As a B. Com graduate of 2021 or 2022 of any other year in the next 5 years, you are likely to step into a hybrid workforce that is very different than the traditional office-going workforce that we were all used to till 2020. And as a fresh graduate just out of one of the top B. Com colleges in Delhi, hiring companies will expect you to be ready for their hybrid work culture. This means you will need to learn different forms of the same soft skills. You might also need to add a few abilities in your arsenal that no company is going to teach you. Being ready for the hybrid workplace may just seem like being able to work from both office and home, but the involved challenges are much greater.
Here are what you can do while in college to build your skills around the hybrid workplace culture.
- Sharpen your technical knowledge
Not just MS Excel or Tally but you need to pick up the technical nuances of video calling platforms like Zoom, Google Meet and Skype and corporate collaboration software like Microsoft Teams. If you arrive at a company with these skills, you will be seen as an asset in this hybrid world. Companies waste hundreds of hours of productivity because their employees are yet to get accustomed to these platforms. Hence, they are looking for people who already know how to use these among the current crop. Fire up YouTube to learn the basics and experiment on your own with the free versions to pick up the basics. Every small step will count.
- Focus more on your communication skills
The best B. Com colleges in Delhi NCR are already tailoring their communication skills development programs as per the hybrid requirements and you need to work exactly on those lines. Following 2020-2021, communication skills cannot simply include fluent verbal proficiency. You also need to sharpen your email writing skills, video conferencing, text messaging and online presentation skills. Getting the point across in virtual meetings can be difficult. The other person rarely sees your body language and the screen in front acts as a distraction for many. When you communicate, you need to be precise and also build the ability to hold your virtual audience.
- Learn time management and adaptability
Only a few of us prioritise time management as a skill. Even fewer give adaptability any importance. In the hybrid culture, you can no longer get away without building these skills as you will have to shift between the office and work from home almost every week. When working from home, time management will be crucial as the physical distance between you and your colleagues will make collaboration time-consuming. And you will have to adapt to the hybrid style as you cannot opt for teleworking permanently because of the involved disadvantages. Form goal-oriented working habits to save time. Keep your mind open to constant changes in your working dynamics. Show flexibility as all companies now value candidates who can adapt themselves as per the current needs.
- Build virtual visibility skills
Office working promoted both personal and professional growth. You could meet with your colleagues beyond your cubicles and offices and talk about random topics. You could also form valuable networks with your seniors and tap into the next available lucrative opportunity. Your visibility came naturally when you were present in the office. Now, with working from home in the mix, the natural visibility factor has diminished. You will now have to work hard to maintain your visibility over virtual mediums to form valuable networks. Social media etiquettes come first. The brand you create of yourself will matter. Learn what to post and how to post them. You might also need to work on your skills to chat in office groups. These might sound simple but every bit is important in the hybrid workforce culture.
The top B. Com colleges today obviously focus on these skills along with the conventional hard and soft skills. The motive is to make you job-ready in this new world. The Lingaya’s Lalita Devi Institute of Management & Sciences, affiliated to the IP University and based in South Delhi, has been one of the first B. Com colleges to quickly adapt its curriculum to the hybrid workplace culture and all its students have access to skill development programs and resources as required by the current era. LLDIMS is all about contemporary learning. Anything changes and you know it first at this college. Enroll into the best B. Com curriculum in Delhi and stay ahead of the crowd with modern skills that only a few have in the job market.
