Whether it’s short or long term employment you’re looking for, there are always ways to boost your resume and give that extra sparkle that will make your future employer stop and say – “Holy guacamole, this is the one.”
You might’ve heard that FYA have been doing some digging and analysed 4.2 million job ads from 2012-2015 to uncover exactly what employers want.
According to the research employers are looking more and more for young workers who have enterprise skills – in fact they are more than 50% of the skills requested.
So what the heck are they? And why are they so important?
Enterprise skills are basically things like communication skills, project management, problem solving, financial and digital literacy. They go beyond your technical skills – or the things specific to a job.
These are things which essentially can’t be done by robots – which is important because in the future increased automation will mean that robots will perform more and more jobs, making these kinds of skills even more important.
Plus they are all transferrable – so it makes you more attractive to not just your first or second employer but all of your future employers after that too!
Basic digital skills are particularly important – more than 90% of our current jobs will need these skills to communicate and find information to perform their roles well in the next 2-5 years.
Sounds ominous?
Well don’t freak out – they’re not necessarily asking for Steve Jobs skills.
What they’re really looking for is things like digital marking skills, basic software skills and design skills.
The great news is most of the skills are things you probably already have experience with – even if you never realised! And even if you have got them yet, you’ve got time to build them through school, uni, work experience or even your current job.
Building digital marketing skills can be as simple as using WordPress to write a foodie blog, or using online template builders like MailChimp to send a newsletter for work. If you’re managing a social media account for the café you work for by posting photos to Instagram, Facebook or even sending out a casual Tweet about an event – then these are digital skills too.
Basic software skills aren’t as scary as they sound either – in fact you probably picked them up in math or science classes at school. They include these like using Excel and Word or even Javascript, Oracle, HTML and Python programs. Today everything is online – not just in the IT world but in everyday life!
You can get a few more of these things under belt – importantly for free – through awesome sites like the Khan Academy or Coursera which offer basic, easy to follow tutorials in pretty much everything. You could even check out Code Academy for free online coding lessons to get started on HTML.
Digital design skills includes things like website design as well as InDesign (where you can make everything from brochures to posters, newsletters and screen printing – so also handy if you’re in a band or start up your own enterprise!).
There are some great online tools which can help build up your skills in design – this video in particular is rather handy step-by-step guide. It’s kinda long but totally worth it. Or try your hand at Canva. It’s simple and easy to use design software to get you started.
Digital skills not as scary as they sound eh?
Even if you’ve finished studying there are ways and means to polish your resume so it shines so bright they have to put sunnies on to look at it. #achievable
The post Employers Want Digital Skills. Here’s How To Get Them. appeared first on FYA.