What is digital literacy, specifically?

Digital literacy involves four major pillars, according to Joaquim Miro, partner and CMO at Hoppin’ World. Miro explains these four pillars as the abilities to:

• Stay up to date with existing technologies
• Properly communicate in an online environment
• Manage your ideas in an online environment
• Manage teams leveraging technology

Within these abilities are many technologies you could learn, including some that most employers will expect you to know. For example, communicating in an online environment could involve video conferencing platforms that a manager might expect to train you in, but it also involves using email, a skill employers will likely expect you to have when you walk in the door.

“Digital literacy refers to someone’s ability to use IT and digital technology to find, evaluate, create and communicate information,” says Matt Dunne, hiring manager at HealingHolidays. “If an applicant claims to have digital literacy skills, I’d expect them to be able to conduct thorough online research, which they can then analyze and evaluate. I would also expect them to be capable of creating a range of different digital documents and to use digital communication systems.”

An understanding of web browsers, search engines and email is an expectation in digital literacy—not a perk, Dunne points out. “These are now considered pretty basic skills. While it isn’t hugely advantageous to have them, it’s a big disadvantage to not have them.”

Depending on the industry, the specific skills that fall under digital literacy will build from there. Dunne says creative roles might expect proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite® and video editing software while research-based roles might expect you to know how to evaluate the legitimacy of online data sources.