College is the perfect time to gain valuable experiences, skills, and knowledge that will help you when going into the career you are passionate about. Having a diverse portfolio of skills and knowledge can give you a competitive edge when applying for jobs. A good way to know what skills and experiences will benefit you when it comes time to start your career, is looking at the qualifications for your dream job. Even if you don’t go straight into this job after college you will have already started building a portfolio of valuable skills, knowledge, and experiences that go beyond the classroom. Plus, expanding your skill set makes you more marketable for an array of careers should you choose to stray from your original plan. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) provides a list of eight marketable skills which employers look for in college graduates. So whether you are developing soft skills like those suggested by NACE or working on developing hard/technical skills, use the suggestions below as a springboard for your next steps:
Action steps and resources:
- Take inventory of your skills and discover what skills you might need to work on going forward. O*net is a great tool to show you skills that are needed in different industries. But you can also…
- Talk to your professors, mentors, and other professionals to gain a better understanding of how to posture yourself for success in your industry.
- Set goals that challenge you to expand your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- Check out the list of events in Handshake both at WTAMU and other universities – you will find some workshops on professional development, networking, resume writing, and so much more. Every workshop you attend is an opportunity for you to garner new skills.
- LinkedIn Learning provides a wide array of courses on various topics, software, programs, etc. – Try a month for free.
- Look up tutorials on YouTube – Our staff has watched YouTube videos to learn how to use Premier Pro, Adobe Illustrator, and other programs that can be complicated.
For information on upcoming Events and Webinars, click here. Head over to our YouTube channel to find previous workshops and employer information sessions.