6 Essential Business Skills Aspirants Need to Enhance Marketability

Young professionals often find themselves overwhelmed by their lack of experience and fast-paced corporate environments. Navigating the corporate sector with minimal expertise and entry-level skills is always scary and, at times, belittling. It’s easy to feel dejected when superiors don’t trust you with projects and when lucrative opportunities don’t come your way.

You know what they say, opportunities come to those who actively chase after success. Suppose you want to enhance marketability and explore leadership roles in your current workplace. In that case, you must pursue academic advancement and cultivate marketable skills. There’s a growing demand for digitally literate and financially savvy professionals who can keep up with the pressures of corporate evolution.

Are you a savvy negotiator who can arbitrate conflicts and encourage parties with conflicting interests to find common ground? Or perhaps, your talents lie in customer service and appeasing disgruntled clients to eliminate the risk of negative publicity?

Keep reading to explore essential skills that will help you climb higher up the corporate ladder with superior marketability.

1. Academic Advancement

It’s natural to feel vulnerable and incompetent in a high-powered corporate environment with an undergraduate degree. Most professionals who start working after their undergraduate find entry-level positions with minimal prospects of growth and career advancement. You see, a bachelor’s degree doesn’t prepare students for the corporate environment as it denies real-world exposure.

In contrast, an MBA equips professionals with advanced training and a well-rounded corporate skillset. Pursuing an MBA is the right step towards professional growth by cultivating advanced skills in various corporate domains. A master’s degree allows students to carve out specializations and develop their expertise in their chosen career paths.

Most young professionals find themselves confused about the complex EMBA vs MBA debate: which one is better? Which academic degree supports your career goals and educational journey? It all boils down to your academic and professional interests and the career trajectory you’ve envisioned for your success.

Suppose you’re aspiring for executive-level positions with your eyes and hopes glued to the C-suite. In that case, an executive MBA will equip you with leadership skills and advanced knowledge to progress beyond managerial positions. We strongly advise young professionals to pursue an MBA before they begin their journey of climbing the corporate ladder.

2. Financial Savviness

Do you aspire to become the CFO of your organization or the head of your department, perhaps? Either way, financial savviness is a crucial skill to advance and grow your career. Financial management lies at the heart of any business operating in any given industry/sector. Without financial savviness, employees don’t have much to offer an organization in planning and strategizing. In contrast, financially savvy employees hold monumental significance in allowing organizations to achieve their vision.

Financial savviness is crucial to run accurate forecasts, predict cash flows and sales, and ensure profitability. Whether you’re operating your own business or working for a Fortune 500 company, financial savviness will help you achieve career advancement. Crunching numbers and running accurate forecasts will help you become a savvy investor and drive your business towards profitability.

3. Marketing Acumen

Many young professionals make the mistake of reducing marketing expertise to the art of selling products and promoting services. Essentially, marketing is the art of publicizing and presenting anything and everything, from your thoughts and ideas to commodities and services. Can you market your thoughts, ideas, and proposals? Or perhaps, you struggle at voicing your opinions in a room full of C-suite executives and high-stakes clients?

Marketing insight is crucial to promote products and services, and more importantly, promote yourself as an able and experienced professional. Savvy marketers help businesses generate sales by capturing consumers with engaging and immersive ideas. Marketers are captivating storytellers who capture consumers by creating a brand identity that appeals to the audience.

The umbrella of marketing entails generating sales, branding, customer service, and digital advertising. Young professionals can explore many certifications and workshops to enhance their marketing skills and learn new strategies. If your interest lies in marketing, it’s wise to advance your skills and build your expertise in this domain.

4. Savvy Communication

There’s no alternative to savvy and engaging communication skills. Professionals who cannot communicate effectively often find themselves losing opportunities and getting overlooked by their superiors. In contrast, confident communicators emerge as team leaders who take the lead in new projects and client meetings.

Communication skills entail a well-rounded skill set of listening, public speaking, negotiating, and utilizing feedback. Can you streamline communications with vendors, suppliers, investors, and customers to benefit the organization? Can you handle disgruntled clients and investors who threaten to leave the business or fuel negative publicity?

Communication plays a crucial role in every domain, be it sales and marketing, human resource management, or supply chain management. Businesses need savvy communicators, confident public speakers, and crafty negotiators to represent and secure their interests.

5. Project Management

Project management is a crucial aspect for all business entities, regardless of their niche and operations. All businesses have to manage multiple projects, and therefore, they need employees with practical project management skills.

What does project management entail? It revolves around planning, allocating resources, delegating responsibilities, tracking deadlines, and maintaining accountability. Project managers develop procedures and policies to steer organizations towards successful project completion. They prevent wastage of resources and streamline tasks to ensure client satisfaction.

Time management, organization, and delegation are crucial aspects of project management. Many managers fail because of difficulty in letting go of control and sharing their responsibilities with team members. In contrast, managers who actualize the significance of delegation tap into the strengths of each team member to bring out the best.

6. Problem-Solving

Businesses deal with scores of problems day after day and rely on human intelligence to overcome obstacles. Efficient problem-solvers help C-suite executives identify opportunities to surpass challenges and complexities to achieve organizational goals.

Some professionals focus their problem-solving acumen on data-driven strategies and tools. Others harness their talents by identifying financial problems, supply chain loopholes, or cost-reduction mechanisms. It’s wise to find your area of expertise and continue enhancing it by exploring innovative problem-solving approaches.

Final Thoughts

It’s crucial to map out your professional trajectory to identify the skills that will benefit your career. Some professionals focus on refining one talent with a multitude of skills, while others harness well-rounded skillsets. Start by defining your goals and identifying the right skills to support your vision.

Expanding your skillset and embracing innovation will help you grow as a professional and enjoy higher marketability. Opportunities will line up as your reputation grows, and you can enjoy more flexibility and growth.