Career Opportunities and Work Life

Skills You'll Need

Salary Ranges

The Classroom Experience

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Skills You'll Need - Management and Marketing

Careers in management and marketing are heavily centered on communication. Whether you are selling a product, resolving a customer's problem, or managing employees, you have to be a good listener and be able to express your thoughts clearly.

Patience, flexibility, courteousness, and a genuine desire to help others are essential qualities for success in theses fields.

Lake Michigan College instructor Robert Lane states, "You have to be able to relate to your customers and give them the proper service they require. Every customer will have differing needs and wants."

To be successful in this field, you need to:

• be friendly and approachable
• have the ability to work independently as well as in a team
• carry a professional demeanor
• speak clearly
• be goal-orientated

Along with key selling skills, understanding a second language, especially Spanish, is becoming important. Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States. Knowing basic Spanish will help you communicate with a wider variety of employees and customers.

If you are in a managerial position, it is important to:

• be a leader
• be organized
• delegate responsibilities
• know the culture of your organization
• follow through on responsibilities