GetSmarter: How to Turn Online Learning Into a Real Career Habit

Learning once you leave university may seem easy until work-related emails, meetings, personal commitments, and obligations start filling up your day. That is why professional development often falls through because of things having nothing to do with one’s motivation. In fact, the hard part about it is integrating learning into your life. You need to take a different approach and consider a virtual course as yet another professional practice.

Start by identifying the problem, not the course

Before browsing through a catalogue of courses you should think of the changes you would like to make in yourself. Perhaps you want to learn how to speak in meetings with more confidence, know something about artificial intelligence to discuss it with your colleagues, become a manager or make decisions based on data.

This is when GetSmarter becomes helpful when used as a learning platform instead of an opportunity to get one more certificate. The right question in this case is not “What course will look good on my CV?”, but “What knowledge will I use in my professional activity in the next few months?”

Construct a timetable that holds up through hectic weeks

Almost everyone devises impossible study timetables. People set aside two quiet hours per night but hardly have such a week in practice. A better approach would be to select a few reliable moments for study and safeguard them.

This could involve forty minutes of study before work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and an additional period on Sundays. When one lesson is lost due to an appointment, reschedule it rather than losing the entire week.

The same applies to the use of GetSmarter courses as well. Rather than trying to complete the entire course at once, link your lessons with your existing schedule.

Every lesson must earn its way

Learning online is made more valuable by connecting the concepts to real-world applications. Once you finish a lesson, all you have to do is ask yourself one question – “How can I apply this?”

If you are taking a lesson on leadership, try using one communication technique during your next team meeting. If you are taking a marketing course, analyze one campaign using the new perspective. If you are learning data analysis, apply one concept to a report you are already creating.

It makes the process from passively consuming information to experimenting with it.

Login as an opportunity for reflection

Usually, the process of getting access to the GetSmarter website is seen only as logging into the learning account. Make your login a checkpoint instead.

Before beginning your learning session, plan your goals. When the session ends, write down what you understood, what was difficult for you, and what requires further investigation. It will create your own learning history in the long run.

But do not look for discounts

The cost is an important issue in case of choosing the professional education. However, spending all the time looking for GetSmarter promo codes can prevent you from making the more significant choice. The discount will help you only if the course suits your needs, schedule and budget.

While thinking about your possible savings, estimate your entire costs – course cost, learning time and real value of knowledge that you are going to obtain from the course.

If you get a GetSmarter promo code, read carefully the conditions before thinking about using it on the course you have chosen.

Learning with others, not just with technology

There is an often overlooked element of learning that goes along with professional training and that is talking. Sometimes a topic may seem rather abstract until you hear from another individual as to how they have dealt with a similar situation in the workplace.

Even one question or example can help to solidify the lesson in your memory.

This social aspect can transform the experience of GetSmarter courses into something much closer to professional training.

Assess what has been achieved after the class ends

There’s no doubt that finishing a course makes one feel good, but that doesn’t always reflect success. Success needs to be assessed later on when you consider the changes that were made thanks to the course.

Did you begin implementing a new approach at your workplace? Did you gain confidence in explaining a tough concept? Did you make an application that you weren’t eligible for before? Every bit of change matters if it lasts.

Wait for thirty days after completing the course and assess yourself. Write about one skill that you implemented, one decision that was made because of it, and one area of skill that requires improvement.

GetSmarter Course Areas at a Glance

Learning Area	Example Course / Focus	University / Institution	Suitable For
Artificial Intelligence	AI: Implications for Business Strategy	MIT Sloan & MIT CSAIL	Professionals exploring AI adoption and business strategy
Artificial Intelligence	Oxford Artificial Intelligence Programme	University of Oxford	Professionals looking to build practical AI knowledge
Business Management	MBA Essentials	London School of Economics	Professionals developing broader management skills
Leadership	Executive Leadership Programme	University of Oxford	Managers and professionals moving into leadership roles
Sustainability	Business Sustainability Management	University of Cambridge	Professionals working with sustainability and business strategy
Finance	Sustainable Finance	University of Cambridge	Finance professionals interested in sustainable investment
Marketing	Digital Marketing	University of Cape Town	Marketers and business professionals building digital skills
Data & Analysis	Data Analysis	University of Cape Town	Professionals who work with data and business reporting
Real Estate	Real Estate Economics and Finance	London School of Economics	Real estate and finance professionals
Supply Chain	AI, Sustainability, and Resilience Strategies	Yale School of Management	Supply chain and operations professionals
Cybersecurity	Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Age of AI	Harvard	Technology, security, and risk professionals
Design & Creative	User Experience Design	University of Cape Town	Professionals interested in UX and digital experiences

Learning should be a part of your career

The most fundamental change involves not considering professional learning as an activity that you engage in exclusively while pursuing a promotion. Learning helps you to make skills more valuable by making you able to detect changes sooner, ask better questions, and rely less on your knowledge.

When evaluating various GetSmarter courses, logging into your GetSmarter account, or finding GetSmarter codes for discounts, always remember about the greater objective behind all this activity. You should not be trying to finish one more online course; you should try and develop a habit of learning.