Whether you have graduated from high school and moved onto a lifelong career or attended college and earned your diploma, you need to focus on the skills that you have attained that make you valuable to employers. Whether it is communication skills, software programs, or leadership skills, show your employer that you have these qualities and highlight them in your resume if you are looking for a new job. Employers love candidates who are versatile and posses the necessary skills to lead a team of coworkers. If you learn these important skills, it can help lead to a long, successful career in many different industries.
Important career skills that you learn in school
Microsoft Suite
Microsoft Excel, Access, Word, and PowerPoint, along with many other programs, are essential for millions of jobs across the United States. Chances are you took a class in high school, made a presentation on college, or used excel to edit and analyze data in an educational setting. Many employers look for these skills when they are hiring employees. This type of software is important because of its versatility and capability when analyzing data, writing and editing documents, or making presentations. If you are currently a student pay attention in class and learn all you can about these programs. So many jobs require you to use them, and if you become an expert, you are setting yourself up for success when you go to look for a job. If you have already graduated school, and do not consider yourself an expert in Microsoft Suite, then you should consider taking a class or a seminar. Or, if you are a self-learner, there are plenty of materials out there to get you started and help you acquire these skills. If you do not know this software, it can easily take you out of the running for many different jobs. Microsoft Excel is used in numerous occupations, because of the flexibility it gives you when sorting, analyzing, and organizing large data sets. So learn all you can now, because it will set you up for success in the future.
Leadership Skills
Education focuses on important skills, but there are not many that are more important than having strong leadership qualities. High school and college curriculums typically recognize this, and teach students how to become better leaders. Being a good leader starts from within, and radiates outwards to the people around you. Typically, skills such as communication, confidence, commitment and intuition are the primary focus of many educational programs. If you are introverted and shy, try to break out of your shell now—your career will depend on it. Use your classmates are a representation of the workforce as a whole, and practice your leadership qualities in the comfort of your classroom. Although you might find yourself getting stressed and nervous, as many people do, you will be happy once you hone these skills and take them with you into the workplace. Getting over your fears now could have a dramatic impact on the path that your career takes you.
Communication Skills
One of the primary skills that teachers are trying to develop in their students is proper and strong communication skills. Giving Power Point presentations in school may have been a nerve-racking experience, but the skills you learned from them apply directly to many careers. Remember how many presentations you gave in your K-12 program, or even in college? That’s because teachers around the United States recognize the importance of having a solid foundation in communication skills. This could include something as simple as conveying a new idea or strategy to management, or expert level communication projects at large firms.
The educational system of the United States surely has its flaws, but there are many valuable skills that you can derive from it. Pay attention when you are learning about Microsoft Suite, because employers in many industries are looking for these skills. Also, use your classmates as a test group to hone your communication skills, because many careers will require you make presentations. School is not everyone’s cup of tea, but pay attention, because pretty soon you will be thrown into a career where the skills you learned might come in handy.
Matthew Welch
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