Most of us have a wish list of new skills and knowledge we’d like to aquire. But finding the time to attend offsite courses can be tricky, and it’s often hard to find a course that caters to your specific needs and level of knowledge.

Luckily, Macquarie staff has free access to Lynda.com, an online learning platform by LinkedIn that offers thousands of video tutorials on a huge range of professional and technical skills. You can find courses that are perfectly matched to your job, interests and skill level – Lynda.com can even suggest courses to you based on your LinkedIn profile.

And the best part? The video presenter format means you can learn anywhere – on your morning train, listening in the car or on the treadmill via your smartphone. You can fit your professional development in, wherever your life takes you.

We sent UBar Manager Moe Shakourof on a mission to try Lynda.com for the first time.

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I first heard of Lynda.com through my manager and our Human Resources manager. I thought it was a great idea and a great tool I could use to further my knowledge.

Where to start?

Before logging into Lynda, I sat down and made a list of topics that I was interested in, which included marketing, communication, computer skills and leadership.  (In the end, after exploring the site I also found that a whole lot of things I didn’t even know I had an interest in!)

First impressions

My first impression of the website was that there is quite a lot of information to take in. But the platform made it super easy for me to navigate and find something I was interested in.  The search function was easy to use and although I initially had some trouble finding the ‘recommended’ section (where you enter your interests and Lynda suggests courses based on these interests), it ended up being a very handy function.

Completing the courses

I used Lynda.com in various settings. Whenever I found some spare time at work, I would watch courses and at home I’d try to go over some of the content every week.

I completed some courses in Excel, as well as some marketing courses (including a great one called Marketing to Millennials – very handy for understanding Macquarie students!) and some on Photoshop.

Any downsides?

I was a little overwhelmed at first with all the information available. I was hoping there would a scheduler of some sorts – it would be nice if there was a feature where you could set up notifications reminding you to complete a section/full course.

The verdict

Overall, Lynda is a great tool that I think everyone at Macquarie should check out, whether they want to learn basic how to’s or build on their existing level of knowledge. It’s super easy to use and really beneficial, with its very wide range of topics and categories. It’s like your own personal university!

Every time I used Lynda, I felt motivated and happy knowing that I have such a great resource available to me, and I plan to continue to use Lynda whenever things are calm for me at work.

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Ready to start exploring Lynda.com? Login by selecting ‘sign in with your organizational portal’, enter ‘mq.edu.au’ and then your OneID details.

A playlist of suggested Lynda courses can be found on the Workshops and Online Resources section of our Staff Development website. This playlist is based on topics that are popular with Macquarie staff, including communication skills, interpersonal skills, project management, management and leadership, and health and wellbeing.