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In today's technology-driven world,
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basic computer skills, such as Microsoft Word and Excel,
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have simply become base layers to so much more.
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Technology continues to evolve,
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and so must job applicants, and employees.
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Keeping up with current trends
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and improving your tech skills
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will undoubtedly set you up for career success.
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(inspirational music)
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(gentle music)
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The NACE organization defines
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digital technology readiness as follows.
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"Leverage existing digital technologies
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ethically and efficiently to solve problems,
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complete tasks, and accomplish goals.
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The individual demonstrates effective adaptability
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to new and emerging technologies."
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This ability to understand, adapt,
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and utilize with little assistance
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is what being tech-ready is all about.
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Let's take a look at some of the bigger technological skills
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currently valued by employers.
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Social media, search engine marketing
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and optimization, or SEO,
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data analysis, such as web traffic, analytics,
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and data about your customers,
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content and digital marketing,
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such as advanced social selling,
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digital design and image editing, like Adobe Photoshop,
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coding and programming, cybersecurity,
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cloud-based storage management,
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like Dropbox or Google Drive,
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video development and editing,
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such as creating a YouTube channel,
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and using Adobe editing software,
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mobile, such as optimizing customer experience via mobile,
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and finally, web design and functionality
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for user experience.
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Now that we've reviewed some of these in-demand areas,
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let's take a look at some of the different ways
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to improve your skills.
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Read books, blogs, and websites
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that will keep you up to date on tech trends.
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Here are some great websites to consider:
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digitaltrends.com, lifewire.com
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and thewirecutter.com.
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Take a course either online or in person.
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Watch YouTube videos.
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Make a habit of using technology more
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in your job and personal life.
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Maybe create a digital project
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around a hobby of yours.
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Increase your online presence,
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and finally, study the analytics behind the scenes.
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When you study the numbers,
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it's easier to understand what affects them, and how.
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There's a ton of existing technology out there
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in almost anything you're gonna do,
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and you wanna take the technology that's good,
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that you can use, and then you wanna use your expertise
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to really add the most value,
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which is combining the existing stuff,
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building on top of it.
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You know, you're gonna use digital technology
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in just about any thread of business
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that you're involved in today,
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and so to stay up with that, you have to research.
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Certainly, you wanna take some of those classes,
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if possible, while you're in school,
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but certainly there's a variety of different ways,
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external classes you can take outside of college.
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There's just so many different webinars
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that you can take on the internet
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that can get you up to date and keep you abreast
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of what's going on digitally out here in the marketplace.
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And I've started following dice.com.
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It's a job search engine, but they post a lot of articles
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and a lot of news about technology, and new things emerging,
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and I've just found that that's kind of the best place
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to find articles that break it down,
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and that do keep up with these new trends.