In today's world, most works around involve some form of tech or automation. Even a few years ago, tech or software skills were thought of as something reserved for IT or engineering professionals. But if the automation and digitization from the pandemic taught anything, more and more basic software skills are becoming relevant to almost every type of job. These tech skills are something that isn’t just important to daily work, they also provides an edge and helps to stay ahead of the competition while securing a job. Here are some important and basic software that a fresher needs to learn to find a job.

Top 9 Essential Software Skills for Freshers to Get Jobs

Word Processing Software/ MS Word

Believe it or not, there are alternatives to MS Word. But the sheer popularity of the software makes it an almost universal choice for writing anything. If a fresher is looking to apply for any clerical or desk job, the knowledge of MS Word is a must.

Almost every office/ desk job requires some form of typing or document management. Having a deep knowledge of MS Word will allow anyone to smoothly process documents and excel in their responsibilities.

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Spreadsheet Software/ MS Excel

Now one might think, what does a spreadsheet have to do with a fresher? Depending on the position applied for, it might be necessary to have a basic knowledge of spreadsheet software.

The use of MS Excel is not limited to boring data crunching for the data scientists alone. It is often used for simple tasks such as attendance or salary tabs. So, for a fresher applying to HR jobs, the knowledge of spreadsheet management is a must. It’s also relevant for data entry jobs which also come advertised with spreadsheet knowledge requirements.

Presentation Software/ MS PowerPoint

For a long time, PowerPoint has been the undisputed go-to software for making any type of presentation slideshows. Recently, there are several great alternatives like Canva which offer a few more useful features and ease of navigation. Regardless of the choice, the knowledge of presentation software is necessary for anyone applying to sales or marketing positions.

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Beyond that, there are a lot of jobs that require visualization expertise. And presentation software is a key tool in that regard.

Here’s a pro tip for almost all of these skills. Rather than outlining the proficiency level, mention how you have made use of these skills before. That way, a recruiting manager would understand that the potential candidate has demonstrative ability along with the skill.

Database Software/ MS Access

This position is a bit more specialized compared to others. Regardless, this is definitely another software skill that any fresher should pick up.

Database software works similarly to a spreadsheet. Instead, a database can process a large volume of data which a spreadsheet cannot. Database software skills are especially important for people applying to accounts-related jobs or territory managerial positions of different FMCGs. Some entry-level non-technical positions advertise for database management only. So, it’s always better to go the extra mile and learn database management along with spreadsheet software.

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Video Conferencing

This is a tech skill that became a need for the time. The pandemic has forced offices to shift to homes and daily meetings to cloud platforms. As a result, the technical know-how of using different video conferencing software also became important.

Platforms like Google Meet, Skype, and Zoom are the industry leaders now. It's nothing extremely technical. A few sessions and learning intuition should do the trick.

Emails

Did you know there is a feature that allows you to schedule emails beforehand? That way a person can send an email at the exact time without having to physically do it. It's just one example of how mail can be useful in any corporation. Almost every desk job requires receiving or sending emails daily.

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Mail management, forwarding, file attachments, and spam management are a few easy yet important aspects that should be learned properly. Because no one wants to be in an embarrassing situation where an attachment mail is sent out without the attachment itself. And as ridiculous as it may sound, it is not all that uncommon.

Digital Marketing

With the widespread use of social media and the interconnected nature of the internet, digital marketing has effectively become the de facto marketing strategy for every leading business. As a result, digital marketing skills are also on the rise. Contrary to popular belief, a person doesn’t have to have any engineering knowledge to be a digital marketer. It’s a fairly simple skill that anyone from any discipline can pick up.

Digital marketing is also a common standalone job in itself. So honing this skill will definitely open new doors of possibilities.

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Website Analytics/ CMS

Website Analytics and Content Management systems are two separate skills but more often than not, they are coupled together as an essential blogging tool.

Not just blogging, different news or web portals that make money through ad revenue and traffic has an important demand for a web analyst or CMS expert.  This skill essentially helps to understand the target client base, returning viewers, and different client attraction strategies. Needless to say, this is a great skill to pick up to start a freelancing career or join any existing portals.

Graphics Design

Graphics design as a whole can be categorized broadly. While no employee needs to be a professional at video editing or creative arts, some basic illustration or photoshop skills can go a long way to add to the resume. Whether it's designing a last moment banner or simply editing pictures for the company profile, basic graphic design skills are a must for almost all entry-level executive positions.

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Final Words

So far, we have discussed some essential software to learn for freshers from any department to get hired. In today’s world, textbook-based knowledge isn’t enough to secure a job. The fast-moving and demanding job sector requires expertise in multiple sectors and most of that revolves around tech. While it may seem irrelevant at first, learning basic software skills eventually pays out in the long run.