Nine Skills Students Need for Career Success

Here's a Riddle:

How can students start preparing for a career years before they've chosen a major—or even selected a college—or even graduated from high school?

The answer is that no matter the occupation, all employers value certain qualities. And you can help instill them.

The Top Nine Skills Students Need

According to a report from the World Future Society, employers want students who have developed:

• A work ethic, including self-motivation and time management skills
• Physical skills, evidenced by maintaining good health and good appearance
• Oral communication skills, one-on-one and in a group
• Written communication skills, including editing and proofing one's work
• The ability to work directly with people, build relationships and work as a team
• The ability to influence people, including effective salesmanship and leadership
• Information-gathering and organization skills, applied to various media
• Quantitative skills, such as understanding statistics, graphs or spreadsheets
• Critical thinking skills, such as asking and answering the right questions, evaluating information and applying knowledge

Every family can help their student attain these skills in their own special way. However, continual communication with your student and involvement in his or school and activities will provide countless opportunities.

Practical Matters

Once your student is in college, there are practical, across-the-board steps he or she can take to prepare for professional life regardless of major or career. They include keeping an up-to-date resume; building a portfolio of work; arranging for letters of recommendation before graduation; and keeping at least one set of businesslike clothing, such as a suit. Showing up for an interview in sweats is almost guaranteed not to land the job!