Maciej Bednarek

How did I get my first job?

I’ll start with a personal story. At the age of 24, I started a internship with a global corporation. I didn’t know much back then, haven’t even earned a degree yet and my business skills were, shall we say natural, but for sure not developed… On my first day I was informed that I’ll be a part of a team working on ‘standard cost audit’ and that together with a number of others we’ll be manually loading massive amounts of data into huge spreadsheets. In order to support the process my employer was planning to hire 2 more people for a few months. I couldn’t believe, what I heard - a whole team copying and pasting data from different sources into spreadsheets! What I did first was fully automate the loading of the spreadsheet and subsequently showed my solution to the boss. After initial disbelief he realized, that what I just showed him, is saving several hundreds of hours of work for the team and making the need for temporary hires redundant. I was offered to take a permanent role in the company soon thereafter.

Spreadsheet knowledge - speed x10

Why am I telling you this lengthy story? Because it demonstrates my point. The only skills I had at that point in time were IT related. I could use spreadsheet (and database) software really well. And that made all the difference. I kept checking my theory ever since and numerous times heard from successful managers that they associate their early success with superior IT skills. They also believe that the flair for IT helps throughout the career - even at a (senior) manager level. Imagine that you can save just 10% of time (even though some spreadsheet tricks can make you save 90%) in everything you’re doing - email, calendar, presentation suite. Since we all work large part of our day in front of a computer screen, even relatively small improvements in efficiency can mean hours of accumulated savings per week.

Buy a course

You have taken a decision to improve your workflow and learn how to use your email program, spreadsheet or business analytics suite better. What’s the next step? My suggestion is really simple, don’t look for expensive multi-day in-person trainings. Firstly it’s hard to find the time to take part in it and secondly they function like a knowledge dump, you’ll learn a lot very quickly but forget most if it even quicker. The right way to learn IT skills is using on-line courses (or books if you’re a traditionalist). There is a plethora of platforms where you can find just the right course at a very reasonable (often less than a lunch) price. A quick tip - before you choose a course listen to the teacher and make sure you like their voice, pitch, sense of humor etc. In the end you’ll spend a fair bit of time listening to them. Once you have the course, start learning at a pace that’s comfortable to you, exercise with the teacher and note down the things that you found surprising or exciting. Don’t take too many notes, in the end you can re-watch the course. Next time when you’re working on something, think if the way you’re doing it is efficient and if not, apply the learning from your course. You might have a small initial dip in efficiency (time spent on the course and redesigning your ways of working) but soon after the big gains will kick in. Enjoy!

Find answers on-line in seconds

The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know… That’s the sad truth of acquiring new skills. Next time you’re doing something on your computer and notice it’s repetitive or doesn’t require your judgement, chances are this can be automated, or at least done better and faster. At this point in time your internet search engine is your best friend. Try “find an available meeting room outlook” or “change chart series type google sheets” and in just a few seconds solution will be served on a silver plate to you.

Teach a friend

Once your newly acquired IT skills have sunk in and your colleagues are starting to notice your improved efficiency, what’s the next step? The answer is easy - help them. Teach them the little tricks you have acquired. You’ll make sure you rehearse your skills while at the same time building a reputation of a knowledgeable, likeable and willing to share person in your company or circle of friends. There is nothing more satisfactory than the feeling of having helped someone you care about.

Organize a course in your company

And if you want to take it to an even higher level, organize a skill-sharing session or even a fully fledged course in your company. Prepare the materials, maybe find a co-teacher, advertise the course and enjoy the experience of being a teacher and giving back what you’ve learnt. Just make sure that your course is an exciting, hands-on experience with a lot of interaction and do-it yourself rather than a slides-based lecture. And a pro-tip: people forget their learning really quickly, make sure you follow up after your training. Maybe a ‘one tip a week’ email list? Or lunch and learn Q&A monthly?

Enjoy all the time the new skill has generated for you

Finally, thanks to your newly acquired skill you have extra time. This is a great moment to think again about what else could you improve upon and start the journey over with a new skill in mind.