6 skills to increase your marketability

I know, you say you’re  a writer and that’s all you need. But let’s face it, that’s not all you need. The more you know, the more diverse your background, then the more marketable you are. You don’t have to  be great at everything. It helps to understand something about the larger picture of your company or at least of your department. And no, it’s not so that employers can better exploit you.

I am doing transcriptions and every time I get to it I strive to go faster. It’s a full-time job that I do freelance. I get to set my schedule. And it really is W-O-R-K. When I’m transcribing, I am focused on several things:

• What I’m listening to, deciphering the speech
• Interpreting the nuances to decide the best punctuation/li>
• Remembering the guidelines for this organization
• And trying to go fast

The related skill of audio manipulation has helped me a great deal. There are times when the audio is low, and knowing how to increase the gain says me from having to go to my employer and say that I need a new recording. Saves us both time and money. If presented with an analogue recording, I know how to transfer it to digital, which again keeps me working without having to return to my employer saying I can’t use this recording.

Writer Related Skills

Writers need to have a broad understanding to work more efficiently. I’m not saying that there are 6 specific skills that you as a writer need to acquire. However, acquiring skills related to your area can help put you ahead of the game. Try to pick things that interest you. It makes it feel less like work.
As a writer working for a web-based company, several of my interests were quite useful. Look at your company and evaluate what other skills might make your work flow more easily. Some suggestions of useful related skills include:

1. Editing - in any company, you want to have your best writing and your best finished product. Put your effort into writing a good piece. Then go back with an editor’s mindset and look as objectively as possible for what the company wants to say. This is really useful when you’re ghostwriting.
2. HTML coding – for the company that may still require that. Knowing how it works can show you some things you can and cannot do or how to code the text fully.
3. Interviewing – it helps a lot to know how to ask questions of people and of text. Works closely with research.
4. Researching – knowing how to find information paramount for writers. Often times companies will have materials that you work from and you simply need to review the material. When a company doesn’t have this, it’s great if you can find the information on your own.
5. Writing in different genres – it’s critical to know the different voices that are used in articles, ads, promotions and offer content. Keeping these clear in your understanding, makes it easy for you to move between several for writing them, as well as editing your work after.
6. Design – graphic design, web design, print design are all part of presenting any information. Each has rules related to written content. Knowing how to set up the front and back matter of a book is far different in setting up a blog post for easy readability.

Stacking the Odds

These are all really good skills that have helped me in my work. They can increase your marketability and can increase your salary. So, you’re not just learning to make yourself more well-rounded, or to get in, but to get paid better. It’s not always the case that the pay will be better. However, your chances are greater than if you didn’t have any other skills.

No matter what is the company you work for, there are related skills that you can learn that will help to improve your productivity. It’s a productive and honest way to impress your employers. There are many other things that you can to do improve your chances to get a job, keep a job or advance in a job. Be creative.

Leave a comment and tell me what you do to improve your marketability. How do you set yourself ahead of the curve?

Business learning skills, self-improvement, skills that compliment writing