By Heidi Nicholson
It wasn’t so long ago that job adverts stated candidates were required to be computer literate. As I remember, people used to interpret this nebulous phrase to mean everything from ‘can type to ‘knows how to program’ and, of course, everything in between. When applying for sales jobs today, would you know which ‘IT skills’ to mention on your application?
By the end of the 1990s, the interpretation had standardised on “can use MS Word and Outlook” or, if your skills were rather more enhanced, “can use the whole MS Office suite”. This remains the bread and butter of anyone’s computer skills and having MS Office on your CV is more of a comfort factor for the reader these days: if you are going for any role that may involve the use of a computer, you will have to be able to use programs like Word and Excel and you may as well say you can.
However, as we have become more reliant on our computers, so the requirements of employers have become more complex. Of those which are more widespread, SharePoint is practically essential if you are in an information-led business, just as it has long been unthinkable to go for most market research roles without a grasp of SPSS.
Technology shapes the sales role
The truth is, every trade has its tools and the tools of any office-based trade today will include a range of computer skills which are specific to it. Increased use of technology in sales means that online channels are substituting for traditional face-to-face meetings, and CRM systems are providing new insights into customers. Experience of the latest sales and customer management systems like Salesforce.com will look good on a sales CV.
If you find that to get the job you want, the ability to use particular programs is a must, make sure that you have it and if you don’t, acquire it. There is rarely any way around this, especially in a competitive market when such matters of fact can be used as a pass/fail decision when choosing candidates to interview.
What is probably more interesting at the moment is the rise of social media and its manipulation for business purposes. In their recent study, The Economics of the Socially Engaged Enterprise, the PulsePoint Group and the Economist found that more than 80% of executives said they believed that social engagement had increased their sales and market share. As a result, expect to have to use social media skills – and I don’t mean larking around on Facebook when you’re bored.
With the key narrative of marketing strategies currently being “content”, the ability of people in all parts of a business to make the most of appropriate social media channels is becoming paramount. It is no longer enough to leave this to someone else.
Content may include blogs, tweets, video, presentations and the like. The trick is to make them attractive and engaging and also appropriate. Such is the thirst for this material that you cannot expect your marketing communications department (presuming you have one) to create it all.
A blog may be created by a practice leader. A range of people may be handed the reins of the corporate Twitter account. Where once video was highly polished and professionally produced, there is an increasing amount which is “of the moment” – self-shot and maybe even self-edited. A sales presentation may go straight from the team meeting to the company Slideshare account.
Some of this content may be rougher around the edges than the carefully produced content we’ve been used to, but according to a recent white paper from McKinsey (Six social-media skills every leader needs, by Roland Deiser and Sylvain Newton, McKinsey Quarterly, February 2013), “Too much perfection is actually a barrier to collaboration and cocreation, as it disinvites participation”.
Build your social media skills
As a result, I predict that it won’t be long before confidence using a variety of social media is prevalent among the skills required for many jobs. You will need to show you understand the channels that are right for your business and that you are confident using them. You will need to demonstrate that you understand what is appropriate, not only to post, but also in terms of how and when to reply, remembering that a false move can undo a hard-won reputation and, as we have recently seen, may even lead to legal action being taken.
Of course, recruiters and hiring managers will not only be judging your aptitude from your CV. They will look online. Increasingly, they are using LinkedIn as a channel to source new candidates, while others seek to attract candidates through Facebook pages. And even if they do not find you through this route, you can bet that they will turn to your social media as part of the assessment process.
Either way, they are plugged into your social media presence from the word go and how your profiles look and what you post will be among the things they judge. We may joke about the downfall of someone’s career aspirations being compromising photographs of them after a big night on the town. However, having smart accounts which are regularly updated with thoughtful and professionally-relevant material may be just as important, as the ability to make the most of social media becomes important for employers.
Heidi Nicholson
Partner
heidi.nichoslon@richmondsolutions.co.uk
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