The 4 key skills you need in today's digital world

We’ve been recruiting a lot lately. For vacancies, to staff for business expansion,  organic and inorganic, and as we open new geographies.  And as we go through the all too familiar paradox of having a heap of applications and yet a rather narrow funnel to the final candidate, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that having a top notch education, proven and demonstrated career successes, an ability to work with teams and people, and subject matter expertise are necessary but not sufficient conditions to land that dream candidate.. or for job seekers, to crack that dream job. And as I discussed this with my friends and colleagues – across established blue chips, start-ups, Unicorns, the common skills that folks are looking for are not that many. The vital few, I suppose you could call them. And what I have attempted to do is distil our discussions into the below 4 key skills that are becoming crucial as a career gate-opener or indeed as a predictor of career growth and success. In no particular order, here they are:

1. Research aptitude and information synthesis

No one can be expected to know everything, or even a tiny fraction of everything. Even within your field, chances are there’s far more out there that you don’t know than you do know. You don’t have to know everything – but you should be able to swiftly and painlessly find out what you need to know. That means learning to use and trawl the internet effectively, learning to use a library, learning to read productively, and learning to leverage your network of contacts. A related aspect – which can be trained into muscle memory even if not natural, is pattern recognition. Which in turn is the foundation of connecting the dots – and making sense of and ability to sift from the literally Exa if not zettabytes of raw information out there Find a left brain hobby – Sudoko, Word games, Crosswords; study design or art ; read eclectically ..whatever works for you, to sharpen the saw. Most successful young managers I know are super sharp at this aspect. Good research skills – and the ability to draw conclusions and summaries based on secondary research backed by pattern recognition, has made many a career soar – and you will find that the bosses lean more and more towards giving you increasing responsibilities.

2. Oral and written communication

The ability to speak clearly lucidly and persuasively in front of any audience – whether 1-1 or 1-many, is one of the most important skills you can develop. People who are effective communicators come across as more self aware, more comfortable with themselves, and more confident and in control of what they are responsible for. Similarly, whether it is creating your professional summary for your CV or Linkedin, or putting together a proposal or presentation or project plan, writing well involves  being cogent, the ability to marshal thoughts into a logical flow and construct, the fine art of brevity, and importantly being grammar aware. The amount of times I have seen judgements being made – whether positive or negative -  by recruiters, employers, bosses, VCs or clients purely based on the quality (or lack thereof) of the written word is so frequent, that it can't  be dismissed as merely anecdotal. And all of us intuitively of course get it. By the way, the myth about geeks and nerds not requiring to communicate is one that has been busted many moons ago. Today, everyone communicates. More than ever before. That those that do it well, gain precious yardage and a firm advantage over those who are inarticulate. Or disjointed. Or ramble. Or don’t know where to use “lose” vs ‘Loose”! 

3. Coding skills (or at the very least an appreciation for coding)

Software is becoming a critical layer of all our lives. It is the universal language or today’s world. Not knowing the language of computers will be as challenging as being illiterate of innumerate. Obviously every job today is not that of a programmer. Having said that having an appreciation for the languages that make software do their magic whether in your phones or cars or indeed in the connected devices as we hurtle towards the Internet of Things is a necessary life skill which we need to acquire. Without exception. Understanding what happens behind the curtains is huge from an employability and is a clear career booster.

4. Lastly, having an independent opinion and a world view

Herd mentality is all around us. Whether it is businesses (“my business model is the Uber of..”fill up the blanks), corporate problem solving, negotiations, business strategy, the reversion to mean is arguably the biggest headwind affecting careers today. And all the more reason therefore that consciously working on what exactly your point of view is, is  a critical life skill today. Again, like the pattern recognition/research skill, this can be learnt – with diligence and application. Practise some healthy cynicism. Absorb random sensory cues. Consciously distance yourself mentally from the process or problem and view it dispassionately. Deliberately insert yourself in situations and experiences outside your comfort zone or current perspective. Give yourself the space and time to reflect on what does this mean for you. Dream about what if. But get a view. You need to firm up and importantly have the clarity to enunciate and articulate what your view is, and don’t be afraid to speak up and express your opinion.

So there you have it. The 4 biggest skills that every career seeker needs to cultivate and work on in today’s connected and digital age.

Would love to hear your thoughts on whether these resonate.