The 3 Skills you MUST learn to advance your Creative Career

Creative people are the best! 

There is a reason I run a coaching programme for those in Marketing and Creative industries.  And the reason is because I've never met anyone in our industry who I didn't think was awesome! 

But there is one area where many of us let ourselves down. And that’s in the core business skills we need to really accelerate our careers.

✅ Creative eyes? We’ve got them

✅ Beautiful copywriting? That's us

❌ But negotiating? Makes me want to cry!

Never fear. These skills are not as hard to learn as you might think. 

And for me, there are only really 3 key skills that if you learn, it will transform your whole career.

The 3 Skills

I promise. If you dedicate a little bit of time to learning these skills, you will never regret it. 

Even better, I guarantee you will see your career completely change. 

Not only are these awesome skills to have if you work in business, sooooo many people in our industry don’t want to learn them. 

So if you do, you are already ahead of so many people!

1. Presenting

Never underestimate the power of a great presentation. We work in the communications industry. And the ability to capture an audience through a presentation is incredibly powerful.

There is a reason people want to participate in TED talks. Because those who deliver a powerful TED talk can change their lives. People automatically see them as an expert.

If you can master the art of presenting, you will stand out from the millions of people in the world who would NEVER present, let alone present WELL.

Presenting really is a Super Power. 

2. Sales

I know that ‘sales’ is a dirty word when you work in Marketing and the Creative industry, but honestly, if you learn to sell, you will never go hungry.

Selling is the one thing that will serve you well in so many situations.

Yes, it helps in actual sales.

But it also helps when you are selling an idea internally to your colleagues.

It helps when you are selling an idea to clients.

It helps when you are selling yourself in a job interview.

It will help if you ever start your own business (which is basically a full time sales role!)

The possibilities are endless.

Learn to sell and you will never go hungry.

3. Negotiating

I have always been fascinated by the art of negotiation. 

Negotiating is a battle of the Mind and Will Power.

And it takes practice and skill to execute.

Learning to negotiate has an obvious benefit - salary negotiation. Learning to negotiate your salary will ensure you maximise your earning potential throughout your career.

But it has other advantages. 

Most business roles will have some level of negotiation - negotiating contracts, winning a new business pitch, negotiating with a client to execute a campaign.

Negotiating isn’t always for money. 

Sometimes you need to understand how negotiation works so you can flip other scenarios in your favour. 

Being able to negotiate and ‘win’ will hold you in good stead for the rest of your career.

And in your personal life, it's an awesome skill to have when it comes to buying a house! 

Combining the Skills

A big reason why I advocate for learning these skills in our industry is that so many creative people believe they don't need or want to have these skills.

Negotiating for example, might be common in Investment Banking. But so many people in the Creative industry will run a mile from it.

And that's what makes learning these skills so powerful.

Because if you can combine all your incredible creative skills, with skills that typically belong in a corporate boardroom, you are making yourself incredibly unique.

And it is this uniqueness that will accelerate your career.

If accelerating your career and finding your next perfect role is something you’d love to do in 2024, then the Creative Career Level Up programme might be right for you.