How do I up-skill? Where do I start? HERE.

Day in, day out (and most weekends) I keep my ear close to the market, to my candidates and to all clients, finding out what is new in marketing, which business's are implementing new tech, everything I can to keep abreast of the Marketing, Communications & Engagement community to better serve YOU. All of this culminates in me posting adhoc pieces on LinkedIn as I come to learn about them, which equals a lot of random posts that are difficult to find. This article puts in place all of the various learnings I have picked up across the market over the last 6 months - anything you'd like to add? Comment below!

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

• THIS article by Allison Hendricks - A best practice guide on Stakeholder Engagement. Great reading, informative and a brilliant 101 for those looking to add this highly in-demand skill to their tool belt.
• IAP2 - The International Association of Public Participation is a membership based organisation, aimed to provide other organisations and individuals with the key skills to face the public via stakeholder engagement, community development and public participation. There is a course you can undertake which is an excellent addition to your resume and your career, but there are also events you can attend, resources and case studies you can explore, a consultancy register so you can find experts who can do this for you and the ability to connect with other members who are in the same field as you. With Victoria ever growing and our infrastructure boom, communities are constantly needing people who can keep them informed. IAP2 is highly recommended.
• IPAA - The Institute of Public Administration Australia hold 1-day courses on Stakeholder Engagement for the Public Sector, as well as many other short courses on strategic thinking, speech writing, project management and more.

UPDATES TO YOUR RESUME

• Technical Skills - This is THE most common missing section from a candidates resume, yet one of the most important in this digital landscape. Did you use Mailchimp or Hootsuite in one of your roles? Marketo? Google Analytics? Adobe Suite? These tools in your skill-set that are missing from your resume, could just be the tools that get you across the line to an interview.
• Achievements - I can't stress enough how important it is to see your achievements on your resume, and better yet, on the first page. BE PROUD. A project you worked on that led to an outstanding outcome may resonate with the hiring manager, or just seeing your confidence and how proud you are of your work may lock that interview in.
• Career Summary - You may be in the beginnings of your career and this not apply, however if you have a paragraph written about a role that you worked in 2002 that has no relevance to the role you are applying for now, you aren't showing your relevance. Place it in a career summary, following your current/recent experience. We don't want to diminish that role at all, but summarise it.

SHORT COURSES & FURTHER LEARNINGS

• Adobe Experience Manager - AEM is a content management system that business's are implementing into their organisation and requiring candidates to be up to speed in. But how can I get up to speed with AEM if I haven't used it before? This is just one of many short (and cheap) courses out there to up-skill in this area, add to your CV and have a step up on the competition.
• Salesforce Marketing Cloud - SFMC is a customer relationship management platform that allows you to create and manage marketing relationships and campaigns with customers. As with AEM, business's are implementing this system on the daily, and you can get ahead of applicants via this short course.
• Marketing Automation - Marketing Automation targets customers with automated messages across email, text and social. This is a GOOD skill to know. You may not want to do it as an entirety of a role, but having an understanding of marketing automation will keep you steps ahead in the marketing world. PLUS, if you are wanting to be a future leader, you will want to know what your subject matter experts are doing.
• Speech Writing - A masterclass on the qualities and rich potential of a great public speech. This half-day course will help you research, write and deliver a speech that is at once authoritative, informative, persuasive and compelling.
• Digital Marketing Strategy - EVERYTHING you need to develop and roll out successful digital marketing strategies - plus all online! But a little exy... check out the below freebie if this one doesn't sit within the budget.
• Fundamentals of Digital Marketing - suggested by the brilliant Ruth Barber "You’ll come away with a solid understanding of the digital ecosystem - useful for any industry or speciality these days. Plus, it’s free!"
• Ethical Leadership - suggested by the awesome Jacqueline Lothian "All people with consumer facing roles should understand the ethics of the story (for example and ad) that they are about to approve"
• Copyright Law - suggested by the great Elisa Fernandes "So many in our field think all they need to do is credit; they are so wrong! So many legal issues for the client - and the agency! - can arise from this"
• Social Psychology - suggested by the fantastic Violeta Balhas "Not only is it one of the best online delivery courses I've ever seen, but it’s crucial if you’re interested in understanding human motivation (which if you’re in marketing, you probably should be)"
• Prosci Change Management - suggested by the amazing Rochelle Patterson "For someone who wants to up-skill, I would recommend the 1 Day course which teaches you the basics and gives you access to tools and templates for 12 months"
• The Marketing School Podcast - suggested by the brilliant David Richardson "5 minutes per episode and whoa! do they pack in some valuable content"
• Facebook Blueprint - Digital Marketing - suggested by the awesome Ben Richardson "Great easy 20min modules you can do on the train and very informal"
• Google Analytics, Ads, Tag Course - suggested by the great Holly Stanton "Loves Data do great courses!"

I'll continue to add to this article as we learn more about what specialists can do to keep themselves up-to-date and active in this ever evolving job market. In the mean time, please feel free to comment below your suggestions on what can help your industry pals in hitting their career goals :)