#Learning on the job professional#

Specifically, having first-hand knowledge of how your chosen industry works can give you not only a clearer indication of your suitability for it but also a working knowledge that you exhibit in your interviews. Commercial awarenessĪlthough this can be industry-specific, gaining a general understanding of how organisations work and operate will make your transition into the workplace a lot easier. If you have any ambitions of working your way into a leadership position, being able to work through issues with a degree of self-confidence will certainly make you a suitable candidate.

Getting into the habit of decision making will serve you well further down the line, too. Luckily, being proactive and competent is a lot easier when you have some experience to back up your intuition, meaning that from day one you won’t constantly be leaning on the shoulders of your more experienced colleagues. No employer wants a worker who continually hits brick walls in the course of their daily work instead, they want somebody capable of using their initiative and seeking out their own solutions. TRY READING: The Importance of Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace 3. When you do eventually start working full-time, these are the key learnings that will arguably serve you best – so, don’t ignore them. It’s essential to learn about the more subtle art of communication, such as knowing when to take the lead and when to take a step back these are lessons that can only be learned and observed in a real-life work scenario. This doesn’t just mean being able to speak and listen, though. Indeed, being able to communicate with clarity and diplomacy is an absolute requisite for any successful employee. The development of interpersonal skills is vitally important and, in reality, can only be effectively acquired in a workplace environment. But applying this skill in an academic environment is entirely different from doing it in the workplace, and students develop a greater sense of self-awareness when there is more riding on their actions than just their own grades.ĭemonstrating that you can be trusted to take on a task and complete it independently gives employers that warm fuzzy feeling it will also help you to understand your own strengths and weaknesses, and how you can cultivate them accordingly. You are encouraged to find your own answers and build your own path. To an extent, university also helps you develop self-reliance.

#Learning on the job professional#

To give you an idea of what we mean and to illustrate the potential benefits of work experience, we’ve compiled a list of some of the professional skills you could gain! 1. So, instead of spending your summer chasing cocktails on a beach somewhere, maybe consider an internship or a placement in your industry after all, it could be the most critical employment decision you ever make. Indeed, once you graduate and head out into the world of work, you will already have gained the key transferable skills that all potential employers look for this, in turn, will differentiate you from the competition, making that all-important job search just a little less stressful.

As a student, gaining work experience – whether it’s through an internship, a placement or a part-time position – is invaluable.