Lifelong Learning to Grow Your Career + Side Hustle Windows Insider Podcast

In this episode, we delve into lifelong learning – the key to growing your superpowers, whether you’re interested in taking the next step in your career or feeding your side hustle. We gathered expert tips and advice on how to keep learning and how to decide what new skills will most benefit you. We also get the scoop on how to get the most out of learning conferences and what it takes to earn a certification from Microsoft.
 
Listen to this episode for a chance to win a free three-month subscription to LinkedIn Learning! One lucky Windows Insider will be selected to access the entire LinkedIn Learning library of 10,000 courses. To enter, tweet about the new talents and knowledge you’ve gained through LinkedIn Learning, and we’ll randomly select one entrant to win. So, let us know on Twitter how you’ve used LinkedIn Learning to up your game. Then, tag your Tweet with #alwaysbelearning and #windowsinsider to be entered into the drawing. Entries must be received by Wednesday, April 18.
 
Episode transcript
JASON HOWARD:  Welcome to the Windows Insider Podcast.  You're listening to Episode 13.  I'm your host, Jason Howard.
Today, we're talking lifelong learning, that is, how to continue growing your superpowers, whether you're interested in taking the next step in your career, feeding your side hustle, or an amazing new hobby. 
Plus, we'll share our Windows Insiders can access exclusive free courses on LinkedIn Learning. 
Our first guest is "the" ultimate lifelong learner.  She took a break from her busy job at LinkedIn to share pro tips for acquiring at least three new skills every year. 
SAVANNAH BARRY:  I'm Savannah Barry, and I am a marketing manager at LinkedIn, and I work primarily on LinkedIn Learning. 
JASON HOWARD:  Awesome.  Welcome to the studio. 
SAVANNAH BARRY:  Thank you.  Thank you for having me. 
JASON HOWARD:  So, we've heard from our colleagues at LinkedIn that you are "the" ultimate lifelong learner and are really savvy in terms of being able to work on new skills to grow your career.  Would you mind sharing with everybody your method for doing this?  
SAVANNAH BARRY:  Yeah, totally.  So, I'm just a curious person in general.  If there is a problem that I come across, I'm very eager to learn how to fix it.  I have a hard time, like, just kind of stepping back and saying, "Like, okay, like, someone else handle this problem."  Which I think has driven me to be naturally a very curious learner, and kind of have a desire to learn a lot.
So when I first joined, I actually joined the Lynda.com team prior to LinkedIn acquiring Lynda.com, and I worked on our enterprise marketing team there.  And a great example about what I did there was we needed some e-mails to be coded, and we had to basically rely on an engineering team to build them.  And I was, like, "This is not efficient, I cannot get stuff done in the timely manner that I would like it to be." 
So I basically taught myself how to code e-mails, which I had no idea how to do.  But I had a need.  I had a problem I needed to overcome, I had some campaigns I wanted to ship, and yeah, I spent months after work learning HTML, taking courses on Lynda, LinkedIn Learning, reading books -- just like basically picking my fiancée's brain, like, "Please teach me how to do this."  And at the end of the day, you know, I think it, in general, has made me a better marketer.  That's a great example of just like one very tactical thing I did.
But I reserve an hour out of my week, every single week, to learn.  Truly, I have a calendar invite on Friday, it actually will be after this podcast, where I will basically just reserve at least an hour just to sit down and read something that's like relatable to my career, watch an online course, listen to a podcast -- really, anything that can kind of help me achieve my goals, which I think that has been on my calendar as long as I can remember, so that's kind of how I can car