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Skills Identification & Development
A lot of surveys have asked employers what they want from their graduate recruits. Undoubtedly they want a good degree, but they also want employees who are enthusiastic, who can plan and organise their own work, and who can interact with others well.
 When Should I Start Developing My Skills?
Start Now to Get Ahead of the Crowd!
Some skills will be developed through your academic work, but others will be developed and enhanced outside your studies through work experience and extracurricular interests. Employers are most impressed by students who can show a well-rounded CV including academic achievements, work experiences and other interests.
Now is the time to begin developing your skills! If you have already begun, great! You need to continue to improve those skills through your opportunities at university.
What Skills are Employers looking for?
In a recent survey, employers indicated that they were seeking well-rounded individuals, social employees that get on well with others, knowledge of central government processes, and graduates with basic computer skills.
The same employers also ranked the following top 10 skills/attributes sought after in university graduates:
- Strong Verbal and Interpersonal Communication Skills
- Self-motivated/Self-management/Self-starter
- Team Player
- Sound Academic Achievement
- Analytical and Conceptual Skills
- Strong Written Communication Skills
- Flexible and Adaptable “Can Do” Attitude
- Problem Solving Skills
- Energy and Enthusiasm
- Professional Ethics
Note: Not all employers will have the same top 10 skills based on position requirements and the industry.
Source: Top 10 survey released 30 October 2003 by Victoria University of Wellington Public Affairs Office.
Some may be surprised that academic achievement is not listed as #1, but many applicants to positions are graduates with a qualification. However, this does not mean that academics are not important because they are still ranked very high in importance to employers.
When employers can’t use education to distinguish graduate applicants, they must reply on other criteria. So, they ask questions such as:
- I need a team player, so can this applicant work well with a team?
- I need someone who can interact with my clients, so can this applicant communicate effectively with people?
- I need someone who can be on time to work, so can this applicant do this?
- I need someone who can take a project and go, so is this applicant a self-starter and self-motivating?
So, employers are indicating that graduates need to ensure that they are developing skills both inside and outside of the classroom.
A graduate should measure him/herself against each of the following skills/abilities:
- Self-awareness - Understanding fully your own skills and weaknesses, your own work values and what you want out of working life.
- Self-promotion - Being assertive with others, speaking out when appropriate, arguing your case.
- Research skills for ideas and opportunities - Being patient and methodical in researching the choices open to you, identifying new opportunities, digging around for information.
- Decisiveness and action planning skills - Identifying options, assessing their suitability, choosing the best option, planning action, making decisions.
- Adaptability and flexibility - Changing or modifying your behaviour in response to changing circumstances or the needs/wishes of others, taking on new challenges/responsibilities without much notice.
- Negotiation skills - Holding discussions with others in order to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome, getting your arguments across without losing your temper, protecting your position but knowing when to compromise.
- Networking skills - Speaking to strangers, establishing a rapport, feeling confident when meeting strangers, getting them to help you.
- Teamworking skills - Being a constructive team member, contributing practically to the success of a team.
- Written communication skills - Expressing yourself well on paper, being persuasive, having a reasonable grasp of grammar and spelling, understanding what is required by the reader and structuring your content accordingly.
- Oral communication skills - Using speech to express ideas, give information and get your ideas across to another person.
- Presentation skills - Presenting ideas or information to a group of people effectively, using visual aids confidently, keeping their attention.
- Computer skills - Understanding fully your own skills and weaknesses with certain computer programs considering the rapid change in technology
- Foreign languages - Emphasizing your level of ability to comprehend and communicate with others (i.e. conversational, fluent, etc.)
Where Can I Develop My Skills?
You can further develop a number of transferable life skills through the following activities:
- Volunteer experience
- If you are lacking in practical experience for certain jobs, a period of voluntary work may assist in overcoming this gap in your experience.
- Casual/temporary employment
- To be utilized before or after graduation, getting a temporary job may be a stepping stone to finding more permanent employment. It can provide a way into organisations where permanent jobs are rare, or where competition for job opportunities is severe.
- Employment agencies are also an opportunity to be employed and gain experience at different types of work or employment sectors at the same time.
- Further training or study
- If you are keen to pursue a particular career, but have not yet found a suitable job, it may be possible to begin some related professional training through evening classes or part-time courses.
- Clubs & Organizations
- If you are lacking in practical experiences to develop certain skills, involvement with a club or organization may provide additional opportunities to utilize those skills.
Work-Life balance
As you embark on the development of your skills for the future, don’t forget to work on one of the most difficult life skills.
The ability to balance paid-work, unpaid work and leisure is a major factor in everyone’s quality of life.
Many people have a number of responsibilities outside paid work, including to children, parents and communities, as well as personal interests. When these obligations conflict, we feel stressed and overall performance in at least one of these roles is likely to suffer.
Conflict between paid work and other responsibilities is not only a matter of time pressure. The demands of work or caring can spill over into other aspects of life through their emotional or physical impacts.
The key to work-life balance is knowing who you are, so now is the time to discover who you are while developing the skills that are important to your future success and balance.
Summary
The things you are asked to do at university,
- Writing essays,
- Taking exams, and
- Sitting through lectures
Are things which you may never be asked to do specifically again.
However, you will spend the rest of your life living on the skills that you develop while you are a student.
Useful resources
There is a lot of information available on the internet and when researching a business. These resources may provide some further assistance when research a company and its respective industry:
Careers Services: http://www.careers.govt.nz
Wetfeet: http://www.wetfeet.com/research/companies.asp
Vault: http://www.vault.com/hubs/industrylist.jsp
NZ Herald (for recent events): http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
If you are still unsure about how to get started developing your skills, or you want to gain a better understanding of what skills you possess and how to develop them, please see a Career Adviser in the Careers and Employment Centre.
To make an appointment, phone 838.4466 ext. 6264 or email careers@waikato.ac.nz.
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