Essential Skills for University Students and Workplace Excellence

Study Skills for Higher Education

Identifying skills that students require being successful at university and discussing the importance of the skill in the workplace

The job market across the globe is intensely competitive, where the numbers of applicants is also increasing at a rapid rate. the individuals are trying to improve own skill set and capabilities in order to get the best paid job as per their skill set and knowledge, so that they can be satisfied at the workplace and work efficiently to contribute in the organisation. The transferrable skill set in this regard is effective for the students to perform efficiently in the academic career and also it will be helpful for the participants to apply for the jobs with better job designation (Weber et al., 2018). The transferrable skill sets are also valued by the employers at the organisations, where the employers are trying to consider the candidates with strong skill set and the in-depth knowledge on the subject matter of interest. The major skills required for being successful at university and get the best workplace are such as,

Problem Solving

The problem solving skill set is required for the students to perform successfully at the academic career and also improve their capabilities to work at the organisation efficiently. Through the problem solving skill set, the candidate can contribute in the workplace by developing creative ideas for minimising the existing issues at the workplace (Chou, 2018). It is also effective to find the ultimate solutions for the organisation and hence the problem solving skill is one of the major transferrable skill set, required for both academic and professional career. The employers also appreciate the individuals with critical thinking and problems solving skill, where the individuals can analyse the existing problems and explore alternative solutions to meet the strategic objectives of the firm.

Communication

Communication is important skill that is required by the students in order to gather vast knowledge and improve own understanding on the subject matter of interest. The individuals can perform better through communication and cooperation with others (Valero et al., 2020). The students having good communicating skill are also able to cooperate with the peers and gain ideas to perform successfully for achieving the academic success. Moreover, the employers also prefer to have communication skill among the employees, so that they can discuss and share the necessary information during the working activities (Assiter, 2017). It further helps to develop good team work and also develop effective solutions through conversation and group meeting. The corporate culture and good bonding are also possible to build at the workplace for maximising the employee’s performance. Hence, communication is important skill set for the students to improve knowledge and skill set in order to perform better in the academic career and also contribute efficiently in the professional field.

Team working skill

Team working skill set is crucial for the students to perform better as a team and also lead others collaboratively towards achieving the future success. The candidates can improve the learning and working activities at the academic career by cooperating with others and sharing all the necessary information (Demaria, Hodgson and Czech, 2018). It is also helpful to lead the team, members and others to work under suitable environment.

Time management

Time management is important skill to work efficiently within effective deadlines. It is beneficial for the students to complete their assignments and thesis papers within time to complete academic career successfully (Nägele and Stalder, 2017). The employees also can utilise the time management skill in order to perform efficiently at the workplace by prioritising the tasks, arranging the tasks as per the urgency, managing each task carefully within short period of time and allocate the task among the team members to complete the final project proficiently within the pre-specified deadline (Scott et al., 2019). Hence, time management is effective for maintaining punctuality, following the company rules and also meet the project deadlines to achieve the organisational objectives creatively.

Decision making skill

Decision making skill is mandatory for the students to perform better at the academic career and also maximise their performance in the professional field through making good decision. Having good decision making skill is helpful for the individual to perform in the academic career by resenting good decision and also provide clear explanation of the new decision (Remington and Yang, 2020). On the other hand, the employers also choose the individuals who have good decision making skill with creativity and innovative ideas, so that the employees can contribute efficiently during the decision making process of the company to explore alternative solutions. Hence, the decision making skill of the participants are advantageous for the organisations to make collaborative decision and choose the creative solutions for achieving the organisational goal.

Providing recommendations that could help students improve the content of their CVs

It is important for the students to develop good CV in order to provide all the necessary information to the employers of the organisation so that they can understand the skill set and capabilities of the students for final selection. The major five recommended suggestions will be discussed further, through which the students can create a good CV for approaching to the employers of the firms according to the skill set and knowledge of the student.

Adding quantifiable statements throughout

It is important for the students to provide quantifiable statement in the CV, so that the employers can review the performance and participation of the student in the academic career and also check the capabilities of the students. The aggregate marks of the students must be provided in a systematic order as per the degrees and training and development programs that the student has participated.

Changing objective statement to a CV profile

Changing the objective statement of the CV is essential, where the students must share the career objective of the participant in a simple language. The aim of the student must be reflected clearly which is mainly to get a good job designation in a famous or multinational company (Stender et al., 2018). Additionally, the objective includes the capabilities of the students to work sincerely with cooperation and communication. This information is effective for the employers to understand the motive of the students and review the capabilities through further personal interview and skill test.

Incorporating keywords that relate to specific jobs

Incorporating keywords that relate to specific jobs would be beneficial to improve the content in the CV, to share all the necessity information about the performance and activities of the student with the employers. The keywords such as academic career achievements, projects done during the courses as well as the training programs that the students have participated must be shared. Moreover, the students must share the working experience with the actual job role in each company that the students were engaged with. The key skis must be highlighted and the skills preferred by the employers of the organisation are such as customer service, communication, leadership skill, teamwork and problem solving skill, decision making skill, time management and critical analytical skill (Teixeira da Silva et al., 2020).

Checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, font

After developing the CV, it is mandatory to check the grammar and punctuation error so that the content is understandable and there is no such errors related to grammar, spelling and punctuation. It is beneficial for the students to convey the message to the employers and also provide error free CV. On the other hand, the font style and size of the content, underlining the main paragraph like academic career, working experience, and CV objectives is effective for developing content in the CV and represent the knowledge and skill in a systematic way.

Add a summary to each experience about what have been learned

It is important for the students to provide a small summary at the end of the CV about the skill and knowledge that the students have learned during the course work, degree and career. The students can provide all the necessary information about the degree courses and the knowledge on the subject matter of interest (Teixeira da Silva et al., 2020). The summary of skill set must be there which includes communication, problem solving, decision making skill, team working and leadership skill set. Moreover, the experience gathered during the previous working activities are also provided efficiently through a CV summary.

Hence, the students must share all the necessary information to apply for a new job as per the own skill and capabilities, where all the information must be true with the submission of photocopy of the previous working experience and academic career. Additionally, the systematic way to develop objective, present academic performance with quantifiable statement as well as working experience is also essential. The simple and error free content must be developed so that there would be no issues related to spelling, grammar and sentence construction. The employers can review the CV easily if the student utilise keywords to highlight the skill and knowledge that is acquired during the academic career and also from the part working experience. Through these activities, it is possible for the students to develop good content for the CV.

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Reference list

Assiter, A., 2017. Transferable skills in higher education. London: Routledge.

Chou, P.N., 2018. Skill development and knowledge acquisition cultivated by maker education: Evidence from Arduino-based educational robotics. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(10), pp.1600.

Demaria, M.C., Hodgson, Y. and Czech, D.P., 2018. Perceptions of Transferable Skills among Biomedical Science Students in the Final-Year of Their Degree: What are the Implications for Graduate Employability?. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 26(7).

Nägele, C. and Stalder, B.E., 2017. Competence and the need for transferable skills. In Competence-based vocational and professional education (pp. 739-753). Springer, Cham.

Remington, T.F. and Yang, P., 2020. Public-private partnerships for skill development in the United States, Russia, and China. Post-Soviet Affairs, 36(5-6), pp.495-514.

Scott, F.J., Connell, P., Thomson, L.A. and Willison, D., 2019. Empowering students by enhancing their employability skills. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(5), pp.692-707.

Stender, A., Schwichow, M., Zimmerman, C. and Härtig, H., 2018. Making inquiry-based science learning visible: the influence of CVS and cognitive skills on content knowledge learning in guided inquiry. International Journal of Science Education, 40(15), pp.1812-1831.

Teixeira da Silva, J.A., Dobránszki, J., Al-Khatib, A. and Tsigaris, P., 2020. Curriculum vitae: challenges and potential solutions. KOME: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PURE COMMUNICATION INQUIRY, 8(2), pp.109-127.

Valero, M.D.R., Reid, T., Dell, G., Stacey, D., Hatt, J., Moore, Y. and Clift, S., 2020. Embedding employability and transferable skills in the curriculum: a practical, multidisciplinary approach. Higher Education Pedagogies, 5(1), pp.247-266.

Weber, C.T., Borit, M., Canolle, F., Hnatkova, E., O'Neill, G., Pacitti, D. and Parada, F., 2018. Identifying transferable skills and competences to enhance early career researchers employability and competitiveness (Doctoral dissertation, EURODOC).