5 Basic Skills to Invest in for your Job to be Successful

Every professional requires skills in the office which maybe highly specialized or basic in nature. Whilst being specialized requires certain degrees or long term investment there are basic skills that are expected of any professional in the office. These are skills that you do not need a certificate of competence for but you are expected to possess in order to make your way around the office.

1. Computer Skills

Being a professional means you need to know your way around the computer. This means knowing how to type letters, reports, budgets, presentations and a general level of navigation or arrangement of documents. You do not want to be that person that saves everything on the desktop simply because you don't know how to use folders and files. Getting computer lessons should not be something you are shy about but it is imperative for one to be able to be digitally relevant. Imagine you start work and you are required to draft an email but you have never used email or do not even know how to open the basic company email that you have been provided with. It is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

2. Communication Skills

Communication skills may seem obvious after all everyone can talk. However, communicating and talking are not the same thing. Communication means the other person needs to not only get the message but be clear about what you want to mean.

We come from different cultures and when we meet in the office, we may have different associations from which we derive meanings from.

One has to understand the difference between being a strong communicator and when it becomes an offence. True that when we are at work its work time, but the best company values, missions and visions are as a result of a well communicated strategy which begins with good communication between professionals.

3. Presentation Skills

Once in a while we are asked in our professional setting to make presentations to the rest of the team, after all team work begins when we can co-opt each other to the different plans or objectives set out. So in comes a request to present to the rest of the team, it might be a Power Point presentation or Spreadsheet presentation format, in the end one still needs to be able to communicate effectively such that the team is on the same page of what needs to be done. No matter how good you are technically, if you cannot bring the team together you will fail and everyone will feel let down. Being able to present the strategy or your ideas to the team is a critical skill though being basic it is essential to ensure you are winning.

4. Listening Skills

Here we include being able to read, and to hear what is being said. Listening can come as something we take for granted but as the old saying goes "Don't jump to conclusions or conclusions can jump on you". You need to be able to hear what people are saying not to assume what is being said. Listening is part of communication but it stands out on its own because is an essential element which can be the difference between executing the wrong plans or the correct ones. We might all hear or read but we might fail to understand what needs to be done. Listening as a skills means you take time to understand before you execute as well as being able to set aside your emotions in order to fully capture the message.

5. Professional Numbers Skill

We are not saying be a math guru but rather be able to deal with numbers for business. Can you calculate numbers that are required when asked? The most common tool to learn is Excel which means you must at least have the basic on how to budget or calculate what needs to be done. Now Excel is just the tool, the real work begins when you understand what numbers concern your work. How you conceptualize these numbers will determine your performance rating. Output as a professional is critical for a review of how relevant or valuable you are as a professional. This means is being able to understand the numbers that come with your particular service.

Conclusion

There are probably many other soft and hard skills that one has to learn as a professional in order to get ahead or to simply be competent. We picked these 5 because when one sits on their professional work stations these are usually the first 5 skills that you are confronted with. These are not difficult to learn, a few days of investment can get you up to scratch.