how to speak that language. You practice saying it out loud or hire a tutor, or find others to speak with. But you know the best way to learn a language, is to immerse yourself. Learning a new job is no different.

When you are learning a new job, 1) you should also learn the basic vocabulary such as industry terms, the software the team uses, or the products they sell. 2) Then you learn how to read it, by asking for some internal documentation on the subject, or searching for papers or books on the subject online from reputable consulting firms or academic institutions. 3) Then you need to learn how to understand what's going on when you are listening to people talk about the subject. You can find a podcast on the subject or Ted Talks. 4) Then you need to get used to speaking about it. You can invite colleagues or friends to have coffee with you or even find meetups on the subject. By doing this, you will essentially be immersing yourself in the language of the new job, and therefore you’ll learn it very quickly. 

When I first moved into a project management job the second year of my career, I immersed myself in the topic and quickly developed my expertise. 1) I took a training on the subject that taught me the terminology. 2) I started studying for a certification test on the subject called the PMP and read all of the study books. I also read articles online on best practices. 3) Then I scheduled meetings with the project management experts on my team to hear them talk about what they do. 4) and lastly, I spoke to friends of mine who did project management including my roommate who was in grad school and happened to be taking a project management course. My manager was so impressed by what I was able to do in a short period of time that she had me lead the most important project on the team. By putting in the time and effort and using the resources available to me, I was able to learn the new job terminologies and therefore learn the new job responsibilities extremely quickly. 

If you are changing a job to something similar and you already know the subject, you should still be immersing yourself from time to time in things related to your job so that you can continue to improve your knowledge and value. Doing so will help you stay up to date with things changing in your job or industry. You will sound very knowledgeable when you bring up new ideas in meetings.

Conclusion

To summarize this week's smartcut. You should learn a new job in a similar way that you would learn a new language. By immersing yourself. Because each job and each industry has their own terms and ways of doing things. And you need to be able to speak fluently in the language of your job in order to sound like an expert. I hope you all try to apply this smartcut the next time you start a new job. Or even take some of the tips from this lesson and apply them to the job you are in right now.

And remember, you can go on careersmartcuts.com anytime to 1) see the smartcuts from the podcast, 2) to listen to the episodes, or 3) to provide feedback on anything! Thank you for listening to Career Smartcuts. Follow or subscribe to this podcast now, because it's time… to accelerate your career towards success....however you define it