Invest the time
Kent Lewis, a digital marketing expert based in Oregon, says soft skills are sometimes harder to come by than hard ones. Lewis, an adjunct professor at Portland State University, teaches digital skills to business owners, those starting a business and people changing careers.
“Millennials coming out of school don’t have any context,” he says. “For example, you can read every book there is about Europe, but if you don’t go to Europe, you lack essential experience and context. I think it’s far easier to teach new ‘digital’ tricks to someone who has been in the workforce and had real work experience than it is to teach a young person business, marketing and a work ethic.”
He adds: “I feel there are plenty of roles where people just need to know the digital basics. They can work with junior employees with sharper digital skills and help by bringing in industry experience and keeping their eye on things.”
Besides taking classes, Lewis recommends setting aside a certain amount of time each and every day to keep up with developments in your sector and market niches. Even though Lewis owns a digital agency and has broad experience of digital tools and strategy, he says he can still fall behind, given the quick pace of developments.