Get killer skills
A work placement can be a life-changing experience in industry, giving you confidence and skills to say goodbye to university halls and take on the world. But before you dive in the deep end of on-the-job experience, take a big breath and think, how are you going to get the skills you need?
 Just because you can talk under water, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have great communication skills. You might take it for granted that you have problem-solving skills but how are you going to demonstrate this on your CV or in an interview? You need some real-life experience to fight your case.
Even if you don’t know which direction you want to go after university, knowing how to get the best out of your experience is vital and that starts with choosing the right company.
‘Seek work experience in an organisation that will give you exposure to lots of different aspects of working life and responsibility,’ advises Justina Moores, Graduate Recruitment Manager at ICT supplier RM.
‘It is important that you ask at the outset about the possibility for gaining the desired skill set before you apply, to ensure there is scope for this with the company,’ says Justina.
What employers want
Some of the skills you need should be relevant to the field you want to get into, but there are key basic skills that are top of all employers’ lists for the perfect candidate. Once you know what employers want, you can set about leaving that trail of evidence to prove you have what it takes.
‘We expect candidates to demonstrate their organisational skills, ability to analyse problems and an understanding of how to work with and influence others,’ says Hana Manthorpe, Manager of National Graduate Recruitment at Deloitte.
Justina echoes the call of all graduate employers; ‘team-working and communication are critical for successful candidates.’
Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters says ‘employers want to see real skills that graduates can apply in their business. These may be people skills such as leadership or self-reliance skills such as networking.’
Untangling the business jargon on employers’ skills wish lists into something you can demonstrate can be challenging. Business Psychologist Mark Parkinson says it helps to think of the various skills falling into just four groups:
- people skills (team work, influencing others, resolving conflicts);
- communication (writing, presenting, computer skills);
- self-organisation (reliability, resilience, flexibility);
- thinking skills (problem solving, numeracy, creativity and judgement).
‘Recruiters believe your previous work experience predicts future performance, so you need to say something about these four things which will be covered in depth in an interview,’ says Mark.
How to get it
‘If you have specific skills requirements, you should ask to be considered for specific training or put on tasks where you could learn alongside an employee who has the skills,’ advises Heather Collier from the National Council for Work Experience.
It also pays to keep a log of your experiences, noting your achievements, problems you have encountered and how you overcame them, and what ideas you came up with to improve processes.
Business awareness is also top of recruiters’ lists. ‘Spend your time wisely,’ advises Justina. ‘Ask to get involved in projects that involve working with other departments to ensure you gain maximum exposure to the business.’
How to sell it
 A critical skill that you need to develop is marketing yourself to employers. Preparing your answers prior to interview will ensure you answer questions concisely and confidently, enabling the interviewer to note your experience as evidence in your favour.
‘It is very important to choose and think through your examples very carefully,’ says Hana. ‘Make sure that it really was you that took responsibility for that task and focus in on what you did to make a difference to the success of this project/activity. Talking positively about the things we have done doesn't always come naturally, but during an interview you must present all of your evidence in a positive light.’
Further information
More articles on work experience
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