By Jerry Grohovsky
Copyright 2018. JPG & Associates, Inc.
Skills, strengths, and/or experiences that make you “market ready” (the more of these you implement, the better your chances):
- Internship (paid or non-paid).
- Relevant paying jobs while in school (i.e., school newspaper or other publications).
- Volunteer projects (non-paying—pro bono)—such as for local church, community, professional organizations.
- Knowledge and/or working experience with basic authoring tools, and other concepts:
- Adobe Suite, MS Office, or any other content and visual development tools
- content management systems (CMS), XML—or similar markup languages
- global translations, strengths in any languages
- user-experience (UX), user-interface design (UI), usability testing, etc.
- Knowledge of any project management methodologies or concepts
- Any formal education, working experience, or personal trait/ability that shows a comfort level with adapting to new technology:
- Classic science: math, physics, chemistry
- Computer technology: programming, software development, IT
- Life sciences: biology, microbiology, cardiology, anatomy, neuroscience
- Experiences that demonstrate these working environment characteristics:
- effective written and verbal skills
- problem-solving abilities
- focus on detail (with content and project follow-through)
- successful management of projects—from start to finish
- capability of handling more than one project simultaneously
- ability to work independently, with minimal supervision
- interpersonal skills, and ability to work as part of a team
- adaptability, versatility, flexibility, and quick-study to changing situations and new challenges