How to stay relevant in your industry

Most, if not all industries in the world can be likened to a chess game, only the smartest win and stay relevant in the long run.

Contents

1. Take courses 2. Attend industry conferences 3. Read books pertaining to your industry 4. Networking 5. Follow pace setters or front liners in your industry on professional platforms like LinkedIn

Staying relevant in an industry, field or organisation is not a child’s play as it requires a lot of effort and doggedness.

No one desires to be a one-hit star, that is, no one wants to lose relevance in their industry after a short while. We all desire to stay relevant even till our last breath.

There are certain criteria that must be met if you will stay relevant in your industry and there are definitely prices that must be paid for relevance.

In this article are ways through which you can stay and maintain your relevance in your chosen industry or field.

1. Take courses

Industries evolve daily and new technologies and innovations are been introduced as well. You can’t use the knowledge you acquired five years ago in your industry to run the same industry these days. If you try that, you might just be inviting a sack letter or bankruptcy.

To stay relevant in your industry, you need to take courses that have been created for the sole purpose of developing professionals in such fields.

There are e-courses you can take online on platforms such as Jobberman, Google, Side hustle and so on and you can also take courses physically from professional bodies in your industry.

Remember, anyone who has stopped learning has started dying!

2. Attend industry conferences

No one can survive or stay relevant in any industry as a loner.

Attending industry conferences is a great way for you to stay relevant in your industry. Some if not all industries have conferences they organise either on a yearly, or quarterly basis in a bid to bring professionals in such industries together and generally talk about things that affect them all and the way forward.

Missing such conferences is a sure guarantee of gradually becoming outdated and becoming irrelevant in such an industry.

To stay relevant in your industry, make your findings about when industry conferences come up and try your possible best to attend.

You can also join professional bodies in your industry to stay relevant.

3. Read books pertaining to your industry

Readers are leaders! To stay ahead, relevant and focused in your industry, you need to read books.

No matter how busy you might be, it is expedient you dedicate time to studying about your industry. Drink from the wealth of knowledge of trailblazers and front liners in your industry through books.

You can also download tapes or watch videos on YouTube about your industry.

The daily changes that happen in your industry will not permit you to stay ignorant and ignorance is no excuse for failure or irrelevance.

So, read books if you must stay relevant in your industry.

4. Networking

It has often been said that your network is your net worth.

You need people if you must stay relevant in your chosen industry. No one is an island of knowledge. Through networking, you are able to share your knowledge and experience in your industry with others and they are also able to do the same, thus, providing avenues for everyone to learn something new.

Take out time to meet new people in your industry, and go beyond your colleagues at work. Attend events, seminars and conferences that will avail you the opportunity to meet the best minds in your industry and do not be shy to reach out.

Who knows… the person you reached out to at that event can be the person that will connect you to a person you need to move to the next level in your industry.

5. Follow pace setters or front liners in your industry on professional platforms like LinkedIn

As a professional in any industry, it is important you have an active account on professional platforms such as LinkedIn or any other one that is specific to your industry.

If you’re on these platforms, you need to be on the lookout for the front liners in your industry and find a means of connecting with them.

You don’t necessarily have to have an intimate relationship with them, but you constantly reading their posts and giving your opinions on such posts gives you an insight into the present happenings in the industry and it also increases your visibility on such platforms and makes you noticeable to such front liners in your industry.

Tough times don’t last but I bet you, tough people do. You need to pay the price of dedication, sacrifice, perseverance, diligence, diligent studying and smart work if you will stay relevant in your industry.

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