Computer Skills That Can Land You The Job You Want

Regardless of where you work or what you do, chances are, you’ll use a computer at some point in your day. Your computer skills will help to separate you from other candidates.  At Smart Moms, we talk with employers daily regarding the skills their ideal candidate should have.  Computer skills are always required.  Most often the requirements range from the basic ability to use Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook to intermediate level or advanced skills in those products.  Additionally, employers need some type of database management and a basic knowledge in MS Access or ACT often comes into play.  MS PowerPoint for presentations, MS Publisher or Adobe PageMaker and even familiarity with the internet sometimes show up as requirements for jobs too. 

We encourage you to brush-up your knowledge of the most commonly used software packages and try to achieve a basic or intermediate level on some new ones.  While most employers do not require a computer certification, they respect it.  A certification states that you have put the work into improving your computer skills to a specific standard.  And don’t forget to put your computer skills high on your resume like in the summary section.  You’ll want it to catch the reader’s attention.

So, do you have the necessary skills to succeed in today’s workplace?  If you have been out of the workforce for a while you may be wondering if your computer skills remain as sharp as before.  With technology changing so rapidly, it’s quite possible that they are not.  Your ability to learn new information will increase your marketability.

To help you assess your skills and determine steps to take with regard to training, Smart Moms has developed a tool to evaluate what you are able to accomplish on the computer.  Download our free Skills Computer Test now.  We use a variation of this tool to evaluate Smart Moms candidates.  You should feel confident as you perform the required functions.  Guessing or being unsure is an indication that tutorials and further testing should be pursued.

 If you have been out of the workforce awhile Computer Fundamentals is a great free test offered by Brainbench.  They have over 600 available subjects, allowing you to focus on the skills you need.  Brainbench provides a comprehensive array of skills assessments, each offering an opportunity to earn Brainbench Certification by meeting minimum score requirements.  As you assess your needs you can develop your Brainbench “My Plan” which stores all the tests you are interested in as well as those you have taken.  Brainbench offers book recommendations, online and classroom training, newsgroups and more.  What better way to start developing a career plan for your future? 

You may also search for skill requirements based on job roles.  This is great because once you do a career assessment or personality assessment and understand where your strengths lie you can tailor a plan on Brainbench to achieve your goals.

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