It’s common for people returning to work following a cancer experience to wonder about their ability to do their job at the same level as they did before — particularly if they’ve been out of the workforce for an extended period of time.

One way to counter any seeds of self-doubt is to brush up on existing skills or aim to develop some new ones. That goes for people looking to change careers as well, since it’s important to know which skills you can readily offer a potential employer and which ones you may need to acquire before throwing your hat in the ring for a job.

An article on The Job Network website serves up helpful, straightforward strategies for building strong workplace skills. We’ve highlighted three of our favorites below:

Be realistic. In order to succeed in improving or expanding your skill set, you need to be practical in your approach. Take the time necessary to establish “concrete steps that can be achieved in the time and brainspace you have available.”

Focus on quality over quantity. As you consider which skills you’d like to add to your workplace arsenal, it’s important that you not be over ambitious. Rather than compile a long “wish list” of traits you’d like to master, select “a few areas where you can really dig in and put in the work.”

Pick skills that will be useful. Think strategically about the value of learning or enhancing each skill you’re targeting. How, specifically, will it benefit you? Ultimately, you want to “focus on skills that will be useful to you in the short term” and directly related to your career path, whatever that path may be.

For the full Job Network article, click here.

For what you need to know before you head back to work post-cancer, click here.

For tips on how to best present your skills and experience on a resume, click here.