Obtaining Marketable Skills in College

There is a stark reality every college student will have to face when approaching their graduation date, either from an undergraduate or post-graduate program. You will need to get a job. Years ago, college degrees were such a novelty, simply possessing one was good enough to land you most jobs in a plethora of markets. However, by today’s standards this is hardly the case.

Since more and more people are attending college these days, often, when you graduate you might find the job market you are attempting to enter is flooded with applicants, with similar degrees, all chasing the same type of employment. This produces a new level of frustration your parents or your parent’s parents never had to face.

Aside from putting your degree(s) or areas of study on your resume, you will need to also show some general marketable skills, which may have been overlooked during your collegiate career. No matter which major you choose, it is essential to include classes, designed to help you stand out amongst a crowd of individuals fresh from the mill. This is not to say courses like anthropology and western philosophy are not important, however, unless you plan to either teach this subject matter or write books, it becomes increasingly difficult to find employment on the strength of the course areas alone.

I have prepared a short list of courses, which should be included in ever college student’s repertoire; ones that will develop skills to add more employable tools to your talent.

Writing Courses

Few, if any jobs for college graduates will not require you to at least be a semi-competent writer. Research grants, proposals, even your resumes often hinge on how well they are written, just as much as the content they contain. Often basic English Comprehension courses only require you to offer research or an essay on material covered in class.

While these skills may come in handy, when asked to construct a piece of writing totally dependent upon the student’s ability to generate their own content, the endeavor becomes an entirely different animal to tame. Writing of this type is generally guided by the writer’s own intellectual prowess, and their ability to convey a point-of-view, with no assistance from a secondary source of information.

It is highly recommended every student take some form of advanced writing course; particularly one which requires you to write creatively. The upside is, for most majors this becomes an elective course of study, offering you the opportunity to choose a writing course which suits your personal interest. So long as the course is geared towards using an advanced form of writing, rather than simply reporting or researching, the proper purpose will be served.

If you are unable to fit an entire course into your various semester schedules, there are plenty of on and off-campus workshops often available to help you achieve this most important skill set.

Communications Courses

Courses such as these will often come in handy during the day-to-day functions of most jobs. Some of the best communication courses to take are ones which requires you to give speeches or present oral arguments in form to a class. Public speaking is a course many students often shy away from, and the feeling is understandable but know this: a job interview is a form of public speaking. Yes, it is most likely to an audience of one, but that person is the one you will need to win over.

As a teacher, to offer my students a real-life idea to the world they will face when they depart from school, I would often have speakers from various companies to give a presentation. Those who work in human resources departments in many companies will tell you, applicants who have similar qualifications will be weeded out based on their ability to verbally convey a message or answer questions effectively.

President George W. Bush, years after leaving office, despite being an accomplished politician, still found news conferences and other public speaking engagements fearful and challenging. Indeed, it is likely an uncomfortable situation for many people, however, the better your public speaking ability the more likely you will succeed in obtaining and functioning on the job.

Business, Economics, and Marketing

If you are not already in similar majors, these courses are very helpful for students upon graduation. The college environment is very different from the current job market, especially when there is little more at stake than your grade on an exam or a paper. Having a greater understanding of the job market itself, will guide you to directing your efforts to obtaining jobs which not only pay better, but are in greater demand.

Additionally, there are few areas of employment which do not contain some form of business aspect idealistic college graduates are often surprised by. Whether you are aspiring to be an artist, writer, or micro-biologist, there is a business, economic, or marketing side to any pursuit, which often drives it, and once you enter it, you are therefore forced to deal with it.

The cost and sale of paintings, publishing a book, or obtaining a research grant are all propelled one way or another by their profitability for either yourself or the institution you work for. Understanding these concepts will help you navigate your way more effectively towards your pursuit of achievement. Once again, there are very often outside workshops available on such subject matter if you look hard enough.

Computer Skills

This should be a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many students pay little or no attention to the concept their job market will likely require some form of computer skills. Computers are part of nearly every aspect of our lives and our work. To enter into the job market with merely the skills to update your Facebook status, will find you at a loss when it comes time for you to find employment.

Many majors do include relevant computer courses specific to their area of study, however there is a strong likelihood, when you leave school you will need to seek employment outside your subject area. It is recommended you take as many courses or workshops in a wide variety of computer programs that are available. The more you know the more you grow. Sometimes listing computer skills not directly related to your major may mean the difference between getting a job or not.

Employers look for skills that are often not taught in the classroom and would be difficult to teach even if they did—adaptability is certainly one of them. Many employers like to know you will be able to grow as their company does. One way to exhibit this is to show competence in a wide variety of computer skills and programs.

Foreign Language

If you are feeling very ambitious, having a foreign language skill becomes a vital attribute in many industries. Although I will admit, it may take several courses for a student to become fluent enough to communicate conversationally in a secondary language, but if you are able to achieve this, it becomes a very impressive addition to your resume, and it is a skill that is rarely overlooked by an employer not matter what the industry is.

Companies which deal with international clientele or require overseas travel will most certainly be looking for such abilities. Even if you are not able to become fluent in a second language upon your graduation, you may consider taking some addition workshops in commonly used foreign languages to maintain at least a cursory knowledge in the subject.

Students, who speak a second language at home, may also consider taking some courses to obtain the ability to read and write it as well, which is the final step to becoming truly bilingual. To an employer, having someone who can speak, read, and write in a secondary language is almost equivalent to having two employees for the price of one, and ultimately saves a company money on hiring interpreters when they have some who can do this for them in-house.

It is important to get as much out of your college experience as possible. Knowledge in a variety of subject matter is very important however, becoming part of the labor force requires marketable skills employers do not want to spend time, and money on employees to learn on the job.

Even when I got into education I found that many of the subject matter I learned in college while relevant for teaching a course, did little to improve my ability to complete a vast majority of the tasks required by the job itself. The important thing to note, many students every year will graduate with more or less the same information in a particular major you are currently enrolled in. Yet when seeking employment, the easiest way to describe it would be dog-eat-dog, and every advantage you make for yourself, makes you more of an asset to a future employer.