5 traits you’ll need in a comms career to complement your practical skills
For those new to the communication profession, it’s an exciting learning experience! Communications is such a diverse sector, with so many paths to choose from - government, media, corporate social responsibility, internal comms, change, public relations… the list goes on.
And while there are core practical skills you need to hit the ground running (read our blog here for an overview of those skills), there are other skills you’ll need to successfully navigate this world.
These traits - sometimes referred to as ‘soft skills’ (annoyingly) - can also be applied across most industries. They’re imperative because beyond being able to write a communication plan, you also need to work in an environment inhabited by people. And people can be really weird!
So here are the five traits you’ll need to complement those practical skills:
Ability to pivot quickly, and often!
Things change, quickly and often with little notice. You need to learn to think on your feet and be comfortable with changing direction rapidly. For example, that media conference you thought was happening in your building is now happening at a sports stadium 20km away, in two hours’ time. Or the massive digital platform that’s about to launch for the whole organisation is in fact now only going to launch for a handful of people. There’s no point getting frustrated or upset - we’ve just got to roll with the punches.
Problem-solving skills
The guest speaker you had lined up is no longer available. The channel you wanted to use doesn’t have the functionality you need. There’s no budget for your campaign.
In a comms role, you’ll be solving problems like these almost every day. Which means you need to have a creative mindset and find new ways of doing things, workarounds, or sometimes start over completely.
If you can master this skill though, you’ll earn the respect of your stakeholders, and they’ll value you as someone who can support them and offer great advice.
Build and maintain good relationships
Speaking of stakeholders, good relationships make things so much easier - in communication, and every other industry. With great, trusting relationships, it’s easier to get people on board to help push through an initiative, speak at an event, or collaborate on a big project. And in the long run, it’s these people who will support you and advocate for you, because they know, trust, and like you.
Think from your audience’s perspective
To succeed in communication, you need to put your ‘audience hat’ on and communicate in a way that reaches them. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of communicating from the organisation’s or business’s perspective, which is where a whole lot of corporate jargon starts to creep in! If you communicate for your audience, you’ll have much more success.
This applies to every kind of comms - from the one-on-one conversations you have with stakeholders, to the communications broadcast to large groups.
Keep learning!
Having a learning mindset is key to your continued growth and demonstrating value back to your employer. It shows that you’re willing to innovate, and continuously improve the work of your team and your business.
Don’t wait for formal performance reviews or for your business to pay for training - get out there, ask for feedback, and find opportunities to learn. Find podcasts to listen to, join professional organisations that provide learning opportunities, find a mentor (or two), read books, and articles … even find great content on YouTube! There are so many ways you can learn and keep bringing that back into your work every day.
Want to be undeniable to future employers?
Enrol in our new Communication Career Fundamentals online course! This six-module, online course will give you all the practical skills and knowledge you need to improve your chances of scoring that dream role, including a lesson on digital accessibility! Find out more about this course here.