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Career strategists agree—the rollercoaster environment of today’s job market is not going to go away soon. So charting your course toward success will involve knowing how to sell your talents, plus change directions, if necessary. The following seven skills will take you not just from one position to the next but from one profession to the next. And you don’t have to go back to school full-time to acquire the. Ready to feel more secure?

1. A Compelling Voice
In many fields, the majority of work takes place on the telephone. Think about it. Reporters, TV producers, sales and marketing executives, all do business this way. Often, you can get an assignment or interview based solely on a phone conversation. Yet few of us are conscious of how we’re coming across.

“We depend on the voice for up to 80 percent of all communication, but in our quest for self-improvement, it’s the one detail we usually overlook,” Morton Cooper, author of Winning With Your Voice. “Most of us work day after day with a voice that sells us short.”

That’s exactly what was happening to Dina, 27, a freelance video producer, until the day she went to a new client’s office to pick up some materials and was greeted with, “You’re so much more polished than I thought you’d be from your voice on the phone.” Upset by the comment, Dina then asked a few close friends what was wrong with the way she spoke. She discovered that her too-soft delivery and tendency to mumble gave people the impression she was somewhat tentative. By training herself to enunciate clearly and project greater enthusiasm she now sounds like the competent professional she is.

If you doubt the power of effective and engaging speech, really listen to the calls you get in the course of a day. You’ll be amazed by the range of patterns you’ll hear, see how you instantly judge a person by the quality of her voice. How to improve yours? Nancy Friedman, president and owner of The Telephone Director, suggests placing a mirror at your desk so you can see yourself smile before picking up the receiver. “Your voice will sound better,” she says. “The person on the other end can hear the smile. Also, aim for a really friendly tone—pleasant is just average. To be exciting, you have to exude warmth, express interest.” Friedman recommends taping a phone conversation with a friend, then critiquing it. Other strategies pitch your voice lower and modulate. Taking an acting workshop may help.

 

2. A Persuasive Pen
“Speaking well isn’t the only communication skill that’s crucial to success—so is writing,” says Nella Barkley, president of Crystal-Barkley, a career-management firm in New York. Employers are flooded with resumes, so as to ensure yours stand out. Barkley advises crafting a well-thought-out, customized cover letter: “This is particularly important if you’re trying to move to a different field: all a resume will do, then is eliminate you.”

Specifically, your letter should explain the reasons you and the job opening are a perfect fit. To this end, show you’ve done your research by identifying the employer’s need, then emphasizing your qualifications, accomplishments, benefits you can offer the company. Many women think they’ll never be good writers because they didn’t excel in English composition at school, but an effective letter is conversational in style, not academic, and the skill can be learned.

Need guidance? There are many books on the subject. You can also take a business-writing class conducted by a professional business writer. Collect sample letters that have won friends job and study them. Strong persuasive writing shows clear thinking, organization and creativity—which all employers look for.

3. A Talent for Ideas
Remember the climactic scene in the movie Working Girl? Secretary Melanie Griffith and bad-boss Sigourney Weaver both claim credit for the same idea. Griffith shows the head honcho the newspaper article that inspired her. When asked where she got her idea, Weaver can’t say because it was never hers. Griffith wins the moment, the job and…and the hunk (Harrison Ford).

As Working Girl’s Griffith proved, taking in information and then using it as a jumping-off point to come up with ideas of your own is key to today’s competitive job market. Currently, the amount of available knowledge doubles every five years. Trend forecaster Faith Popcorn predicts the overload will be so great, we’ll need personal trainers for our minds—people to advise us on what to read and watch and how to put it all together.

Meanwhile, Popcorn says we must scan today’s culture for signs of the future. Her advice: “At least once a month, check out bestseller lists of books, movies, music, products, and ask yourself, Why this? Why now? You need to tap into what’s going on in the world around you. Monitor the top ten TV shows; pick up a magazine you’ve never looked at before; skip reading your trade publications one week and scan another industry’s reports. Find out what other people are up to. The future is out there—not in your office.

“The more you know about trends, the more ideas you generate, and the further ahead of the job-seeking pack you are,” notes Bonnie Kaplan, a Chicago talkshow producer. “Innovative thinking is a tremendous commodity in any business. Certainly, it’s what I look for when I’m hiring.”

Kaplan recommends going into every interview with at least three ideas for the perspective employer. To get those ideas, she advises that you constantly read, clip, and file.

Stay informed, and you’ll not only discover new job opportunities, you’ll be perceived as a valuable resource—employers are impressed by people who know stuff.

 

4. Tech Know-How
Fear of technology afflicts many—women more than men. A survey by Dell Computer Corporation revealed that 55 percent of us are inclined to suffer from it. “Women need to lose their technological virginity,” nationally syndicated career columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy, author of Electronic Job Search Revolution. “I myself came into computer literacy kicking and screaming, but one day I finally woke up. Technical skills are must-haves for the future.” Kennedy is also a big believer in electronic bulletin boards, online services that connect people all across the country and provide a great way of discovering job leads.

You can gain tech know-how through short courses from computer schools. Or do as Kennedy did and hired a computer coach. She found a college student whom she paid by the hour and still calls whenever she has a problem.

5. Money Smarts
When Ellen, now 30, was just starting out as an editor, she saw a chance to profile the head of a multi-million peso business. After the interview, she called the publication’s advertising department to say his company would be buying space on a regular basis. Nothing else Ellen did in terms of story ideas has as significant an impact as that feat. The publisher gave her an immediate raise, and even after she left the job, he kept trying to lure her back. Why? Because she’d proved her worth in monetary terms.

“Most employers use a simple mathematical formula as a basis for hiring,” says Barry Schapiro, career consultant with Saint Louie’s Human Resource Management. “They look for someone who demonstrates that she can help the company make more money than it will cost to pay her. In a job interview, you’ll make an impact if you show you’re able to contribute to the bottom line.

How do you do that? If you’re applying at a service firm (interior design, architecture, law), name potential clients you could bring in. Or if the company has a lean staff, offer to organize an internship program with local colleges where students would provide free help for course credit, interviewing at a newspaper or magazine? Bring along ideas for boosting circulation.

 

6. An Expanded Nurtured Network
Possibly, the most powerful career-enhancing tool is a network. But that doesn’t mean just mingling successfully at events—initiating conversations, circulating, exchanging business cards. You then have to establish a solid contact base you regularly call upon for advice, information referrals.

“You can meet millions of people, but if you don’t stay in touch, you have memories—not a network,” says Susan RoAne, author of The Secrets of Savvy Networking.

Networking is critical for career management. RoAne continues, “because people do business all the time with those they know, like, and trust.” What’s more, consultants estimate that between 60 and 75 percent of new jobs result from professional word of mouth.

Cara, currently a recruiting manager at a multinational company, is on her second career and her tenth job since graduating. “Almost every job I’ve had, I’ve found through talking to people,” she says. “I network with everybody—the average adult is in touch with three hundred other people you don’t know. You mustn’t assume that because someone isn’t in your field, he or she can’t help you.”

The key to expanding your network is to acquire diverse contacts. Join formal network groups, professional organizations, special interest clubs, but also take advantage of the people you meet in exercise class, even while walking the dog. Attend every official function, cocktail launch that comes your way.

There are many ways to nurture a network. Cara sent out 400 cards at Christmas, just to let people know “what I’m doing.” RoAne faxes notes, cartoons, congratulations, helpful information. “Business success,” she says, “is not about whom you know but who knows you.”

7. Follow-Through
Whether you’re networking or actively looking for a job, you have to keep at it. “A lot of women start off with tremendous energy and enthusiasm, but don’t make the effort to follow through,” says Schapiro. “This simple skill is a key indicator of how successful someone will ultimately be.”

Career consultant Nella Barkley is deluged with letters from people asking for work, yet, she says “more than half of those who approach us never call for an interview, which always surprises me. The person is announcing from the start that she’s not persistent—a quality every employer wants to see.” Since so many job seekers fail to reconnect with a potential employer, the person who follows up with a phone call may well land an interview—and the job!