With an increasingly digital world surrounding us, it's important to not buck the trend. Learning new skills like these can not only benefit you while you're in school, but increase your career opportunities after you graduate.

1. TO FURTHER
YOUR CAREER
LBIII
FOUR DIGITAL SKILLS
BY LIONEL BARZON III

2. Whether we like it or not, the world is
going digital.
We’re making the switch from
newspapers and magazines to digital
journals, news websites and e-
magazines. Our books are being
scanned and uploaded to the internet as
ebooks, as some prefer a lightweight
electronic alternative to the feel of
flipping a page with your fingers.
The skills that were useful–or even
completely necessary–just a decade or
so ago are now outdated and rarely
used. Penmanship was important when
everything was done on paper, but with
the takeover of digitalization, your
handwriting has taken a backseat to
computer skills.
GOING DIGITAL

3. WEB DESIGN/
WORDPRESS
LBIII
I.

4. Learning how to code and build a
website from scratch is something
that will come in handy long term,
but not everyone has the time or the
resources to learn how to code to a
level of proficiency that would help
land them a job in IT.
Taking the time to learn some basics
of web design–even simply creating
a Wordpress blog and fiddling with
the design–can be beneficial. From
there, purchasing domains and
hosting your website is not only a
great way to learn more about the ins
and outs of web design and
Wordpress, but a great branding play
for future employers to find.
WEB / WORDPRESS

5. SOCIAL MEDIA
PROFICIENCY
LBIII
II.

6. No longer is Twitter limited to the 140
character musings of you and your
friends; no longer is Facebook only
for posting vacation photos, and no
longer is SnapChat for sending
pictures of you making strange faces
to your friends to procrastinate
studying.
Businesses use social media as
advertising, customer service,
promotional and news-breaking
services. Knowing the ins and outs of
social media platforms from top to
bottom is a valuable skill to have right
now.
SOCIAL MEDIA

7. PHOTOSHOP/
GIMP
LBIII
III.

8. It may not be able to replace a degree
in graphic design, but knowing your
way around a Photoshop toolbar can
come in handy in a wealth of
positions open right now.
Some people will understandably
balk at the price of Photoshop, so
Gimp, a free photo-editing tool, is a
good alternative.
Taking a quick tour through the tools
available, coupled with online
tutorials available, can open up career
opportunities you might otherwise
have been unable to attain without
photo manipulation skills.
PHOTOSHOP /GIMP

9. MICROSOFT
EXCEL
LBIII
IV.

10. Microsoft Office Suite is no longer
something you need to highlight on
resumes–most employers expect that
those seeking employment will have a
sound understanding of Word,
Powerpoint, etc. These are no longer
additions to a resume, you’d be hard-
pressed to find someone who doesn’t
have that skill set.
Microsoft Excel, however, remains an
important facet of most businesses.
Going beyond a basic understanding,
using internet tutorials to learn the
depth of possibilities associated with
Excel can exponentially increase your
potential contributions to a business.
MICROSOFT EXCEL

11. DIGITAL
SKILLS
LBIII
WRAP UP
THESE ARE THE BROADER, OVERARCHING SUGGESTIONS ARE
JUST THAT–GENERAL AND BROAD. DEPENDING ON THE FIELD
YOU INTEND TO GO INTO AFTER GRADUATION, A DIFFERENT SET
OF SKILLS IS MORE THAN LIKELY NECESSARY.