Want to climb up the workplace ladder? These computer skills could give you the boost you need.
Computers and internet have been around for almost fifty years now. They are an essential part of every industry, visible in the IT departments that are present in corporates, in small businesses, and everything in between.
A majority of the world knows its way around a computer – which is a good thing as it is a basic requirement at most workplaces today.


However, is simply booting up your computer skills and working on it enough? If you are looking to impress your clients or clinch that big promotion, you need to be more than just digital literate – you need to be computer savvy. And no, that does not mean you need to enrol in coding classes asap.
There are plenty of front-end computer skills that you can polish to make your work better. Here are the top 5 computer skills that you need to make a part of your digital education right now…
1. MS Word
Content is the central tenet of the digital sphere. Even though images and videos have gained prominence in the recent years, words continue to be the favoured mode of communication in business.
Think reports, minutes of meetings, records, ideas, and much more. Chances are that you have already used MS Word, but the point is about using it well.
Simple moves such as changing margins and adding borders can drastically improve the appeal of your pitches. Adding references and footnotes using the built-in tools instead of pasting links at the end of your document can make your work much more reliable and trustworthy.
And, using pre-made templates can save you a ton of hassle the next time you have to present a big report to your supervisors. MS Word is full of little tips and tricks that can make your work easier, be sure to add them to your computer skills.
2. Building Presentations
Sure, content is king, but why not add to it through some audio-visual magic? PPTs often do not elicit enthusiasm in the workplace, but that is mainly because the people who are designing them are not doing a good job. PPT stands for power point, which means that all your content shouldn’t be copy-pasted on it.
You should only have the highlights of your work so that people can grasp them in multiple ways.
Just like our appearance plays a big role in impression-making, the outlook of a PPT matters too. When your work is organised, follows a relevant colour theme, and has good illustrations, you are much more likely to catch people’s attention and can successfully get your points across.
So don’t hesitate to add in something funky into your PPTs. With so many tutorials and premade templates, there is really no excuse to getting some digital education in the art of making PPTs.
3. Detecting Dangers
You do not have to be a cybersecurity expert or a detective to know when something is phisy (pun intended). All you need is some basic knowledge and a decent level of attention to details. Cyber criminals are always looking for targets, and contrary to what many believe, small and medium sized businesses are just as likely to be targeted.
Following basic practices such as strong passwords, not opening suspicious emails and links, and not sharing personal data with others not only keeps you safe, it makes you a better worker too.
After all, you’d not want to be the one to accidentally unleash ransomware on your business network because somebody promised you an iPhone if you clicked an email link. Err on the side of caution and report any suspicious digital activity, and make digital security a core component of your computer skills.
4. Smart Searches
If you’ve been asked to undertake a research or compile a report, how do you make sure that your work stands out? When everybody just looks at the first page of Google for answers, you end up overlapping a lot more than what you would want.
However just typing in keywords and hitting search is not the only way you can go about this.
Most search engines have filters and tools that you can use to search for specific words, years, locations, and sources. What’s more, specific engines such as GOOGLE SCHOLAR and repositories such as JSTOR are a much better way to find books and published researches.
Another great way is to look through the references of research you already have – yes, they are added in there for a reason! These methods may be a little intensive, but they have a great payoff in your quality of work.
5. And A Niche
Computer and the internet are vast domains, and you cannot put everything into your digital education to-do list. However, there is no reason why you cannot excel in a niche category. Love drawing? Try your hand at graphic designing. Think you have what it takes to grab attention on social media? Start pitching into the marketing talks.
Developing niche computer skills can help you add that something extra to your resume that helps you stand out from other workers. The key way to enhance such skills is to undertake regular practices and keep an eye out for any new updates or techniques that you can apply into your work domain.
Before you know it, you’ll be the employee the supervisors will turn to.


Now that you know about this must-have computer skills, what are you waiting for? Get learning!
Do you agree with our list? Are there any other skills that you think are more important in today’s workplace? What are they? Let us know in the comments below!
1 Comment. Leave new
I got some valuable points through this blog.