Professional Skills to aSuccessful Career

7 skills graduates need to possess to thrive in today’s professional practice

Edward M. Erasmus MAUniversity of Aruba, Career Expo 2010

December 1, 2010

What we will do in the next 40 minutes…

• Have a conversation about professional skills• Explain some backgrounds about professional

skills• Learn which skills are required in today’s

professional practices• Generate interactive discussion afterwards

What are skills?Encarta® World English Dictionary:

skill [ skil ] (plural skills)

Definition:1. ability to do something well: the ability to do something well, usually gained through training or experience

2. something requiring training to do well: something that requires training and experience to do well, e.g. an art or trade

Professional skills…

• Skills that graduates need to succeed in professional practice

• These range from highly specific ones related to the graduate’s field(s) to more general, transferable ones such as communications and ethical practices.

How do we acquire professional skills?

Education(formal & informal)

On-the-job training

Life experiences

(good and bad)

The top 7 Professional skillsthat are essential for career success...

So here they are……

#1 Communication skills

Communicating….• Every job will require you to communicate

with other people, in speaking and in writing.• Professionals need to express themselves

clearly in their dealings with supervisors, underlings, co-workers, clients, etc.

OralPresentation

Audience AwarenessCritical Listening

WrittenProfessional-level Writing

Critical ReadingPresentation of Data

Non-VerbalPersonal Presentation

Body Language

Communication skills….

Communication skills….

Always remember the five “C’s” of communication…Clarity, Completeness, Conciseness, Concreteness and Correctness.

Example written communication…The wrong way……

Example written communication…The correct way……

“Communication–the human connection–is the key to personal and career success.” ~ Paul J. Meyer

#2 Information technology skills

Information technology• Computers, PDA’s, software, internet and all

sorts of highly sophisticated tools have taken over the workplace.

• Every worker needs to have at least a basic level of skill and comfort with modern technology, just to be able to function.

• Important: it’s all about enhancing productivity!

Information technology

“Technology will continue to reshape the workplace, changing how and where we conduct business. As a result, flexibility and adaptability will be sought-after attributes in employees at all levels.”

~ Diane Domeyer, OfficeTeam (Office of the Future: 2020)

Workplace of the future

#3 Information handling skills

Welcome to the era of information overload…

Information overload in our everyday professional life….

Tasks deadlines

Calendar appointments

Seminar invitations

Facebook/Twitter messages

BB Message

SMS

Emails

Reports

Phone calls

Letters

Checks to sign

Newsletters, magazines,

etc.

Client requests

Etc, etc.Etc, etc.

Handling information…

“The biggest challenge is to process large quantities of information quickly and efficiently…”

• Filtering• Skimming and processing• Prioritizing• Defining next actions (do, delegate, respond,

delete, file, wait for later, etc.)

#4 Multi-tasking skills

Multitasking….……the act of doing multiple things at once.

Multitasking….• Numerous studies on multitasking have been

carried out, with mixed results. It would appear that in some cases, multitasking is indeed an effective way to utilize time, while in other instances, the quality of the work suffers as a result of split attention.

Multitasking….

• A certain amount of multitasking has become necessary and expected in many industries.

• Important: When you do decide to multitask, make sure to check your work carefully, to ensure that it is of high quality, and consider abandoning multitasking for certain tasks if you notice a decline.

#5 Critical thinking skills

“Don’t bring me problems,bring me solutions…..”

A critical thinker….• raises vital questions to problems;• gathers and assesses relevant information;• thinks openmindedly within alternative systems

of thought, • recognizing and assessing, as need be, their

assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and

• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

#6 Teamworking skills

The concept of teamwork is self-explanatory:

• a group of people working for one goal,• where each individual brings forth his/her

skills in a concentrated manner and ;• coordinates it with others skills,• to produce a desirable end.

Through teamwork we will…

win championshipsImprove our

community

succeed in the workplace

…Save lives!

Through teamwork we may also….

#7 Continuous learning skills

Continuous learning….Once, having your degree or diploma was a lifelong guarantee of success and knowledge….

Today, continuous learning and education is required to stay competitive in industry and job markets, stay abreast of new developments in your field, enhance your personal knowledge and skills, and to serve your clients most effectively.

Continuous learning….A growing number of professions require continuous education credits (CEC) or periodic recertification:• Accountants• Physicians/surgeons• Architects• Engineers• ICT professionals• Etc.

So…practicing a professional career is a brain race…

Life is no longer warm and fuzzy. Lifelong learning is a precondition for further career success.

“If you stop learning, you will become unemployed and unemployable very quickly.”

~ Paul Saffo, Silicon Valley technology forecaster

In summary….1. Communication skills2. Information technology skills3. Information handling skills4. Multitasking skills5. Critical thinking skills6. Teamworking skills7. Continuous learning skills

Choosing the right career….

Choosing a career….For a lot of young students it’s a scary thing..

• Quite early in life you should decide what career you wish to pursue;

• It will probably be one of the most important decisions you make in your life;

• Most people will spend more of their waking lives working than doing anything else.

Career choices are life choices!Take them seriously!Do it right!

Choosing the right career….What am I good at? What will I enjoy?

What kind of salary would I be

happy with?

Would I rather be indoors or outdoors?

What experience do I currently have that

may help?

Do I want a creative job?

Do I enjoy negotiating or persuading?

What am I interested in?

Would I like to lead and manage others?

Is variety important to me?

Do I want to work with people, with animals or alone?

WhichCareer?

My career advice to young students is…..

“Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.”

QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU!

I wish you all a pleasant evening