You probably have a lot more to offer
an employer than you give yourself credit for. The Problem is, you
don't know where to look for concrete examples of your "soft" skills, skills
that can't be readily measured or assessed, such as interpersonal
skills, ability to work in a team, or the other skills employers say
they want. Here are some suggestions on how you can uncover your hidden
abilities, and bring them to the attention of an employer.
1. Look at your campus extracurricular
activities.
For example, if you are a member of the
debate team, participate in the drama club, or work on the campus
newspaper, these all can serve to help you showcase your communication
abilities, written and oral, as well as other key traits, such as
flexibility. Do you play sports? You have got an activity tailor-made
to demonstrate your ability to work in a team. If you hold a leadership
role in an extracurricular club or activity, be sure to highlight
that.
2. Look at your course work, internship,
co-op experiences.
You can often find examples of how you
have worked in a team (a class project, for example) or used your
analytical abilities in your course work. A course that has a public
speaking component, or one that requires extensive writing, can also
be used to impress an employer with your abilities. Additionally,
internships and co-op experiences can provide you with examples of
how you have used your "soft" skills. Besides giving you valuable
practical experience, these work-related experiences are often real
soft skill-builders that help you learn how to work with others effectively,
which is what employers want.
3. Look at your part-time jobs/volunteer
experiences.
While your part-time jobs or volunteer
experiences might not be relevant to the career you are seeking, remember
that they may well have helped you acquire or hone certain skills
that employers prize such as interpersonal skills (dealing with customers)
and analytical skills (solving a problem on the job). Even if you
flipped hamburgers or punched tickets, for example, you dealt with
customers, and that experience can be used to demonstrate critical
skills to an employer.
