Cargo and Freight Agents
Skills & Knowledge
Most Important Skills for Cargo and Freight Agents
- Thinking Critically—Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Speaking—Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Coordinating with Others—Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Helping Others—Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Listening—Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring Performance—Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiating—Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Being Aware of Others—Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Managing Time—Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Most Important Knowledge Areas for Cargo and Freight Agents
- Customer and Personal Service—Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Geography—Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Clerical—Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Transportation—Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Computers and Electronics—Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Sales and Marketing—Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Production and Processing—Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Interests
Different careers may be a good fit for your personality or interests. This career is:
- Conventional—Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
- Enterprising—Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Learn more about your interests. Take the MnCareers Interest Assessment.
Describe Your Skills
People who have worked in this career typically perform the following tasks.
These statements can help a prospective employer understand what you can do, on a resume or during an interview.
- Collecting information from different sources.
- Making decisions or solving problems.
- Compiling, calculating, tabulating, or otherwise processing information.
- Communicating with supervisors, co-workers, or people that work under you.
- Keeping up-to-date with new knowledge.
- Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work.
- Using computers.
- Communicating with people outside your organization.
Careers that Use Similar Skills
The following careers use skills, knowledge, and abilities that are similar to those used for Cargo and Freight Agents.
View more careers in the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics cluster
View more careers in the Warehousing and Distribution Center Operations pathway
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
