5 Essential Skills That Complement Academic Study

BY MIKKI MILLS

Your resume might need to have some job-specific skills so that you can qualify for an interview. However, this may vary across industries depending on the target role or sector. It may include some prior experience or relevant industry qualification. Nonetheless, there are so many other skills that today’s graduates need to thrive in the ever-competitive labor market. Over time, it has become crucial to stay current with globalization, digital transformation, and trends in the modern workplaces. Learning in-demand skills such as engaging clients on social media and coding can make a huge difference. In fact, some of these skills can open up a gap in your other sets of expertise and enable a candidate to stand out from a crowd of applicants competing for the same job. Here are five essential skills that every college student should focus on to cut through the competitive labor market.

Creativity and Motivation

Companies need to be disruptive and creative to keep pace with technological trends, business needs, and economic changes. Otherwise, it might be a nightmare to reap the benefits of machine learning technology and survive the ongoing industrial revolution. One of the strengths of a college graduate should be the capacity to think critically, adapt to changes, and flexibility. A graduate should be able to suggest new ways of beating the competition, improving efficiency, and increasing brand visibility to remain an invaluable asset to a business.

Coding Skills

Web development vs software development skills brings all employers to the yard. In fact, coding skills rule nearly all business processes. As such, it’s crucial to learn CSS and HTML to stand out from the crowd. The value that coding brings to college students can’t be overlooked.

Soft Skills

Over time, soft skills such as work ethic and self-motivation have become increasingly in-demand. As the world moves toward a less stuffy and more social working environment, skills such as positivity and teamwork will make a huge difference. These are some of the qualities that employers will be looking in their potential candidates in the future. Soft skills are no longer just for communication-based jobs. Even people applying for technical roles will require in-demand soft skills at some point. More and more employees will work remotely as new technologies such as flexibility and mobility invade the workplace. In fact, traditional workplaces might soon become obsolete. As such, remote workers will need skills such as self-motivation to collaborate with others and manage their schedule.

Social Media Skills

The social media revolution has transformed nearly all business processes ranging from customer service to recruitment. As such, employers want to hire people who can use social media to build brand image, market products, and services, and engage potential customers. College students should leverage various online platforms such as website and social media to amplify their voice. Moreover, marketing professionals can use social media analytics to understand client base and evaluate performance. As such, the ability to use various social media features is a must-have tool in today’s data-driven age. Whether you are an engineering or marketing student, your social media skills will suggest to potential employers that you are a strategic and pragmatic thinker. In fact, marketing students can use Facebook or Twitter to derive actionable insights and turn that data into useful strategies.

Communication Skills

Fluency in several languages can be a game changer in today’s increasingly globalized world. Students who combine their understanding of different cultural contexts with their international experience will go a long way. Multilingualism will grow in importance over time. College students also needs to know how to carry on a conversation and learn to listen attentively and maintain eye contact. While the prevalence of social networking platforms has enabled students to connect seamlessly, they have lessened their ability to communicate via phone or face-to-face. Communication skills will be not only essential in school but also for future endeavors.

Mikkie is a freelance writer from Chicago. She has a passion for advanced learning, reading, and health and fitness. She is also a mother of two who loves sharing her ideas on education, learning, health, fitness and yoga. When she’s not writing, she’s chasing the little ones around or can be found at the local climbing gym or doing yoga.