7 Ways to Increase Your Market Value

Why is it important to increase your market value? With today's increasing demand for better efficiency, diversified skill sets, and creativity, and with companies on a down-sizing frenzy, if you're not constantly upgrading your skills, you may soon find yourself disposable and obsoleset by most companies. In order to stay ahead of the market and increase your income, you must constantly increase your market value.

Here are 7 things you can do to increase your value in the market place.

1. Increase Your Writing Ability

This is a skill that can be a great asset to your palette of expertise. Today, everything is about communication. You must be able to communicate effectively in order to get your message clearly understood. The ability to write well is something the majority has yet to acquire so if you can master it, you will have a tremendous advantage over the competition. You can take a writing class or study and emulate the writing styles of great authors.

2. Increase Your Public Speaking Skills

As mentioned earlier, the ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills you can develop. The fact is that most people are uncomfortable with public speaking yet it is often a skill that is essential in positions of leadership. If you want to be in such a position, improving the ability to communicate well through speech is absolutely critical to your success. A great way to improve your speaking skill is to join a Toast Masters club.

3. Increase Your Technological Skills

If you have not already, master the basics of using a computer. These things include being able to type at least 30 words a minute, using spreadsheets, creating power point slides, using a word processor, and being able to do research efficiently on the internet. If you have internet access, you can learn all of these skills through online tutorial videos for free.

4. Increase Your Network

You know the saying, "It's not what you know it's who you know." In today's economy, with rising unemployment and everyone fighting over jobs, knowing the right people can get you into doors you never even knew existed. If you ask random people how they got into the company they work for, you'll find that many of them were referred by a friend. Expanding your network will also lead to great business opportunities as well. You can do this by simply making the effort to get to know more people.

5. Increase Your Knowledge

If you're not constantly reading and soaking up new information, then you will quickly fall behind your competitors. Developing the habit to read daily is one of the most valuable habits you can develop. I'm not talking about romance novels by the way. I'm talking about nonfiction works on a variety of topics such as leadership, motivation, and the latest cutting-edge technology in your industry. Reading keeps your mind alert and improves your ability to learn quickly, which are things that will definitely increase your market value.

6. Increase Your Vocabulary

Research shows that people with the best vocabulary get the best jobs. The reason is because, as stated before, communication is everything. Words are tools to express our thoughts. The larger your vocabulary the better you can express yourself and when you can express yourself more more clearly, you will get your message across more effectively. You can start by simply learning a new word a day and actually use it in your everyday conversations.

7. Increase Your Confidence

People are attracted to confident individuals. When you are confident in yourself and your skills, you portray a message that says, "Leave it to me, I'll get it done." You can increase your writing skills, speaking skills, vocabulary and any other skill, but if you portray a lack of confidence in yourself, you may not even be given a chance to showcase your skills.

Confidence is nothing more than a feeling of certainty. You must be certain in yourself and in what you have to offer. This can be accomplished by just standing upright with relaxed shoulders. When you speak, use a firm tone of voice, not one that conveys uncertainty. Be prepared and know your stuff. Just remember that there's a difference between confidence and arrogance. One will get you places while the other will just get people annoyed.

Invest your time, energy, and money to increase these skill sets and you'll be well on your way to increasing your market value which will result in an increase in your income.