Bangalore: Next to "excellence," the word most talked about in management schools, company conferences and marketing brainstorming sessions is "competency."

Being really competent in the job you do used to take years once. Now your competency level is tested even at the pre-recruitment stage. By the time you have worked for a week or two your competency level is going to be gauged by your supervisor.

"A fresher just does not have the luxury of time to prove his or her worth to the organisation'' says M.K. Rao, a former human resources head and now consultant to a number of large businesses.

Competency can be improved by asking questions and learning from those more experienced than you, listening carefully and even taking notes, if needed. On the technical side, there may be manuals to refer to as well as engineering college textbooks to go back to. The internet is another great source of knowledge and it is constantly updated. Then there are trade journals, business newspapers and TV programmes. Knowledge is all around you but few really make use of it. "Products and procedures are regularly changing in today's business world to meet market demands and customer aspirations. Even those in marketing jobs need some amount of technical knowledge. They should know what they are trying to sell,'' says Mr. Rao.

He has come across marketing professionals who let large orders slip away because they could not answer questions of a technical knowledge from a prospective customer.

Competency is also necessary in day-to-day work. There may be enquiries to be responded to and weekly and monthly reports to be prepared in a precise and concise manner.

"Writing business reports can be as creative as writing an article for a magazine. Good communication skills also result in great writing skills. What you write may be read not only by your immediate supervisor, nut also by those higher up the corporate hierarchy. Make sure every word counts," he adds.

Competency at work comes from at least attempting to understand all systems and procedures in your organisation, even those beyond your own department.

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