lionel barzon iii: four digital skills for your career
TRANSCRIPT
TO FURTHERYOUR CAREER
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FOUR DIGITAL SKILLS
BY LIONEL BARZON III
Whether we like it or not, the world isgoing digital.
We’re making the switch fromnewspapers and magazines to digital
journals, news websites and e-magazines. Our books are being
scanned and uploaded to the internet asebooks, as some prefer a lightweight
electronic alternative to the feel offlipping a page with your fingers.
The skills that were useful–or evencompletely necessary–just a decade or
so ago are now outdated and rarelyused. Penmanship was important wheneverything was done on paper, but with
the takeover of digitalization, yourhandwriting has taken a backseat to
computer skills.
GOING DIGITAL
WEB DESIGN/ WORDPRESS
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I.
Learning how to code and build awebsite from scratch is somethingthat will come in handy long term,
but not everyone has the time or theresources to learn how to code to alevel of proficiency that would help
land them a job in IT.
Taking the time to learn some basicsof web design–even simply creatinga Wordpress blog and fiddling withthe design–can be beneficial. From
there, purchasing domains andhosting your website is not only a
great way to learn more about the insand outs of web design and
Wordpress, but a great branding playfor future employers to find.
WEB / WORDPRESS
SOCIAL MEDIA PROFICIENCY
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II.
No longer is Twitter limited to the 140character musings of you and yourfriends; no longer is Facebook onlyfor posting vacation photos, and no
longer is SnapChat for sendingpictures of you making strange faces
to your friends to procrastinatestudying.
Businesses use social media asadvertising, customer service,
promotional and news-breakingservices. Knowing the ins and outs of
social media platforms from top tobottom is a valuable skill to have right
now.
SOCIAL MEDIA
PHOTOSHOP/ GIMP
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III.
It may not be able to replace a degreein graphic design, but knowing yourway around a Photoshop toolbar can
come in handy in a wealth ofpositions open right now.
Some people will understandablybalk at the price of Photoshop, so
Gimp, a free photo-editing tool, is agood alternative.
Taking a quick tour through the toolsavailable, coupled with online
tutorials available, can open up careeropportunities you might otherwisehave been unable to attain without
photo manipulation skills.
PHOTOSHOP /GIMP
MICROSOFT EXCEL
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IV.
Microsoft Office Suite is no longersomething you need to highlight on
resumes–most employers expect thatthose seeking employment will have a
sound understanding of Word,Powerpoint, etc. These are no longeradditions to a resume, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t
have that skill set.
Microsoft Excel, however, remains animportant facet of most businesses.
Going beyond a basic understanding,using internet tutorials to learn the
depth of possibilities associated withExcel can exponentially increase yourpotential contributions to a business.
MICROSOFT EXCEL
DIGITALSKILLS
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WRAP UP
THESE ARE THE BROADER, OVERARCHING SUGGESTIONS AREJUST THAT–GENERAL AND BROAD. DEPENDING ON THE FIELD
YOU INTEND TO GO INTO AFTER GRADUATION, A DIFFERENT SETOF SKILLS IS MORE THAN LIKELY NECESSARY.