Professional skills are skills that graduates need to posses in order to be successful in their professional practice. These skills range from highly specific ones related to the graduate's field(s) to more general, transferable ones such as communications and ethical practices. When graduates apply for a job, most employers want to know what professional skills they have already, and how willing they are to learn industry and worksite specific skills. Employers normally want not just a list of skills (that graduates can easily get from a book or the internet), but they require graduates to identify their key professional skills and to provide evidence by citing examples of how they have used these skills already in relevant contexts such as at university or workplaces. The slideshow discusses the 7 most wanted professional skills in today’s competitive professional environment. The slideshow was presented at the Career Expo 2010 (Dec. 1, 2010) organized by the 4th grade students of the Faculty of Accounting & Finance of the University of Aruba.

1. Professional Skills to a
Successful Career
7 skills graduates need to possess to thrive
in today’s professional practice
Edward M. Erasmus MA
University of Aruba, Career Expo 2010
December 1, 2010

2. What we will do in the next 40 minutes…
• Have a conversation about professional skills
• Explain some backgrounds about professional
skills
• Learn which skills are required in today’s
professional practices
• Generate interactive discussion afterwards

3. What are skills?
Encarta® World English Dictionary:
skill [ skil ] (plural skills)
Definition:
1. ability to do something well: the ability to do
something well, usually gained through training or
experience
2. something requiring training to do well: something
that requires training and experience to do well, e.g. an
art or trade

4. Professional skills…
• Skills that graduates need to succeed in
professional practice
• These range from highly specific ones related
to the graduate’s field(s) to more general,
transferable ones such as communications
and ethical practices.

5. How do we acquire professional skills?
Education
(formal &
informal)
On-the-job
training
Life
experiences
(good and bad)

6. The top 7 Professional skills
that are essential for career success...
So here they are……

7. #1 Communication skills

8. Communicating….
• Every job will require you to communicate
with other people, in speaking and in writing.
• Professionals need to express themselves
clearly in their dealings with supervisors,
underlings, co-workers, clients, etc.

9. Oral
Presentation
Audience Awareness
Critical Listening
Written
Professional-level Writing
Critical Reading
Presentation of Data
Non-Verbal
Personal Presentation
Body Language
Communication skills….

10. Communication skills….
Always remember the five “C’s” of
communication…
Clarity, Completeness, Conciseness,
Concreteness and Correctness.

11. Example written communication…
The wrong way……

12. Example written communication…
The correct way……

13. “Communication–the human
connection–is the key to
personal and career success.”
~ Paul J. Meyer

14. #2 Information technology skills

15. • Computers, PDA’s, software, internet and all
sorts of highly sophisticated tools have taken
over the workplace.
• Every worker needs to have at least a basic level
of skill and comfort with modern technology, just
to be able to function.
• Important: it’s all about enhancing productivity!

16. Information technology
“Technology will continue to
reshape the workplace,
changing how and where we
conduct business. As a result,
flexibility and adaptability will
be sought-after attributes in
employees at all levels.”
~ Diane Domeyer, OfficeTeam (Office of the Future:
2020)

17. Workplace of the future

18. #3 Information handling skills

19. Welcome to the era of
information overload…

20. Information overload in our everyday
professional life….
Tasks deadlines
Calendar
appointments
Seminar
invitations
Facebook/Twitter
messages
BB Message
SMS
Emails
Reports
Phone calls
Letters
Checks to sign
Newsletters,
magazines,
etc.
Client requests
Etc, etc.
Etc, etc.

21. “The biggest challenge is to process large
quantities of information quickly and
efficiently…”
• Filtering
• Skimming and processing
• Prioritizing
• Defining next actions (do, delegate, respond,
delete, file, wait for later, etc.)

22. #4 Multi-tasking skills

23. ……the act of doing multiple things at once.

24. • Numerous studies on multitasking have been
carried out, with mixed results. It would appear
that in some cases, multitasking is indeed an
effective way to utilize time, while in other
instances, the quality of the work suffers as a
result of split attention.

25. • A certain amount of multitasking has become
necessary and expected in many industries.
• Important: When you do decide to multitask,
make sure to check your work carefully, to ensure
that it is of high quality, and consider abandoning
multitasking for certain tasks if you notice a
decline.

26. #5 Critical thinking skills

27. “Don’t bring me problems,
bring me solutions…..”

29. • raises vital questions to problems;
• gathers and assesses relevant information;
• thinks openmindedly within alternative systems
of thought,
• recognizing and assessing, as need be, their
assumptions, implications, and practical
consequences; and
• communicates effectively with others in figuring
out solutions to complex problems.

30. #6 Teamworking skills

31. The concept of teamwork is self-explanatory:
• a group of people working for one goal,
• where each individual brings forth his/her
skills in a concentrated manner and ;
• coordinates it with others skills,
• to produce a desirable end.

32. Through teamwork we will…

33. …Save lives!
Through teamwork we may also….

34. #7 Continuous learning skills

35. Once, having your degree or diploma was a
lifelong guarantee of success and knowledge….
Today, continuous learning and education is
required to stay competitive in industry and job
markets, stay abreast of new developments in
your field, enhance your personal knowledge and
skills, and to serve your clients most effectively.

36. A growing number of professions
require continuous education credits
(CEC) or periodic recertification:
• Accountants
• Physicians/surgeons
• Architects
• Engineers
• ICT professionals
• Etc.

37. So…practicing a professional
career is a brain race…
Life is no longer warm and fuzzy.
Lifelong learning is a precondition for
further career success.
“If you stop learning, you will
become unemployed and
unemployable very quickly.”
~ Paul Saffo, Silicon Valley
technology forecaster

38. 1. Communication skills
2. Information technology skills
3. Information handling skills
4. Multitasking skills
5. Critical thinking skills
6. Teamworking skills
7. Continuous learning skills

39. Choosing the right career….

40. Choosing a career….
For a lot of young students it’s a scary thing..
• Quite early in life you should decide what
career you wish to pursue;
• It will probably be one of the most important
decisions you make in your life;
• Most people will spend more of their waking
lives working than doing anything else.
Career choices are life choices!
Take them seriously!
Do it right!

41. Choosing the right career….
What am I good at? What will I enjoy?
What kind of
salary would I be
happy with?
Would I rather be
indoors or outdoors?
What experience do
I currently have that
may help?
Do I want a creative
job?
Do I enjoy
negotiating or
persuading?
What am I interested in?
Would I like to lead
and manage others?
Is variety important
to me?
Do I want to work
with people, with
animals or alone?
Which
Career?

42. My career advice to young students is…..
“Find out what you like doing best and get
someone to pay you for doing it.”

43. QUESTIONS?

44. THANK YOU!
I wish you all a pleasant evening