Digital Specialist skills for your resume and career

During the GAP years, graduates need to do two things simultaneously. One, they must identify the skills needed by employers, and second, practice these skills until they become a master.

During GAP years, I also suggest graduates work on themself. For example, gain new technical skills, develop a lean body, become the father/mother, you always knew you could be, and be happy!

The real timeline is not the "coming years," as what graduates need five years from now will not be the same skillset they need in the next year or two. The industry, and its technologies, are changing that quickly. The most important long-term skills they need are adapting to the changing marketing ecosphere, a willingness to learn new skills and technologies quickly, and understanding how to find and apply those skills. With that said, there are three types of current skills required to get hired coming out of college.

First, technical and analytical skills. If you lack the necessary computing and data analysis skills, you will not be competitive. Second, marketing managers will be looking for creativity and innovative solutions to reach consumers. If you want to cut through the messaging clutter, you must craft and implement new message strategies. Finally, all employers will expect the "power skills" (what were once soft skills), such as communication, teamwork, collaboration, and adaptability. These can be challenging to learn in classes, so internships and campus organizations are so critical.

Communication is important in any job but especially in marketing. These professionals must be able to communicate with customers/clients about product/service benefits and must be able to listen and represent the needs of customers/clients to their own company.

-Project management skills
-Knowledge of key marketing tools and analytics:
-Social media tools like Hootsuite, Google analytics, etc.
-Design tools like Canva, Photoshop, Illustrator
-Email and Survey tools like Mailchimp and Survey Monkey
-SEO Tools like Google Ads
-Digital/Social Media Marketing Skills in the following areas:
-Email marketing
-Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEM/SEO)
-Email marketing
-Content marketing - ability to create content for social media and additional formats like blogs, etc.
-Social Media marketing through top platforms: i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.
-Data Analysis - mining insights into customer behavior based on website and social media analytics
-Trendwatching / Consumer insights