Skills you can teach yourself to get hired

by StudyMalaysia on February 10, 2017 | Top Stories

It’s never too early to prepare for your future employment, especially for students and fresh graduates. In fact, giving yourself sufficient time to sharpen the desired skill sets for a particular role will increase your likelihood to land a job as soon as you graduate.

While different occupations have distinctive requirements, there are many interchangeable skills that are valuable to any organisation. Check out these top skills that you can self-study to ensure your career prospects.

Presentation and Public Speaking skills

Everyone has the power to think, but not many can deliver ideas confidently to a mass audience. In fact, presentation is among the most impactful skills that may make or break your career, according to LinkedIn’s influencer James Citrin.

Don’t worry if you have trouble presenting in public, speech anxiety can be overcome through constant practice. What matters most is the ability to translate your ideas into an actionable plan, which doesn’t require a Barack-Obama-debating level.

While at school, you can polish this skill by taking part in classroom discussions actively. Since almost all University courses include public speaking as a compulsory subject, aim for an early recognition through every assignment and exam in order to impress your potential employers. Your grade matters in this case!

Social Media skills

This is particularly vital to all marketing students as many companies have expanded to the digital sphere. Knowledge in social media is highly desired in various sectors due to its significance in today’s business scene.

Even if you are not passionate about this field, it is essential to learn how social media can affect your personal branding when you’re on the job hunt. This is especially true on LinkedIn – where employers are actively searching for talents. It’s not simply posting a Facebook status update, managing your online presence requires consistent content sharing that reflects your personality as well as professional achievements.

Writing skill

From class assignments, graduation thesis to job applications and business proposals, writing proficiency directly contributes to your career progress. While you don’t have to be as good as a professional writer, you should at least ensure you have a sufficient command of English, or any language for that matter, in order to perform various business tasks that require comprehensive writing skills.

The most effective way to improve your writing skills is to read and write more frequent. You can pick any website of your interests to subscribe to and try to digest the content on a daily basis.

Make the most of your LinkedIn profile by updating your own content, be it a short review on a book that you’ve just read or an actual research article of your favourite topic. Having good writing skills helps you to appear more credible, which also builds a solid foundation to kick-start your professional career in the future.

Communication and interpersonal skills

It doesn’t take an extrovert to communicate well with people. You can develop a likeable personality without being outspoken. Oftentimes, it’s the action that speaks louder than words, as long as you show genuine interest in making new connections.

When it comes to social relations, your attitude really determines your altitude, so always treat people with respect and don’t hesitate to help those who are in need. As you enter the corporate life, you will see that these soft skills are what makes a great leader but only a few people possess them.

Computer Software skills

It goes without saying that computer literacy has become an integral part of any skilled employee. Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office is no longer adequate for you to compete with other fresh graduates in the job market. It is better to be fully experienced with advanced functions in Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint since they are inseparable in almost any role.

Furthermore, many companies are prioritising those with a knack for web design and digital knowledge. Fret not, you don’t need to learn coding in order to get hired. It is more about understanding how a company website affects the customer experience since a great deal of businesses today take place on the Internet.

As we’re in the early days of 2017, why not set a goal to acquire those skills as your New Year’s resolution? And most importantly, make sure that your field of study is in line with your passion because success is all about enjoying what you do. While you are still studying, take the opportunity to explore different career options and learn new things beyond the classroom. Follow Jobstore.com to get your daily dose of career inspiration!

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