"I came, I saw, I conquered" may have sufficed when Julius Caesar reported back on one of his victories.

But in today's information age, those words would simply not do. No matter what line of work you're in, at some point you will be required to give an adequate report-back.

So unless you're in a mighty position similar to the Roman emperor's or you don't care about succeeding in the world of work, you had better develop your reporting skills, says Natalie Rabson of Boston City Campus and Business College

"If Caesar were reporting back today, he would be expected to elaborate a little more," Rabson comments.

"For starters, he would have to say when he had come (date), where he'd gotten to (place), what he had seen and what he had conquered. He would then be requested to elaborate on how he conquered and what the value of his conquest was, as well as account for the price paid to accomplish his conquest - what we now call ROI (return on investment). Throw in corporate governance and BEE reporting requirements, and Emperor Julius would probably break into a sweat."

Break into a sweat is indeed what many of us do when required to report back. However, that need not be the case if job seekers are proactive in arming themselves with reporting skills in addition to other qualifications they may have.

"School learners easily brush off assignments where they're required to report back on something," says Rabson.

"Any teacher will have a story or two about learners rambling off a couple of words carelessly strung together, with terms such as 'awesome', 'I mean', 'like, you know' featuring prominently in oral presentations."

Good, clear language is essential for any kind of report-back. Rabson suggests that job seekers invest in furthering their English - the language most commonly used when reporting in the South African work environment.

"Even if you did well in languages at school, it is a good idea to select Business English as a module if it isn't a compulsory module for your course," she says.

"If that is not possible, you can enrol for a standalone module in Business English after completing your qualification; that will round off your education, though the module may not necessarily appear on your qualification certificate or diploma.

"You will receive a separate certificate for the individual module, but the point is that you will be able to communicate well in a business environment."

Where report writing is concerned, Rabson points out that not only is that covered in most business communication modules offered at Boston, but there are templates available on the internet. Some companies have their own templates according to their reporting needs.

As figures and statistics are often required as part of a report, it is advisable to get to grips with diagrams, tables, graphics and spreadsheets. Do so by enrolling for a module in spreadsheets and word processing, which Boston also offers as stand-alone modules.

"In fields such as sales and marketing, finance, and project management, knowledge of spreadsheets is a must, especially on a management level," Rabson says. "You may have to report back to clients and stakeholders as well as to your boss or working team."

Besides having to write a report, there will be cases when you will be called upon to give your report-back via an oral presentation. "Though you won't be expected to perform like an accomplished circuit speaker, you will need to put on a presentation that reveals facts without boring the audience. This is where audiovisual aids and presentation graphics come in."

Anyone with a laptop and a good command of presentation graphics such as Powerpoint can deliver an excellent report-back - enrol for a module in Powerpoint to learn how to translate your report information into a simple presentation.

"With good business English skills, knowledge of spreadsheets and presentation graphics, and careful preparation, you can do a good report-back," says Rabson. "Good reporting skills... may just give you the edge over other jobseekers."

Boston City Campus & Business College offers over 80 career qualifications throughout 48 branches. Unisa degrees and media studies are available at selected branches. Contact 011 551 2000, e-mail info@boston.co.za, visit www.boston.co.za or find Boston students on Facebook.