One of my favorite ways to get regular education is to read industry magazines. There are so many great articles that exist in these industry magazines. Recently I was flipping through a magazine for the human resources profession and this I stopped and really took stock of the variety of articles, it reminded me that in reading this magazine I was investing in myself and my profession with very timely, relevant, and helpful information.When you are reading through a trade magazine for your profession, here are a few things that I recommend that you do to get the most out of the magazine:
- Mark it up. Keep a highlighter and pen on hand so that you can mark the parts of the articles that really stand out to you. Having a pen on hand will help you to jot down notes in the margin of things that you want to implement, explore more later, or have questions about.
- Read the bios of the authors. The reason why you want to do this is that you can sometimes find out about other websites where you can find more information from an author that you’re really interested in learning more from.
- Read the editorial article. Often found at the beginning of the magazine, the editorial column gives some helpful insight about your industry. I love to read the editorial articles because editors are pulling together and curating a lot of information from a number of different resources.
- Share the information. Look for an opportunity to share the information that you picked up in the magazine. Is there somebody on your team at work that could benefit from the article? Or maybe you can help to host a monthly lunch and learn with the team and share the article in a group format for further conversation. If you are going to have everybody read the article and discuss it, make sure that you share the article with people at least one week in advance of the meeting and then again share it with them the day before the meeting so that they have a chance to read it over and come prepared to the meeting with thoughts. Having them review the article and share their thoughts at the meeting is often not the best way for people to get much out of the article.
- Magazine copies at the office. I think it is good practice to keep industry magazines in the lobby of the company, that way when people visit somebody at your office, or come for an interview, they have an opportunity to flip through a magazine that is related to your industry or company. Additionally I recommend that you have copies of these types of trade magazines in the break room for your employees to flip through when they are taking a break or enjoying lunch.
No matter if you are reading the articles for yourself, or if you’re sharing them with other people, make sure to have industry magazines on hand at the work place for the benefit of the entire team.
What is a trade magazine you enjoy reading?