What comes to mind when you think of student empowerment? Perhaps it’s student protests or high-flying scholars making news headlines for inventing life-changing new technology. Both are great examples of students using their power to facilitate change, but what about the power you have as a young person to change your own life and its future direction? When we think of student empowerment, we think of capable, bright students like yourself taking charge of their futures, rather than letting it take charge of them. In today’s ever competitive job marketplace, being talented and graduating with flying colours are no longer enough to make you stand out from the hundreds of other people applying for the same job as you. You need to go a step further and make yourself work ready. In this blog, we’ll go over the first steps you can take to become an attractive candidate to employers all over the world.

Before you can impress an employer, you need to know what they’re looking for

The first step to student empowerment is knowing exactly what employers are looking for in their ideal employee. If you don’t know this, how can you hone the necessary skills that’ll single you out from the crowd? Obviously, this will vary from job to job—an engineering firm will be looking for slightly different technical skills compared to a graphic design agency—but there are a number of skills that are transferrable between any job, regardless of industry.

Self-awareness lets you play to your strengths

The first indispensable attribute an employer wants to see in an employee is self-awareness. Self-awareness means being cognisant of your own strengths and weaknesses, and how you can leverage these in the situations and roles you encounter. If you know what you’re great at, you can play to these strengths. If you realise your weaknesses, you can work on these over time. Without sufficient self-awareness, you won’t be able to do either.

Teamwork makes the dream work, especially in the world of work

The next crucial skill you’ll need throughout your entire career is the ability to work in a team. Unless you’re planning on being a park ranger in the Rocky Mountains, every job will require a certain degree of teamwork – whether in teams of two or three, or departments of 20. After all, organisations are structured around teams. You need to be able to complement the other skills and strengths of the people you work with so that, as a team, you can achieve things you wouldn’t be able to as individuals.

How good are your critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking is another highly sought after characteristic. In the working world, you’ll be faced with unexpected challenges almost every day. And these aren’t like the controlled and tailor-made practice exercises you’ve been given at school or university. The ability to analyse problems and find a viable solution will determine whether you help an organisation achieve its goals. Remember, organisations are driven by and towards goals – employers hire you to help them achieve these goals.

Being able to market yourself is key to progressing in your career

Let’s say you’ve got all the skills an organisation wants from its employees. What’s the good of having those skills if you don’t market them effectively? Solid interview and job application skills help you convey your suitability and work readiness to a future boss. The great thing is that anyone can learn these skills – they’re not something you’re necessarily born with! The first piece of the job application puzzle is the CV. Your CV, or resume, is the foot in the door to a dream job – it’s an organisation’s first impression of you before the application and interview process.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to interview skills

Knowing how to craft a professional CV is paramount to creating a winning career. Don’t worry if you’re not quite sure how to vamp up your current CV or respond to a job application – you just need the right advice. The same applies to interview skills. Once you know how, it’s a matter of practising again and again until you have the confidence to impress the pickiest of employers.

How do you win at student empowerment? By taking control and responsibility. When it comes to your career development, you can’t afford to leave it to chance. Job seekers need to take the reigns and actively shape their careers instead of handing that control over to their future employers. Curriculo Solutions is here to give you the career planning tools to do just that. If you’d like to find out how you can start creating the career of your dreams, download our guide.