The modern career market is extremely competitive and fast paced, and starting a career is not as straightforward as just getting a degree or certificate. Moreover, trends point towards employers looking for graduates with relevant experience, or at least clear convictions, who can immediately hit the ground running.
Having strong grades and sparkling academic achievements do not have as much sway as real life experience, or working achievements that translate to practical working purposes. Students who have graduated, are close to graduating, or those who are researching academic options should therefore also factor this in during their studies.
A Confident and Assured First Impression
The journey from evaluating potential workplaces to signing that probationary contract is vitally important. It starts with a clear vision of what someone wants to do, defining clearly what they expect from their future workplace, and how they plan to develop in their career. Creating a relevant CV, writing a letter of motivation and gaining letters of reference, if needed, are pivotal skills that give the employer a good idea of what the applicant wants.
What employers look for is determination, open communication, and reliability that show whether the applicant is suited to the position or not. This first impression, under real working conditions, is one of the strongest impacts the new hires can have at a workplace, and if they get off to a strong start, it eases the pressure for their future career growth.
A Balance of Hard and Soft Skills
Hard skills are the tangible, clear types of talents that can be written on a CV and confidently tested in trials or tests. These can be skills like speaking multiple languages, being digitally literate, or possessing knowledge of a specific software or function. These are technical abilities that are a necessity to gaining a foothold in the workplace.
But it is the soft skills that will determine what kind of worker someone is. Their ability to understand difficult tasks, work consistently under pressure, manage time and communicate with their peers are practical soft skills. These are not as easy to read or convey, but showing a proactive and focused determination can give an applicant a great first impression.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Confidence and determination are worthy skills, but they are far more valuable when combined with good social skills. Communication skills are often top of the list when it comes to evaluating a job applicant, to see how well they can listen to tasks, ask questions and show proactivity, and respond. If the testing or rounds of interviews also place the applicant among their potential future work colleagues, then showing good chemistry and respect can help the applicant seal the position.
Picking up on social cues, learning how to gel into existing teams or workforces, and contributing to the environment are exceptional talents that give an employer confidence that the student can thrive in the workplace. Coping is rarely enough, and if there is no chemistry or friction in the communication from the very beginning, it can ruin the student’s job application.
Time Management and Work Ethic
Job applications and even probation periods for that matter, are really stress tests. They do not afford the job applicant much time, and their actions and work is closely scrutinized. A skill that can exude confidence is the ability to prioritize and manage time assuredly. The student may be asked to do more than they would otherwise be expected to for someone of their level.
The goal being to push them to their limits, and see how they react. Whether they reach out for help, show initiative and solve the problems, and generally handle such a workload. This work ethic is something that can only be put to the test in detailed interviews, real life assignments, or during the probationary months.
Growth Mindset and Leadership Potential
Students develop significantly during their studies, but this a different kind of growth is needed in their future careers. They may have to solve tasks that they are not necessarily prepared for, they must take initiative, and most difficult of all, they must keep themselves motivated. A growth mindset is a sign of maturity in an applicant, that they are ready to take on the job and continuously develop skills that are relevant to what they are going to do.
It is a form of leadership, that while they are new hires, these workers do not need to be pushed or motivated externally. Further down the road, these are the types of individuals who can be promoted to higher positions, and assuming they continue to grow, they may be potential suitors for high up leadership roles.