Business associate skills for your resume and career

In recent years employers have placed a high value on soft skills. Soft skills, also called human skills or behavioral skills, take years to master. The technical know-how of a job can take an employee only so far. To become a star employee, you need skills that might be hard to measure but critical for success. Some of the important in-demand soft skills are:
-Critical thinking
-Collaboration
-Communication
-Perseverance
-Adaptability
-Emotional Intelligence
According to LinkedIn's 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 89 percent of recruiters say when a hire doesn't work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills. An engineer might have the best solution for her client, but if she misses deadlines or doesn't take action on time, upset clientele might cost her the job. The beauty of soft skills is that they're highly transferable. Creativity, responsibility, and communication skills can be applied to any job.
A recent Yale University study found that people with emotionally intelligent supervisors-those who are self-aware and empathetic-were happier, more creative, and more innovative. On the flip side, 70 percent of the employees whose managers were identified as having little emotional intelligence said their main feelings toward work were negative.

Business Management or Business Administration degree and some experience
-Know the business and its products and services. As a business associate, you need to be an expert in your company’s offerings to sell them to prospective clients. Work with your organization to expand your knowledge, skills, and abilities, so you can provide answers to your clients.
-Computer skills and Microsoft Office
-Analytical skills like Data Mining and Data Presentation, Diagnostics, Creativity
-Presentation skills like Graphic Design and Data Visualization
-Marketing skills
-Certifications relevant to your field
-Fluency in digital communications
-Critical thinking skills

In terms of technical skills, in technical disciplines intimate knowledge of Excel is a must. In addition, with more movement to remote work, proficiency with video meeting and presentation software has become more of a necessity I would say that an ability to learn new technology rather quickly will help students advance faster. Technology changes rapidly, and as we have seen with the COVID pivot to remote work, one may need to master new software or hardware quickly. Also, with the proliferation of data and data analysis familiarity with data visualization and analysis tools like Tableau is becoming more valuable. This goes along with the usual necessary skills, such as written/verbal communication, presentation skills, and adaptability/flexibility. COVID has also shown us all that change can occur quickly and our ability to roll with it and adapt our work to the environment is a key skill. The ability to deal with ambiguity is also becoming more needed, as the environment a worker faces may not have all of its parameters nailed down. The ability to navigate those circumstances will help any employee advance more quickly. This also bleeds over into the ability to solve problems quickly. When things move fast, you need to both be adaptable and be able to think through problems quickly. Another thing we have seen is that employers don't want to have to train new hires on things they expect they should have learned in college. So practice and proficiency in software, speaking, writing and presentations are keys so that a new hire can adapt quickly and get into the workflow faster without "hand-holding."