| Getting into the labour market after school or college is | | | | newsletter or were involved in a community project |
| a daunting prospect and that's without the minefield of | | | | with classmates. If you have played any team sports |
| jargon, overnight advances in technology and | | | | in your spare time, you will know a lot about what it |
| discriminatory attitudes.OK - Let's bust a bit of that | | | | takes to work as a member of a team.Ability to work |
| jargon! What exactly are transferable skills? Quite | | | | alone and on your own initiativeMuch of the work you |
| simply, they are things you can do in one area of your | | | | did at college was not group work, but stuff you had |
| life which can be used somewhere else.Let's take an | | | | to do alone and you probably had to motivate yourself |
| example. As a student, did you get all your | | | | to get on with it. So, how good were you at getting all |
| assignments in on time? Were you able to set up | | | | the work done? You may not have liked it, but if it had |
| extensions if your work was late? Did you learn how | | | | to be done, chances are you did it. How did you use |
| to type quickly and use a number of computer | | | | your own initiative? Did you devise ways in which to |
| programmes effectively? Did you hold down a | | | | make remembering information easier? Did you come |
| part-time job and manage to juggle work with study | | | | up with creative ideas to make your work different |
| and your social life?If you answered yes to all, or at | | | | and interesting? Did you find a job which you were |
| least some of the above, you have demonstrated an | | | | able to fit in with your studies and which solved some |
| extensive range of skills, such as effective time | | | | of your financial problems?Ability to meet |
| management, negotiating and good communication | | | | deadlinesDeadlines - You certainly had a few of these |
| skills. Now, you may not give them such grand titles, | | | | in your student days. Did you meet them? You may |
| but if you were filling in a job application form, that's | | | | have learned the hard way, sitting up all night at the |
| exactly what you'd call them.You've been picking up | | | | last minute, but most people manage to get things in on |
| skills from the moment you were born. The problem is | | | | time. And if you didn't, how well did you negotiate an |
| that you take most of your skills for granted. That's | | | | alternative solution?IT SkillsAs a student you will have |
| something we've got to change! So grab a pen and | | | | used, at the very least, the internet, email and word |
| paper, get yourself a cup of coffee and let's get | | | | processing packages. Your college will probably have |
| started.Choose any role you've had in your life.As a | | | | provided free tuition in these and possibly also in |
| graduate, you'll have spent a large part of your life so | | | | programmes like Powerpoint and Excel. You may also |
| far as a student and so we'll use that in our example. | | | | have developed other skills in your own time or when |
| Have a go at brainstorming the skills you developed in | | | | you were at school, such as web design or |
| your school or student days.What did you come up | | | | programming. Add all these to your list.Research |
| with?Communication SkillsYou had no chance of | | | | skillsYou will have had to do some form of research |
| surviving as a student - and even less chance of | | | | for your assignments and for your thesis or |
| passing your exams - if you couldn't communicate the | | | | dissertation if you went to university. Write down the |
| knowledge and skills that you are at college to | | | | methods you used - internet, specialist libraries, journals, |
| learn.How did you communicate this information? By | | | | interviewing, using questionnaires, doing case |
| writing essays, giving presentations or talks, delivering a | | | | studies.Communication skills, teamwork, ability to work |
| lesson to other students, answering questions, writing a | | | | on your own and to use your own initiative, ability to |
| thesis? You may have devised questionnaires and | | | | meet deadlines, IT and research skills are all high on |
| interviewed members of the public, written articles for | | | | employers' lists of essential attributes in a graduate |
| on or offline publication or for a college newsletter. | | | | employee. Your job is to provide examples which |
| You'll have taken notes and summarised information | | | | prove that you have these skills. So, using the |
| from books and lectures. Think about each subject | | | | information in this article, make your own list of specific |
| you studied and write a list of the methods of | | | | examples. They will help you shine both on paper and |
| communication you used, both oral and written and | | | | at the interview.© Waller Jamison 2005Waller |
| write examples of each.TeamworkAs a student you | | | | Jamison is a freelance careers advisor who has |
| will have been exposed to group work of some sort - | | | | taught CV and job application skills to clients ranging |
| I know, I'm a teacher! You may have had to research | | | | from unemployed people to postgraduates. She also |
| a subject to make a group presentation or for a | | | | delivers academic writing sessions at the University of |
| written assignment, or perhaps you produced a class | | | | London. |