Last week we looked at the soft skills that will put you ahead of the competition, so I felt it pertinent to give hard skills the same in depth treatment. Like soft skills, not all hard skills are created equal, and different ones are in vogue from time to time. Today I want to talk about those hard skills, the ones that will set you ahead of the pack, no matter your field.
Now, you might be saying, “hard skills are industry specific!” and while you are not wrong, there are some that escape the pigeonhole. These are the skills we are going to look at today. These skills are useful no matter the field.
IT Skills- Every thriving company has a least a couple computers. (You really cannot get around using computers these days.) From your local coffee shop to the hospital to the construction crew down the street, computers are integral to the business running smoothly. When you put IT skills on your resume, you are letting your potential employer know that if the IT guy goes out sick they have got a potential backup. IT skills scream dependability, no matter where you apply.
Social Media Skills- If keeping all the computers is important, so is keeping all of them useful. Knowing how to operate and gain followers on social media platforms means that you know how to market in today’s world. The beauty of social media is that it can turn a tiny marketing budget into a successful campaign, and every company needs some people that know how to do this. Every company needs a number of people that are particularly savvy with social media, whether they are the police, city hall, or a construction company. The ability to communicate with large amounts of people at once is always useful.
Writing. Writing is the social media before social media, which is not to say it is irrelevant in any way. Writing is how you get ideas to people that you don’t meet face to face. Writing is how you keep departments aware of what the other departments are doing. And, writing is integral to any company. Social media is great for creating buzz, but without some more in-depth written material that buzz can go nowhere. You need good writers to turn buzz into ideas. Again, every company needs that.
Data Analysis skills. Whether or not they do, every company wants to have some data analyzed. They want to know the demographics of people that are buying their product, they want to know how much they spend on energy consumption, they want to know if it would be a good move to raise or lower prices. In order to figure any of this out, they need people who can analyze data and turn raw numbers into a comprehensive report. If you can do this, you are far more valuable than someone who can’t.
If you are adept at any of these skills, then add them on your resume, even if it has nothing to do with the job you are applying to get. Every company needs people who can perform these tasks, so they always want to have more of them on staff!