What's hot and what's not?

We are often asked what are the hot skills to have. What do I need to be able to do, to get the job that I want? Good question. However, the answer may surprise you. The hottest skills to have at any time are the ones that most people take for granted. These hot skills are what we call Core Competencies.

Core competencies remain the same regardless of the season, or the cyclical nature of the information world. If you have a look at the selection criteria of most positions you will notice that the same core competencies keep coming up. And that is no surprise. What was important to a potential employer a year ago is going to be just as relevant and important today. Whilst some job specific requirements will need to be addressed, for example - whether or not you have experience of a particular piece of software, or whether you are a member of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) or not, the core competencies are exactly that. They are central to who we are and what we do. However, one of the problems we have found is that the core competencies are usually the ones that new graduates lack. Why? Well core competencies are those skills that are gained by experience, whilst some of them can be taught, most of them are gained through working and exposure.

For instance:

Good customer service skills - if you do not like people, and do not want to help them then I would suggest you are in the wrong profession. If you are unsure of what good customer service is, then a quick walk to the local shopping centre will give you some clues. I'm sure you have all seen shop assistants who look bored, don't engage their customers in dialogue, a rude to the point of ignoring the people who pay their wages, or point a vague hand in the direction of whatever it is they are looking for. I'm sure you can add a few more of your own. The important thing to note is that we are all in the customer service business.

Good written and verbal communication skills - I am sure the educators who read this will be saying - of course we teach this competency, and I would have to agree, to a certain point. Who was taught how to put together a business proposal? A report? A well constructed business case or letter? Who was taught how to write an application letter or how to answer selection criteria, who was taught how to construct a CV and a résumeé? These are all important skills, but few people are taught the right way to write these important documents. I, like most of my fellow students learnt by experience and the comments from our tutors, but formally taught? The answer is no. However, a friend who decided to do a business course was taught these skills. So a question to our educators - should we incorporate these competencies into our courses? If we want to give our graduates every opportunity perhaps we should. Before you make up your mind, one final point with regards to this competency. Did you know that a potential employer looks at your job application as evidence of good written communication skills? Well they do. Whilst the interview will test the quality of your verbal communication skills, the quality of your written word will get you one stage closer to getting to the interview stage. If you cannot prove that you are the best person for the position - on paper, then you will not be doing it in person.

So how do new graduates get the experience they need? Are practicums the answer or should we be looking at alternatives?

Every student of the information profession who undertakes formal study in Australia has to do "Prac". This intensive training period in a library setting is designed to expose us to what it would be like to work in a "real library" or two. The question is - does it? Is it realistic to expect a student to know everything about an organisation from a short period of work experience? Or would they benefit from a longer placement? I have to say that it is unrealistic to expect our new graduates to be well versed in library management from such limited exposure and I would like to see a closer co-operation between the educators and those people who already work in our industry to find the right balance between theory and practical., would our industry benefit from a formal apprenticeship policy, or are we doing enough?

As a final note, I would like to express my thanks to those institutions and organisations who offer their staff, time and therefore money, knowledge and experience to offer new graduates the chance to experience life in a practical rather than theoretical way, and to the mentoring groups who assist new graduates find work.

Lorraine Bradshaw works for Information Enterprises Australia (IEA), a specialist library and records management recruitment agency, consultants and trainers in Western Australia. For permanent staff placements and short-term labour hire solutions. Lorraine is the current editor of the Australian Record Retention Manual and is the author of IEA's free monthly e-zine Information Overload.

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