According to a recently published Wall Street Journal article, you need to think outside the box of traditional courses taught in college if you want to get the best paying jobs at graduation. Employers are expecting you to have the skills to help them navigate and promote their company and products through the Internet and the burgeoning social media venues. For instance, tech and marketing jobs of the future will require skill sets in the latest trends in search engine optimization and Internet marketing.
Job-hunters will need to know the latest trends and tools involved in Internet marketing strategy and how to maximize relationships between third-party content providers and their company’s Web team. Other key skills will be search-engine optimization to maximize Web traffic and marketing analytics to decipher the company’s target demographic, says Donna Farrugia, executive director of Creative Group, a marketing and advertising staffing agency in Menlo Park, Calif.
The article also discusses the need for skills with social media sites:
Social media has opened the door to the growth of new kinds of jobs. As companies turn to sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to promote their brands, capture new customers and even post job openings, they will need to hire people skilled in harnessing these tools, Mr. Foote says. In most cases, these duties will be folded into a marketing position, although large companies such as Coca-Cola Co. are creating entire teams devoted exclusively to social media.
This is good news for anyone already on their way to mastering these skill sets. As traditional media (print, TV, books) moves to the Internet to survive, it’s imperative for job hunters seeking an advantage in the marketplace to master the skills of SEO, web analytics, and online marketing right along with their studies in accounting, finance, and computer programming. As demand for these skills increases, universities will offer courses in these areas. However, for those of you who have already graduated, you’re in luck. The Internet is a great source for online courses and free information you can gather just by searching by topic. For instance, to brush up your knowledge of SEO, take a look at this post on the Top 5 SEO Blogs.
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