Job searching, for recent and older grads,
is becoming increasingly competitive as time goes on. In addition to
having a great resume, relevant experience and a good attitude, you also
need to have your own unique skills. Whether you’re a Photoshop whiz or
have years of customer service experience, these specialty skills
can help set you apart from all the other applicants. Here are three
important skills that I feel every professional should have.
Although it’s a top fears among the population, public speaking is crucial in most jobs. Whether it’s speaking to a large audience as a public relations representative
or just speaking to fellow employees as a Human Resources generalist,
being able to effectively communicate is key. At my college, all
communications and business students were required to take a basic
public speaking class during their freshman year. I thought this should
have even been taken up a notch- I believed that all students,
regardless of their major of study, should take this course. Arguably,
in any career there will be a time when public speaking will come in
handy. It not only helps you project information to a large audience,
but helps your one-on-one conversations and interactions with fellow employees, bosses, clients and customers.
Public speaking
Although it’s a top fears among the population, public speaking is crucial in most jobs. Whether it’s speaking to a large audience as a public relations representative
or just speaking to fellow employees as a Human Resources generalist,
being able to effectively communicate is key. At my college, all
communications and business students were required to take a basic
public speaking class during their freshman year. I thought this should
have even been taken up a notch- I believed that all students,
regardless of their major of study, should take this course. Arguably,
in any career there will be a time when public speaking will come in
handy. It not only helps you project information to a large audience,
but helps your one-on-one conversations and interactions with fellow employees, bosses, clients and customers.Technology
I firmly believe that having some sort of technological
skill will help set you apart from the rest. For example, having
experience in search engine optimization will greatly help you as a
writer. Having web or graphic design skills
is always a plus, since a client may need you to create something in a
pinch, even if it’s out of your comfort zone. Having a personal blog,
regardless of your field of study, shows that you not only know how to
write and create webpages, but that you can market yourself and plan
content accordingly. So if you have some free time, enroll in a HTML
class or ask your boyfriend to explain Excel to you- it will help in the
long run.
Analytics
Being good with numbers in general will always help you in
your future jobs. Being able to analyze data and make conclusions from
that data will benefit your clients and company-
and maybe even impress your boss. Instead of writing boring statements
on your resume like “Helped clients get more page views”, you can write
things like “Increased campaign’s clicks by 40 percent through blogger
outreach program.” The latter looks more professional and impressive, right?
