You can’t operate in business today without a solid foundation of workplace knowledge, and, while different companies do different things differently, certain denominators are common to just about every office environment.
These range from business writing skills to spreadsheet accounting with Excel through to the so-called “soft skills, ” such as how to make presentations in front of a group of people. That list may not be a set of sufficient conditions for commercial success, but it certainly is a set of necessary ones. It’s not overstating the case to say that you can’t expect to have any success in the business world without possessing solid overall business skills.
Whereas certain types of training are only necessary for specific positions, knowing the secrets of effective business communication is going to serve you well in any capacity you might assume. The good thing is that they don’t take all that long to learn, and there’s no shortage of schools that can teach you more than basic competency in most general business skills. You can make yourself a stronger job candidate or advance more quickly in the workplace if you set yourself to learning them.
Best Business Classes & Schools in Tampa
Business writing may be the most important of workplace skills, not only because of presentations and more formal documents, but also because of the plethora of emails office workers exchange over the course of a single day. What used to be done by an inter-office phone call is now done in writing, and the quality of your writing can say a lot more about you than the substantive parts of your digital interoffice correspondence. If you know yourself to be even slightly shaky in writing in English, consider a business writing class. These come in all sizes, from a one-day intensive workshop in Effective Business Writing from NYC Career Centers to a six-session on-demand (rather than live) Business Writing Level 1 from Gotham Writers Workshop. Follow-up classes to the two just cited are available as well.
Excel is the software that made spreadsheets a household word: remarkably powerful while simultaneously slick and pared-down, it is used throughout the business world for all sorts of purposes, some of them probably not intended by Microsoft. A grasp of Excel is an invaluable business skill; these days, a resume without it is about as incomplete as a Cuban sandwich without salami. NYIM Training in New York has an Excel Expert Certification that encompasses beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes, plus a 1-to-1 coaching session, along with an all-expenses-paid trip to the Microsoft certification exam (and even a free retake, should you need it.) The program takes all of three days to complete and will have you, not only literate, but fluent in using the software. If your goals are more modest, you can consider Chicago’s Computer Training Source’s Excel Introduction, which gives students the basics of the all-important software in a single day.
Succeeding in an office calls for more than being able to write formulas for Excel, however important that may be. Getting hired (and, even more than that, getting ahead) requires being able to navigate the interpersonal minefield that is a day in the workplace. These soft skills can be learned through such classes as Business Soft Skills from the Colorado-based Digital Workshop Center. Personal leadership, time management, and the management of success (yes, even success has to be managed) are covered in four morning sessions (that’s morning Mountain Time, which means 11:00 a.m. In Tampa.) A different soft skill, public speaking, can be learned through the extended workshop Overcome Your Public Speaking Fear. In what used to be called Ten Easy Lessons, the class works initially to get people past their anxiety of speaking in public, and then to become dynamic and persuasive speakers who can regularly ace those office presentations so many people dread.
All these classes are available online, either through Zoom or a similar teleconferencing platform. With the exception of the Gotham Writers Workshop class, the above courses are all live, meaning that, while you won’t be present in the same room as the teacher, the teacher will be with you in real-time. You can ask questions whenever necessary, and will be able to experience some esprit de corps with your fellow students as well. As a result, you can learn anywhere the internet leads you, be it in a room of your own with a lock on the door or over Swedish meatballs while enjoying the free wifi at IKEA on 22nd Street.
Tampa Industries That Use Business
The above types of business skills are about as transferable as skills can get. A solid foothold in office writing will serve you well, quite literally for the rest of your life. Estimates online vary wildly as to how many companies use Excel: figures range from 54% to 99.9%. Even if the conservative figure is taken as the correct one, you still have a better-than-average chance of needing to use Excel in a job. Now (whenever now is) is always a good time to add this invaluable software to your professional toolkit and resume. As for soft skills, they will most certainly come in handy, and not only in the office. Being a relaxed and persuasive public speaker, for example, is an invaluable talent to which you’ll find yourself returning time and again, both in your professional and private lives.
Tampa is one of the fastest-growing markets for IT talent. In 2021, Forbes magazine proclaimed Tampa to be the number one emerging tech city in the country. Jobs available range from Software Developers to Network Administrators, and all of them can benefit from the kinds of skills discussed here. The skills are equally as valuable for Tampa’s fastest-growing sector, financial and professional services, a growth that has gained the city the sobriquet of Wall Street of the South. In this sector, basic business skills are mandatory for securing a position, keeping it, and advancing to a better one. You can’t learn them too soon.
Business Jobs & Salaries in Tampa
According to United States Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 numbers, more people are employed in the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater area in office and administrative support occupations than in any other roles. These 200,000 souls are precisely those in need of basic business skills. Their annual mean wage is approximately $42,000. A separate category, Business and Financial Operations occupations accounts for another 112,000 people, who earn an average salary of about $78,000. These people need business skills even more than their administrative cousins, and must be able to write emails, operate Excel, and make presentations on a daily basis. (Salary figures for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla were unavailable at press time, but modern-day pirates require a lot more business skills than were necessary in José Gaspar’s swashbuckling day.)