“All individuals have an in-built need for personal development which occurs through a self-actualization process.”
– Abraham Maslow, psychologist and author of “A theory of Human Motivation”
When was the last time you learned new things or did something for the first time?
Learning, developing new skills, and doing things that give us a sense of achievement is crucial to our mental health. By continuing to learn throughout our lives, we can nurture our well-being, self-esteem, and confidence while building a sense of purpose.
With this concept in mind, many companies have begun to foster learning to help their employees acquire, assimilate, and transfer knowledge to create value for themselves and the company.
At Vero, we want to double-down on learning and development. As such, for one element of our development effort, we introduced the LinkedIn Learning program to the Vero Squad in February 2021.
Now we’re talking to our top learners across the region — in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Indonesia — about their interests, expectations, and the outcomes of their experience with LinkedIn Learning.
Khine Myat Noe Wai (Khine), Sorawish Chaiyarat (SC), Hong Phuc Ngo (Phuc), Nguyen Tran Trung (Trung), Hallira Husin (HH)
Of all the LinkedIn Learning courses that you took, which was your favourite, and why?
Khine: I liked the course on Personal Branding. It made me realize that my personal branding can be a catalyst for the PR industry, so when I have complete confidence in my public speaking, I can help our company and clients more effectively.
SC: I would say my favourite course was Advanced Facebook Advertising. I usually only do branding for clients, so the course taught me a lot about marketing performance. I can use the knowledge to help my clients.
Phuc: I really liked Business Analysis and Strategy. The course allowed me to dig deeper into the topic and brush up on what I studied in university.
Trung: My favourite course was Social Media Monitoring: Strategies and Skills. I liked it because it was very easy to digest and to share with my colleagues.
HH: My favourite is Marketing on Instagram. Since my work is more about public relations, I would not normally get a chance to learn much about digital advertising, especially on Instagram.
What is the best thing you learned?
Khine: I think it is the diversity of knowledge and cases that are available to explore. I found the case studies in several courses very useful.
SC: Overall I would say both technical and logistical knowledge. I gained a lot of technical knowledge thanks to marketing and advertising courses for Facebook, YouTube, and Google. I also came to see the logic behind communication strategies.
Phuc: The knowledge about digital business analysis and data analytics I gained on LinkedIn Learning is incredible.
Trung: The best thing I learned is the self-development course. Personally, I am not such a big fan of self-help books, but when someone talks about or demonstrates the importance of self-development through their voice, I find it very interesting.
HH: Strategic negotiation and strategic thinking are both very important.
Does LinkedIn Learning suggest courses suitable for you?
Khine: The suggestions were very suitable for me, as I believe it is based on our LinkedIn profile skills and experience.
SC: The recommended courses are quite relevant to the courses that I already took, so I like it a lot. Moreover, I already know what I want to learn, so I do not use any particular filters. Instead, I search for exact keywords like marketing, strategic planning, and digital media.
Phuc: I started with the learning path called Improve Your Business Analysis Skills. After I completed that, LinkedIn Learning continued to suggest more relevant courses. As I was exploring other topics that were entirely different from what I learned before, I started browsing feature by ‘most liked’ or ‘most saved’ to choose what I would dive into next. I now use three metrics to filter course results: 1. more than two hours to complete, 2. intermediate or advanced level, and 3. sort by ‘newest’ or ‘view count’ as I see fit.
Trung: While I am keen to learn more about personal development, LinkedIn Learning keeps suggesting marketing courses. So I am not sure about that.
HH: The suggestions from LinkedIn Learning are really close to my industry, so most of the courses that I took were actually based on those suggestions.
Would you be able to give examples of how you adapt the knowledge you received from LI learning to your work?
Khine: After taking the course SEO for Social Media, which focuses especially on using Excel, I can run Excel formulas easier and work better with tips and tricks.
SC: I get to use most of what I learned on LinkedIn Learning directly, as I mainly work on PR and digital strategies. It helps me tremendously in developing key messages and social media plans for clients.
Phuc: With the knowledge I picked up from LinkedIn Learning, I can connect the dots easier when I read research or data. I can fully comprehend the numbers and where they originate.
Trung: Recently, we filmed a music video for one of our clients. I took a course about filming and camera angles earlier, which helped me create the storyboard with ease. Thus, when I worked with the production house during the filming, I could communicate exactly which angle to use and how I expected the shot to be.
HH: I have already adapted the negotiation skills to my work, since I work closely with journalists. I learn when I should reach out for updates and when to step back. For example, when journalists are not interested in the product that I propose for coverage, I explain more and help point out other angles to write about. By chatting and giving them more options, it helps change their minds, which is a win-win solution.
Which courses related to emotional intelligence (EQ) did you find especially helpful?
Khine: During this period of political crisis in Myanmar, we always feel anxious about our lives, as we have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow. It is very stressful to see terrible things constantly on the internet. I took the course Life Mastery: Achieving Happiness and Success, which guided me on how to adapt to fast-changing situations, how to be optimistic, and how to live peacefully in life and work.
SC: I did not take any EQ courses, but I learned how to lead and communicate through body language and teaching styles demonstrated by LinkedIn Learning’ instructors.
Trung: I have many self-help and EQ courses to share, but my most favourite one must be How to Crush Self-Doubt and Build Self-Confidence. My team and I work on many projects at a time with various things to prepare in advance, which can be overwhelming. So at some point, I started to lose my confidence and doubted whether I could do the job. After I took the course, it helped me regain my lost confidence and encouraged me to do better.
HH: Sometimes I find that people who work in the communications industry can sell brands and products just like magic but forget how to represent themselves or sell their ability and knowledge. Even though Learning Personal Branding is not entirely about emotional intelligence, the course focuses on choosing and communicating our strengths and adopting a growth mindset to improve our weaknesses.
How did you make time for learning? What habits helped you to complete so many courses?
Khine: In Myanmar, we lost some clients and projects because of the coup, so I shifted my focus to learning new skills on LinkedIn Learning. I keep learning because I do not want to fall behind.
SC: I usually spend my weekends on LinkedIn Learning. I also use it during my commute from home to work from time to time. The most important thing about learning is consistency. Consistency develops habits. And when something is a habit, you do not even have to try.
Phuc: Before Vero introduced LinkedIn Learning, I usually spent my free time watching YouTube videos. Then when I got access to LinkedIn Learning, I developed a new habit of watching it during dinner every day.
Trung: You do not have to ‘watch’ it all the time. LinkedIn Learning courses can also be taken just by ‘listening’ as if they are podcasts. For example, when I get stressed, I just put my earphones in and listen to self-help courses for about 30 minutes. It is actually very relaxing.
HH: I use LinkedIn Learning when I have some spare time during the day or am tackling some tasks that do not require too much attention. I’m pretty good at multitasking, I would say.
What advice would you give to others who want to learn? Any tips and tricks for your colleagues who still hesitate to take a course or feel that they have no time to take one?
Khine: Please start learning! LinkedIn Learning is amazing and not boring at all. You will learn new things, one way or another, every time you take a course. Plus, most courses take only 60-90 minutes, so it will definitely be worth your while.
SC: LinkedIn Learning is definitely an excellent platform for active learners like me! Not all companies provide programs like this, which shows how Vero values and invests in its people’s development.
Phuc: Try learning something related directly to what you are doing every day so you can commit more easily.
Trung: Start with courses that require a shorter time to complete, like 10-30 minutes. Make sure you choose ones that are brief yet packed with knowledge you can share with others.
HH: The first time you use LinkedIn Learning, you really need to choose the right class, one you are genuinely interested in, to maintain your enthusiasm for learning.