Her Magazine is New Zealand’s only women’s business lifestyle magazine! Her Magazine highlights the achievements of successful and rising New Zealand businesswomen. Her Magazine encourages a healthy work/life balance.
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The top skills outside your core competencies that an employer expects you should have these days, plus the technologies. WITH A VARIETY OF ways to communicate through different technologies, work places and jobs are placing more demands on today's workers. Often this means that employers are expecting their staff to be able to use the latest versions of software, mobile phones and social media. While there is no replacement for good old-fashioned face-to-face meetings, the need to do more in less time means that different communication technologies have become main stream for work, and a main focus for savvy employees. Most tools such as mobiles and laptops are fairly easy to use, but in order to become proficient and skilled in programmes and software you will need constant training. As an employee, it is important that you should never be afraid to ask for, or seek out, training in order to up-skill on the latest products. Below, you'll find a list of key technology skills and tools that you may need in today's workplace. Most working professionals should already have a grasp of these skills and tools, but if you're looking to get back into the workplace or just checking your tech-savvy rating, the list below should help you out. Mobile phones and other devices There are literally hundreds of mobile phones to choose from today. The most popular in the work place are smart phones, such as Blackberry's, iPhones and Android phones. All have Internet access, a range of business applications and email capability. Many people now use a mobile instead of a landline – both at work and at home - which means that they can be in touch anytime and anywhere, within reason of course! The core skills you will need are an understanding of some basic applications that come standard on most phones such as: how to access your work email, texting, calendar syncronisation and the Internet. The sales people at the mobile phone shops are usually extremely capable in helping you to learn and use the various options. Because we are increasingly mobile, many workplaces offer their staff laptops, tablets or touch-based pads to work on. iPads are all the rage at the moment, but if you need to do a lot of word processing then it is no substitute for a laptop or PC. You should also check with your IT department on their policy on BYOD (bring your own device.) There could be compatibility and security issues to comply with. Skype and video conferencing Audio and video conferencing using applications like Skype are becoming more popular as an alternative to meeting face- to-face. Basic and free applications such as Skype and Google's voice & video chat functions mean that all you need is a device connected to the Internet, a camera and microphone capability. Larger, static conferencing systems mean that you can have multiple people in a room and a more life-like meeting experience. Even these systems are fairly easy to navigate, but you will need some training. Photoshop, DropBox and the latest Microsoft Office It is expected of most employees these days to have a reasonable understanding of the basic Office products such as Word and Excel. These programmes are quite easy to navigate, but beware of the new layout and functionality you will get with Office 2007 and beyond. A new commercial release called Microsoft Office 2012 is due to come out next year with even more new features, so be sure to look for some training early on to be ahead of the game. If you are planning on doing work with images, photos or graphic layout, get yourself into a short course using Photoshop. Be sure to list this skill on your CV – it's in hot demand for a range of jobs. DropBox is a great tool for sending and picking up large files that are just too big to email. Learning to use this type of tool will put you in the good books for people who have size limited email boxes. It's secure, free or relatively cheap to use depending on your needs, and will put you in the tech-savvy category instantly. Social Media – LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Instead of trying to fight the growing prevalence of social media, many employers have embraced it as a way to access new consumer markets and customers. It's also a great place to manage your own profile and 'brand' to the world, just be careful and smart on how you do it. LinkedIn is the best place to grow your professional networks and should be viewed as the 'grownups' version of Facebook. If you have more friends on Facebook than LinkedIn, then you should try and up your game a little! Social media is a double-edged sword however. Because of its very public nature, you need to be wary of what content you put on the internet as many journalists now use tweets as quotes and statements. You also need a strategy and a plan behind social media. The best thing to do is read up on various marketing sites that have information on using social media as a marketing tool. Having a good idea on how to maximise the benefits for an employer using a carefully thought out social media strategy is an excellent way to lift your game in the technology field. Cloud-based Applications A lot of workplaces now use the 'cloud' to host their important computer applications. The cloud is not actually in outer space, but is the term given to a location that is accessed via the Internet, usually in a location that is not in your building. Often times it is a secure data centre that takes responsibility for keeping your company's electronic information safe and available anytime. Applications like customer resource management tools (CRMs) and some accounting software products are 'hosted in the cloud' meaning that you access your data through a password-protected connection over the Internet. Candace Kinser www.ict.org.nz HER MAGAZINE | December/January 2012 | 41