 It's not at all uncommon for college students to exist in this sort of cocoon of Studying and get wrapped up in their university and things like that and that's that's all well and good, but they Are so wrapped up in the textbooks that they all of a sudden find themselves at graduation thinking now They've got to find a job they've got to be successful in that field and maybe they haven't done everything they can during college to develop some of Those career skills outside of the academic skills that help them be successful in achieving their degree So in this short video I'd like to share with you a few things that I think can help you develop career skills While you're in college and then and skills that are important to develop while you're still in college So let's jump in and start our conversation by looking at what skills employers want You can you can look this up online You can talk to an employer and they all come down to kind of the same Bag of things that these skills the employers want in addition to that college degree They want people who can do these things they want critical thinkers and problem solvers They want people who can think independently can work within in framework and within the structure of the organization But we'll be able to think on their own and solve problems on their own So they want people with critical thinking and problem-solving skills They also want people with effective spoken and written communication skills. Those are two different things They require different skill sets and they both require development But they want people who can do both who can both speak effectively and communicate effectively using the spoken word But also using the written word as well They want people with soft skills Meaning people who can again not only communicate well, but can listen effectively can speak well can Relate to other people can maintain eye contact can know how to effectively engage with with their colleagues and with their customers and so forth They want people who can demonstrate effective teamwork can demonstrate that they can work as part of a team Again, so you need to have those Independent operating skills But you also need to be able to function as a member and as a part of a larger team And they want people with good work ethics They want people who are going to show up on time who want to do the work who want to be effective in the workplace We aren't just going to mess around and they're going to be committed to seeing the Organization succeed as well as to their own individual successes and finally they want people with intercultural competence they want people who can effectively communicate with and work with and deal with people from a variety of different cultural backgrounds and Have the intercultural competence to adapt and be effective in a variety of different situations So those are all some of the variety of skills that employers want that you may not be Necessarily developing to your full capacity just as part of your regular academic studies At the University you're studying topics. You're studying ideas. You're studying theories, but are you studying these particular skills? so These are a couple of skills that you probably won't learn just by being in college first of all working with people college is by and large It's it's Has somewhat homogenous first of all. It's people that are like you that are that are From maybe from similar backgrounds, but certainly have similar goals and are probably studying a similar thing and and are around the same age And so you may not have experience working with people in general that are different than you So but also while you do some group projects and things the majority of your college work is probably done independently and individually on your own so you may not have the Skills with working with different people that you that you might need in the workplace They want a heightened sense of accountability. They want people to take responsibility for their own work to take responsibility for meeting deadlines to all those things which you're Subtly getting in in college But these need to be more explicit in the workplace They want people with advanced presentation skills, not just somebody who knows how to Put together a PowerPoint necessarily, but somebody who can present effectively Somebody who's confident and comfortable speaking in public again, not that you have to actually be comfortable with that but somebody who can Demonstrate a level of comfort and can present Accordingly can present effectively so has some some effective and more advanced presentation skills Somebody's used to competition Again, as you do a lot of your work independently in college you probably most courses not graded on a curve You know, you're really just kind of on your own It's you and the assignment or you and the professor and so forth in the workplace You're gonna find yourself in competition a little more and within bounds again It's not necessarily cutthroat some places are but hopefully it's not a cutthroat type environment where you're just trying to mow other people down Hopefully it's a you know friendly sort of competition, but There are ways that the workplace is competitive and that you need to to show up and be competitive in that environment And finally you need to be able to handle feedback. I need to not just you know Feedback on a written assignment looking at the notes on the paper you submitted That's one thing but being able to hear from your boss You did this really well and take that in stride or you did this not so well and take that in stride Not break apart as a result and be able to function and adapt accordingly From that is a is a big part of operating in the The workplace and and these are all things that you probably won't necessarily Explicitly get in college you'll get pieces of it and you'll get a touch of it here and there But but you'll see it much much more when you enter the workforce so Let's talk about some ways then that you can build some skills that kill We know what employers want We know what you may not be getting is explicitly in college So what are some things that you can do now while you're in college to build some of these skills and to prepare yourself for the workplace Even more than the than the fine academic knowledge that you're certainly getting at your college or university So first I want to encourage you to seek out some experience You know one of the big things that you'll hear when you're first looking for a job as well We're looking for somebody who has some experience and you're thinking well I've been in college so I haven't been in the workforce and I'm you know I'm only how rolled so I don't have experience in this field So how am I supposed to have experience if you won't give me a job? Well, you need to find some experience on your own you need to while you're in college look for internships Look for service learning opportunities Start something on your own if you can't find something then just start something on your own to develop some experience Something that you can put on a resume saying I have done this and here's how I can demonstrate that here It's how I've demonstrated my skill in this area already. So you need to seek out some experience and be proactive about that Yes, I need to maybe think about joining a club Employers look for extracurricular activities just like you know a lot of colleges do when you're applying for colleges But they look for what have you done outside of the classroom? And so to demonstrate some different skills and develop different skills But also to show leadership if you can get into an officer type position in the club or you can you know Again something else that you can point to to provide some experience and to say not only have I done this But I've led in this type of Situation and so you could join a club That's one thing that you can I'm really due to enhance and a lot of your skills But also provide something that you can point to in a potential job interview You can use what's available. What do you have around your campus? Every school is different They all have different programs and different features and different different opportunities for you So use what's available for your field again if you can't find it then see if you can create it But but use what's available somebody may have already done that at your school And there are ways that you can leverage those types of experiences to enhance your skills as you prepare for the workforce You can look for leadership training a lot of schools will offer Even outside of the classroom that offer seminars they'll offer guest speakers that come in and talk about leadership They offer special programs that you can participate in and not only will look good on your resume But will then you know even more importantly provide those actual leadership opportunities For you to experience what it's like to be a leader and to be in those situations and to give you things to point to and to Talk about in an interview and with a potential employer to say look I've done this. I've experienced this I've seen this already and so not to demonstrate that you know it all but to say look I've got some experience I've got some some miles underneath it in this area And you can also find a mentor I would strongly encourage you to do that and even that's again It could be a professor. It could be just somebody who works in the field that you're interested in getting into Just to talk to you about what's like to work in this field What are some things I should be doing specifically to prepare myself for this? What's gonna set me apart from other entry-level job applicants? But you can find somebody who has some experience and some knowledge about that particular field and can guide you in helping develop Again the skills that you need and and also just preparing for life in that particular field So find a mentor somebody who can guide you somebody who works in that field and somebody who knows that field They can guide you in those areas So the big question is why not start now? You're in college. You've got those things going on But at the same time you've got an opportunity now to start developing the skills that you will need as a professional And as you enter the career field If you have questions about These skills are about anything else that I can help you do related to media communication regarding preparing for Life after college and preparing for the workplace. Please feel free to email me I'd be happy to to pick up this topic with you via email and and Discuss it further with you in that way in the meantime. I hope you will be thinking about What is it that you can do to prepare for life after college? What can I start doing now to develop the skills that I will need for my future career? Or the position that I want next and and start that journey right now