You attended Career Week, polished your resume and cover letters, connected with a few recruiters and are feeling good about your prospects for that next career move. And if that doesn’t really sound like you, that’s OK! Keep reading. This post is still for you two.
So what’s next? One great place to start is honing some of the most sought-after skills organizations want in an employee. What are those skills, you ask? Here are some that come up year after year:
Communication
Communication is key. Employers look for people who can communicate effectively with co-workers, managers and clients. While effective communication may look different for different roles, effective communication skills like active listening, negotiation and honesty can help any employee, no matter their job function, succeed. You can practice strengthening your communication skills in a number of ways including your academics. Try being a more active member in a group project or asking your professors how you could improve on your assignments. Building strong communication skills now can only lead to good things.
Adaptability
Change is a constant, and in today’s world, change happens quickly. It’s no different in the work place. New challenges and problems arise every day, but the best employees know how to use their strengths to adapt and roll with the punches. If being able to adapt doesn’t always come naturally for you, don’t worry! A simple way to strengthen this skill is to practice prioritizing your daily tasks and saying no when you’re overworked. Understanding what’s important, what can wait and what’s ok to let go will help adaptability come more naturally in the future.
Collaboration
The odds you’ll be working in a group at some point in your career are very high. Whether it’s working within your team or collaboratively with other departments, knowing how to effectively work with others is crucial. And if there’s only one aspect of successfully working together you should know it’s how to give and receive constructive criticism. Gracefully giving and receiving positive as well as negative comments that offer valid and helpful points to consider will set you up for success in your professional relationships. To strengthen this skill, it’s helpful to remember the value of feedback. Your work will reach its best potential when different opinions and viewpoints are taken into consideration and implemented into the final piece.
Want to refine your professional skills further? Another great way to to build and strengthen these skills as a student is to seek student employment opportunities like internships and on-campus jobs! Consider student employment and internship opportunities through ’Cuse Works. Employment positions through ’Cuse Works will help you develop more than ten key skills and competencies that will help you reach your career goals.