| Nine Career Building Skills for Success | | | | the most valued abilities. Making accurate |
| | | | evaluations, outlining possible options and |
| You've got your basic education behind you | | | | then making a sensible choice is a valuable |
| and in your first position, or you've been on | | | | commodity. Choices, regarding people, are |
| the job for awhile, you ask yourself what | | | | especially prized. It is the ability to |
| additional qualities do I need to help my | | | | develop informed opinions. The development of |
| career? You've started a business and you ask | | | | critical thinking skills, and the careful |
| yourself the same question? What learnable | | | | laying out of options all go toward building |
| skills are essential for career and business | | | | this skill. Carefully examining all the |
| success? | | | | options, even with less than 100% of the |
| | | | desired information, will more often than not |
| In study after study, and surveys taken with | | | | allow you to make a "good judgment." |
| many executives and successful business | | | | |
| owners the following nine learnable skills | | | | 6. Organizational Skills: The management of |
| and abilities are the most valued. Even | | | | time. The management of people. The |
| without specific education or experience | | | | management of the processes. All organized so |
| these learnable skills will contribute | | | | that everything is efficiently accomplished |
| greatly to your ongoing performance and | | | | with the least amount of time and overall |
| career advancement. | | | | cost. A skilled organizer starts with their |
| | | | own time management and branches out to |
| The critical nine career building skills and | | | | include subordinates and other things within |
| abilities are: (In no particular order, as | | | | their control. |
| each job or business has its own set of | | | | |
| priorities.) | | | | 7. Negotiation Skills: Negotiation is the |
| | | | basic ability to persuade others to do what |
| 1. Selling Skills: To get people to buy your | | | | you want or give you what you want. These |
| ideas, services or products is a quick | | | | talents are closely related to selling skills |
| definition of the selling skill. If you have | | | | and to motivation. Further, they are an |
| a job, you've managed to make at least one | | | | essential component to leadership. You can |
| sale -- that of your services to an employer. | | | | study and learn from any number of books the |
| | | | essential skills that will help you get |
| Business does not happen without sales. | | | | others to cooperate with you in achieving |
| Selling skills are part of the skill category | | | | your mutual goals. Those who apply this skill |
| of Negotiation, which is listed among the | | | | successfully on behalf of their employers and |
| nine top skills. It's so important, before | | | | themselves almost always get ahead of their |
| you do anything, you should read and study | | | | peers-usually way ahead. |
| one or more of the best books on sales. | | | | |
| | | | 8. Financial Skills: When you get into a |
| 2. Writing Skills: Others want to know what | | | | management position you must know about |
| you know. So, you to write it down for them. | | | | financial planning and budgeting. To move |
| You have to write it succinctly, precisely | | | | higher, you must be knowledgeable about all |
| and in a way that is easily understood. You | | | | aspects of corporate finance, cash flow, |
| need to provide them instructive, believable, | | | | taxes, return on investment, asset valuation |
| and motivational and convincing written | | | | and valuing mergers and acquisitions are just |
| material. It should communicate what you know | | | | some of financial skills you must acquire. |
| and what you can do. You no doubt, | | | | However, there's plenty of easy to understand |
| definitely, without a question, must be able | | | | information in books and seminars as well as |
| to write effectively to get to the peak of | | | | relevant trade journals that will give you a |
| your career or business. | | | | hand. |
| | | | |
| 3. Speaking Skills: You must be able to speak | | | | 9. Information Gathering and Technology |
| up for yourself and your department at | | | | Skills: This essential skill includes finding |
| meetings. Getting a pet project or a budget | | | | the best news, articles, books, tapes, |
| approved means speaking well and | | | | videos, training and other written and |
| persuasively. Running effective meetings, | | | | multiple media sources that keep you current |
| interviewing and even arguing for a raise | | | | and "in the know" in your field of expertise. |
| require good speaking skills. | | | | |
| | | | You should also develop and cultivate access |
| You certainly must speak well at least | | | | to experts who can assist or direct you to |
| one-to-one in order to sell anything. All of | | | | the right information. A wide network of |
| the foregoing requires the same skills as | | | | experts will speedup your ability to gather |
| public speaking. You can learn the skills | | | | information. Storing the information you |
| from a book or class and through practice. | | | | acquire, making it easy to access and add to |
| Joining a local Toastmasters club is probably | | | | it easily is another skill you need to |
| the easiest way to become comfortable | | | | acquire. At a minimum you should be able to |
| speaking to an audience of any size, whether | | | | make and use databases, to learn and use |
| it's to one or one thousand. | | | | basic research skills and to be able to do |
| | | | quick, effective internet searches. |
| 4. Leadership Skills: Leadership is the | | | | |
| ability to get people to do what you want | | | | You will not get ahead without knowing how to |
| them to do. If you are a good leader, people | | | | use all the current technology relevant to |
| will do what you've asked them to do, whether | | | | business in general and to your field in |
| or not you are there to supervise. If you are | | | | particular. You will not get ahead without |
| a great leader, they will do what you've | | | | it. At a minimum, you must acquire basic |
| asked, strive to do it well, enjoy working | | | | computer user skills. Also if you make any |
| for you and try to do more than you've asked, | | | | sorts of presentations, for example, you need |
| just to please you. | | | | to know how to use projectors, projected |
| | | | video, audio amplification systems, |
| If you are inspired leader, they will do what | | | | computer-assisted training programs and |
| you ask, try to contribute as much more as | | | | computer projected multimedia. |
| you will allow, make sure that whatever they | | | | |
| do is the highest quality they can give you, | | | | The nine career building skills all require |
| and consider their work not merely enjoyable, | | | | an analysis as to where you are now. Need to |
| but rather a shared vision partnership with | | | | improve your writing ability? Start with a |
| you. Leadership includes the skills of | | | | plan and do something every day to advance |
| motivation, change facilitation, behavior | | | | the skill. Do the same with all of the nine. |
| modification and conflict management. | | | | Build and work a reading and studying list |
| | | | and in no time you'll find your career skills |
| 5. Judgment Skills: Good judgment is one of | | | | improving. |