Skills

Can studying COBIT help your career? What are the key things you will learn?

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The field of information technology (IT) has made tremendous strides forward in recent years. As a result, it functions exactly the same way as any other tool that companies use. In addition, it serves as the foundation of most successful firms’ strategic plans at the present time. Nevertheless, this is the case regardless of the company’s age, size, sector, or industry. Therefore, a company that chooses not to improve its digital and information technology skills can easily realize that it is vulnerable. In addition to this, it takes into account the company’s rivals in this dynamic and ever-changing digital world. As a result, COBIT 5 has strong credibility. Professionals who are interested in gaining a more in-depth comprehension of the governance and management of enterprise IT might consider enrolling in this COBIT certificate course. This certification covers all of the COBIT business framework’s fundamental principles, which serve as the framework’s backbone. In addition to multiple-choice questions based on actual events, this COBIT training course incorporates hypothetical instances. In addition, individuals who have their COBIT 5 Certification are in extremely high demand in the employment market of today. As a result, we will go over the many job opportunities associated with COBIT 5 Certification in this post in great detail.

Opportunities for Employment Requiring the COBIT 5 Certification

Professionals have the opportunity to improve their skills by participating in the Change Management Certification Program. In addition, to acquire a deeper comprehension of the dangers associated with IT. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance for professionals to transmit knowledge of the risk and make others aware of it. Also, to strengthen the detection, prevention, and recovery capabilities of the company. In a similar vein, it boosts confidence by encouraging informed decision-making in order to lower the number of information security events.

In addition to this, the COBIT 5 Certification makes it easier for experienced professionals to assist enterprises by offering the necessary tools. As a result, the maintenance of information of a high quality to support business decisions. However, it is also helpful in assisting the firm in meeting the standards imposed by regulatory agencies, statutes, or the government. Most importantly, after you have earned these qualifications, you will have access to a wide variety of COBIT 5 career prospects that you may take advantage of. The following are some of the employment opportunities that have been mentioned:

IT Professional AuditorsIt is up to trained professionals to evaluate and figure out the most important aspects of an organization’s information technology infrastructure. In addition to this, it examines the effectiveness of all of the aforementioned processes and systems. Therefore, providing the greatest possible value to the organization.

Technology Learning

Protect Your Digital Self in a Few Minutes a Day Everyday

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Everything is connected these days. With the internet becoming so accessible, we hear more and more about data breaches related to the websites we visit frequently – from eCommerce to social networks. Therefore, we also need to change how we protect ourselves in the digital sphere. The tips we give in this article will only take a few minutes of your day in exchange for strong online protection.

Open Source Intelligence

Please find below some background check apps and tools that utilize private and open governmental sources to collect all the data about you in a single place. Most people are not aware of this but there is so much data about almost every person readily available online. The tools that gather it are categorized as Open Source Intelligence apps. Many threat actors have been successful at designing tools that let them parse the data they need about you. These tools can scan all these open source databases as well. 

Digital Footprint

Every tweet you post, every image you upload on Instagram, everything you post on Facebook – all of that makes up your online footprint. Anything you ever say or do online will stay on the Internet forever. When you “accept cookies” for a website, it allows the platform to track your online activity. Even this information is recorded somewhere and adds to the digital footprint. 

How to Protect Yourself

1. Always go through the Terms and Conditions

It is important to read every platform’s privacy policy before registering so you can opt-out, if possible, from allowing your data to be used for things like advertising, etc.

2. People Finder Websites

These days a lot of our social and business relationships have moved online. Many people end up making clients or friends online whom they have never seen or met before. The site has a huge database of USA citizens so you can easily get information on the exact individual you’re searching for.

3. Powerful Passwords

It is important to have a strong password if you want to protect yourself in the digital space. It is the first defense against someone trying to access your accounts. There are two things that separate a strong password from a weak one. First, it should include at least one digit, symbol, and an uppercase letter. A password that has a strong combination of digits, symbols, and letters is harder for cybercriminals to decrypt. Secondly, you must ensure that you have a different password for all your accounts. While it can be hard for you to remember all these different passwords, it will not lead to every other account of yours getting compromised in case one account gets breached. You can always utilize a password manager to help you keep track of your passwords.

4. Software Updates

Whether you have a tablet, smartphone, or laptop, always remember to update the software. You might feel lazy or not feel like letting your devices take their time to update the software, however, sacrificing a few minutes for this is worth it. Software updates not only offer you the latest features and improve the speed of your device but also patch up the security weaknesses of your system. If the older versions have any weaknesses, they are generally dealt with in the new versions of the software.

5. Use an External Hard Drive to Back-Up Data

A lot of us fear losing our important data from our laptops or desktops. It is a very valid fear since it is possible for your system to crash in a way that makes the corrupted files beyond retrieval. Everyone has a lot of essential data on their devices, from memories to work files. It can be a truly stressful and heartbreaking ordeal if you lose them. Many people employ cloud services to back up their information. However, keep in mind, that cloud storage is not always the safest either. A lot of cloud services have experienced data breaches, resulting in threat actors successfully gaining access to the personal data of a lot of users. Therefore, it can be a good idea to use an external hard drive to back-up your data. It will ensure your digital self is much safer and your data is not connected to an online network susceptible to hackers but is stored physically. 

Protect your digital self

Conclusion

We all try our best to protect ourselves from harm. After all, as humans, that is one of our most basic needs. However, not everyone in the world has good intentions. As a result, we generally have to put in the effort to ensure our safety. Just like you would take measures and avoid things to protect your physical self, you need to do the same for your digital self. Most of us are connected to the Internet almost all the time. By signing in to something, you connect to something way larger than you could ever imagine, with dangers you do not completely understand. These digital dangers can impact your digital, as well as your physical self in a truly real way. Therefore, it is crucial for you to take out time to protect yourself online.

Positive Words Research – Protect Your Digital Self in a Few Minutes a Day

8 Ways To Exceptionally Improve Your Communication Skills

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Hold on! You are missing something significant. You aim to win in the workplace, but you are not aware of how to do so? You know that you need to enhance your communication skills, but you don’t see the road-map of it. Don’t stress yourself out. We are here to clear your confusion. Communication is a necessary skill that most people lack. Be it your professional life or your personal life, the importance of communication can’t be ignored.

According to the research done by the Conference Board of Canada, communication is one of the skills that are necessary enough if one is willing to succeed in the workplace. One should know how to communicate formally to win at the workplace.  If you have a glance at the renowned leaders, you will see that their ability to deliver has helped them a lot.

1. Make your listening game stronger

You can’t expect to build a healthy relationship with your customers unless your way of communication is right. You have to be an excellent listener. Listening is quite essential, not only it is a way of showing respect for one person but it also develops the level of patience in you.
Just visualize for a few minutes, you are talking to someone and that person is listening to you with the full scale of concentration, how would you feel? Of course, you will feel so good, and the bond between you and that person will get stronger. It proves one thing here, to build the trust it is necessary to listen to others.

There are individuals who are quite fond of listening to their voices. When you talk to them they don’t concentrate on what you are saying to them. How do you feel about their company? Of course, you feel devalued. When you start listening to what the other person has to say, you will think that you are being understood and valued.

There are some things that are of help if you want to improve the communication skills.

2. Listen to avoid misinterpreting

People want to feel that another person is listening with concentration. The consequences of not listening to the other person can be really bad. You may assume things. You may misunderstand what is being told. When you are talking to someone, make sure that you don’t do other work at that time. Like, don’t divert the topic, don’t reply to an email at that particular time. One expects to receive your undivided attention from you. If he is not going to get it from you, he will feel devalued.

3. Message Tone

The person you are communicating with matters a lot. There is no problem if you are using informal language while talking to your best buddy but yes don’t make it a habit. You first have to see the person you are talking to. However, if you are talking to your boss, you can’t use languages like “Heya!” or “Lol.”
Another thing is that not everyone is aware of the acronym you use in the communication. Still, if you are using an abbreviation, just make sure that the person doesn’t misunderstand it. Maybe the meanings of that particular acronym are different for that person.

The real key to effective communication is that you should structure your message according to the person you are talking to.

4. Improve your body language

When you are doing a one-to-one meeting with someone, your body language gets noticed. If you make a poker face, it won’t impress the other person. Extensive use of anything is harmful while talking to people it’s good to have a functional body language. However, do not try to cross the defined limits.

Do not give a wrong impression of yourself, use body language within the limits. Moreover, it is indispensable that you maintain pretty good eye contact with the person you are talking to. If you roll your eyes, here and there, that person will build a perception that you are not listening to him.

5. Proofread your message

If you are talking to someone via text, make sure that you proofread your message before hitting the send button. Though spell checker is a lifesaver, you can’t depend on it entirely. You have to check your message all by yourself.

Structure your message correctly. Make sure that the words you have chosen to convey your message are appropriate and cannot be misinterpreted. Since you are not talking face-to-face, the tone of the message should be clear enough and should speak for your intention.

6. Follow the KISS rule

KISS rule says “keep it short and simple”. This means that you have to be precise while writing a message. You can’t expect the other person to read those long paragraphs. What’s the point of dragging something when it is explainable in a line or two?  When you receive a long email, you don’t feel like reading it and you try to avoid that mail. Similar is the case here. The receiver doesn’t want to hear your long tale, keep your message short and easy to understand. Do not include jargons that one needs to open a dictionary to decode your message.

Once you have crafted your message, do read it twice and make sure that you are not missing any important thing. The rule is to convey your message efficiently, in a precise way.

7. Take notes

Written things are of help. Though you have a sharp memory, you can’t expect your brain to remember every single thing. During a meeting, don’t forget to take notes because sometimes we feel that we will remember something but we fail to recall it afterward. Notes will help you in reiterating what you have missed.

8. Take help of pauses

Don’t start talking like a bullet train. Breaks are essential for you. While speaking to people, make sure that you give pauses. This will save you from embarrassment, big time. When you just keep talking and talking without giving any break, the other person doesn’t listen to you and you eventually get embarrassed. You need to have pretty good attention to how you speak and what do you speak. This will help you a lot in knowing what you need to improve.

Bottom Line

In today’s world, one can’t expect to succeed if the communication skills are not up-to-the-mark. Whether you talk about your personal life or you talk about your professional life, you have to make your communication game stronger. The perks of improved communication skills are beyond your thinking. Clear communication leads you to the smooth workflow, your productivity increases. Moreover, your professional image gets better. The above tips are of much help. Follow them and you will experience the change soon.

Author’s Bio

Zoe Lucas is a freelance blogger who loves to write in different niches. Currently working as a freelance blogger at Cassandra Worthy.

Here at Positive Words Research, we are looking to share with our readers original content that hasn’t been published on other sites so if you are comfortable with Positive Words Research being your sole publisher, we are more than happy to share with our readers your inspiring and empowering story.

Positive Words Research – 8 Ways To Exceptionally Improve Your Communication Skills

communication skills

Top 5 Skills I Wish My College Would Have Taught Me

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A person spends the most important time of his life earning the jewel of education and knowledge. It requires decades to obtain a Master’s Degree so you can spend the next decade of your life getting a reputed job to pay your bills.
Unfortunately, college students are still searching for new ways and sources to learn those skills which are important to succeed in practical life.

Colleges are designed to equip students with a professional education which is imperative for the future of a student. However, the ground realities are much different than it supposed to be.
These colleges now are only providing the wealth of information limited to classrooms and college. In the outside world, this is not as required as it used to be. This is due to outdated course material and useless exercises.

The college which is supposed to teach us skills for the future like speaking and communication led us down, and students are searching for custom dissertation services from outside to keep their education in the right flow.
That is why I and other people like me had to make efforts on our own to learn those skills which were the responsibility of colleges to teach us.

We know how much effort we put in to learn these skills. That is why I don’t want others to suffer the same struggle and I wrote this post for their assistance. I am going to list down some major skills that every college should teach their students so they would not have to face embarrassment in practical life.

1. Research

Researching is one of those skills which are really hard to acquire. It requires only one thing, and that is patience. Nowadays researching has become much easier due to the ever-growing intelligence of Google.
We have specific queries through which finding things have become much easier than ever. Though it is important for the query generator to know what he is searching for and which relevant keyword can take him to that desired search result.

Albeit, these queries and all other internet researching hacks are not enough to fulfill the needs of researching required in practical life. It is the routine job of professionals to collect data and information. Not just from the internet but by digging libraries or interviewing people too. Due to different academic services, students have become dependent on these companies and colleges have failed to develop their research skills in them. Which is critical as I mentioned before.

2. Critical Thinking

Without having the skills to find a pin within the bag of sand, you cannot analyze the pin. Without having research skills, it is almost impossible for a person especially a fresh graduate to develop the skill of critical thinking.
Research teaches a person numerous outside things which ultimately connect at some point of research. This becomes the core point of critical thinking.

Critical thinking is one of the most demanded traits in the corporate world. This skill allows a person to view another side of things that most people without critical thinking are unable to see.
If any student develops this skill in his college days, he or she would not only capable of gathering information but can also analyze the collected data from a different perspective.
Through this, students can solve their problems through creative and much more effective ways. Is a plus point which employers always want to see in their employees.

3. Time Management

Most of the problems that students of this era are facing are due to a lack of time management. A billionaire and a homeless both have an equal number of hours in a day. It entirely depends on how a person utilizes these 24 hours and manages them. Once again, college is supposed to be an ideal place to teach you this skill.

Time management is a code that helps you maintaining balance in everything personally and professionally. This is another skill that is hard to acquire but one must-have.
Students can learn this skill on their own too just by bringing discipline into their life. Allotting time for each act of the day and then sticking to this routine can help a student in achieving this skill.

4. Public Speaking

Public speaking is the trait of leaders.
Every leader in the world is a public speaker first and then something else. Colleges try to develop these skills in students by arranging different events and conducting presentation sessions. Students can take out the fear of speaking in front of an audience. However, these efforts can only make you brave enough to speak in public but not capable of speaking the right words.

Public speaking is not only about having a loud voice and being resounding to everyone in the audience. It is more about organizing your thoughts, choosing the right words and the tone that touch the heart of the masses.
This skill is imperative especially when it comes to leadership positions in companies. A person who is a manager or in an authoritative position in the company is responsible for speaking up for his team and to his team to keep their motivations high.

5. Teamwork Skills

Being a professional, one has to be a team player and adaptable to every group. This skill has now become imperative to have since the advent of technology in almost every field of life that requires a team to manage.

Conversely, colleges are working against this trait. Most of the colleges prefer their students to work individually. That is why the grads colleges and universities are producing, are unable to adjust and to cope with all the ups and downs a team faces while working on any project. This skill determines either you are a positive inclusion in any company and a horse of a long race.

Author’s Bio

Joe Pirest is an Entrepreneur and a student of Business Management who likes to work on everything related to media including production, design, and media ethics. He also works with a writing company and gives dissertation help to students in need.

skills

Best 6 Digital Skills That Can Boost Your Career Today

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Many business organizations tend to have what is referred to as “a digital skills gap”. What this really means is they lack a staff equipped with the necessary firsthand knowledge in working with digital applications, tools, and strategies. By taking the time and effort to master certain digital skillsets, you can, of course, increase your worth in the career you have chosen. Doing this also offers you the necessary room to improve your future career opportunities as well. Well then, here are 6 digital skills that can boost your career in ways you would never have deemed possible.

Image editing

Image editing is a fantastic digital skill, which will heighten your overall influence in the office setting. Been able to create mesmerizing visual aids for your company will showcase your exceptional talents to your bosses. When you are bent on becoming a pro in churning out things like infographics, or branding graphics, you must comprehend the workings of the best image editors such as Photoshop. So, when you are able to demonstrate your image editing capabilities, you will give your career a boost, by opening up new job roles.

Video production

The video is a great content format when it comes to spreading a firm’s brand identity and message to prospective clients. This can naturally present a golden opportunity for those individuals who have a vested interest in assisting the company they work for in creating excellent video content. If you are that kind of an employee, the roles you could assume can vary. From managing video production projects to honing the video shooting or editing skills of your fellow colleagues. Some of the best instances of being creative with the video for your firm are producing content that showcases its culture. Producing video interviews of satisfied clients or even video product reviews that elaborate on the benefits of your products or services. On the other hand, been good at video production can be very useful whenever you are seeking greener pastures. More and more business establishments are now accepting creative forms of job applications. Therefore, being able to demonstrate your capabilities of tailor-making video content will definitely place you ahead of the rest of the pack.

HTML

In this particular scenario, you don’t really need to be a bonafide web developer to be of use to your company. All you got to do is simply develop a fair proficiency in reading HTML code. This will place you in a position where you can be able to liaise with external agencies in formulating and implementing your firm’s website strategies. While also being at hand to notice alterations and even fix simple bugs whenever the need arises. By been conversant with some basic HTML skills, you can substantially enhance your value as an all-around employee.

SEO and content marketing

The right search engine optimization and content marketing techniques are a prerequisite in boosting your firm’s website search engine rankings. The higher you company ranks in your niche search parameters, the more traffic it is bound to receive. Having some working understanding of SEO and content marketing in general lets you determine the best methods to implement in creating viable content. Some of the most notable include keyword research and thinking like your target audience to identify which content might spark their interest. Also, you will be able to execute vital competition analysis in areas such as keyword integration to identify how you can beat them and churn out much better content.

Social media marketing

Around 2.34 billion individuals are now social media users, and many of them can snugly fit into what you would label as your company’s target audience. Taking your time to learn the ins and outs of social media marketing can greatly boost your career. This will enable you to be in a position of effectively handling all your business’s social media accounts. This is primarily through churning out content that both entertains and enlightens your target audience and leads them to your firm’s website.

Touch typing

Finally, touch typing is an essential digital skill you will have to master if you wish to expand your career horizons. Basically, it is designed to greatly improve your typing speed as well as accuracy. By learning typing best practices including ideal finger placement on the keyboard, you will significantly improve your productivity. While learning the right typing ergonomics will allow you to be able to efficiently prevent injuries and fatigue, even if you are engaged in protracted typing sessions on a frequent basis. It is pretty simple to start learning touch typing with passing a quick online typing test, use an online tutor and see the progress.

My name is Adam Fort, I’m an education strategist at Ratatype.com. This project helps children and adults to learn touch typing via an online typing test and lessons. I am in charge of developing the proper typing lessons and exercise for typists who want to improve their typing speed. I also have a commercial pilot’s license which I’m proud of.

Positive Words Research – 6 Digital Skills that Can Boost Your Career

digital skills boost career

Top 4 Mental and Interpersonal Skills To Benefit Your Career

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You are about to hack into the best way to obtain the key to your dream career. Have you ever thought that there is a set of skills that are effective in any domain you choose to work in? These skills fall into the mental or interpersonal category that some are born with. But few are aware of how much they value, so it’s important to spot your personal assets from the beginning and work on them.

Interpersonal skills will not only help you climb the career ladder, but they will also improve the quality of your personal life. By mastering them, you will get to become a better self and reach any goal of yours.

Why have the interpersonal skills won so much ground in any chosen career?

Most of the jobs today have shifted from physical work to the office environment. Along with this change, the employee has become a link in the working chain. The employee is now interconnected with the system as a whole: clients, colleagues, and management. Working alone is not an option anymore, not even for programmers, cooks, or clerks. And this is where your interpersonal skills come in. By gaining control over your work relations and connections, you will easily mold your future exactly the way you want it. So let’s begin to disclose these skills!

1. Negotiation

This is the skill you need to help you stand up for yourself. No one should ever just speak up their mind on what they would rather do to whomever they meet. This is definitely not the professional attitude your employer seeks in you. For a perfect negotiating dialogue, start by detecting the benefits of your wish. Will this action you are in favor of bringing mutual content?

After answering that question, choose the right words to describe your point of view, adopting a calm and understanding tone. It is of utmost importance to also pay attention to your negotiating partner. Many times, you will have to compromise, but do not jump to conclusions. Take a step back and see the bigger picture. Will the terms of the negotiations bring you the desired outcome while keeping a good relationship with your partner? Then, congratulations, you have just finished an ideal negotiation dialogue.

2. Leadership

Self-confidence, charisma, and hard work are the main elements that a leader should acquire. This skill will bring you the most desired work position: manager. You might think that a manager has too many advantages for an equal work ethic, but behind a happy, successful manager stand many struggles, failures, and obstacles. There is quite a lot of effort in becoming a leader, and no one should take it lightly.

The main goal of a leader is that of creating the perfect team: one that works like a well-oiled machine. And this is where the hard work begins. To accomplish this, one needs to find and select the ideal candidates for him (not too under or overqualified), create a solid strategy, organize training sessions, and clearly communicate how they want things to work out.

3. Taking Responsibility

This skill should be studied by every adult out there: take the blame for your own actions. You must be aware that every action has a set of consequences among which there is always the risk of failure. Own your actions, take the risk and coldly analyze the situations they trigger after they are implemented. Learn from your mistakes and develop strategies to avoid these situations in the future.

Being afraid of failure is also a dark spot on your interpersonal skills. You will definitely win the appreciation of others if you take the courage to carry out that bold marketing strategy that no one dared to even think about. There are chances that you might fail, but how else can you out better yourself?

4. Positive Outlook

So, you have a strong team, and nobody has ever questioned your work ethics, but do you still manage to find your inner joy? There will always be a higher goal to achieve, that you can be sure of. You will always chase after self-improvement and self-contentment, and if you don’t start enjoying this ride, you will lose yourself in this game of life. Exercise spotting the good side of any event or “fake it till you make it” as people say. Your good mood will influence everybody around you and improve their performance. Not to mention that positive thinking can help you find a job, which will launch you into a new career path.

Studies found that positive people are better at problem solving and they have a better life quality. So, what is there to lose if you choose to be happy?

There are many other mental and interpersonal skills. Make an in-depth research about them and get to know your own special skills better. Nobody is perfect which means that there is always room for improvement. Never stop learning and believe in yourself!

Author bio: Amanda Wilks is a Boston University graduate and a Contributing Editor at Customer Survey Report. She has a great interest in everything related to job-seeking, career-building, and entrepreneurship and loves helping people reach their true potential.

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