Skills to develop at University to further yourself

As University is starting for another year, we think it would be a great time to reflect on some of the skills that you can utilise in a successful career and what you can do whilst at university to develop.

1. Leadership: Leadership is critical to a great career. The ability to lead others well can take a while to develop as you learn what your leadership style is, and University is a great time to try out your skills. The University of Bristol runs an international leadership program which is a good way.

2. Teamwork: Developing your teamwork skills is essential for most jobs. University projects, societies and volunteering opportunities allow you to develop these skills so focus on getting involved with others.

3. Public Speaking: Some of us are naturals when it comes to speaking in front of people whilst others are more anxious. Taking the time to improve no matter how confident you are can be very beneficial when it comes to future presentations or speeches you may need to give.

4. Excel and Coding: As we have discussed in a previous blog post, coding has becoming increasingly in demand. There are several sites you can use to work on your skills.

Excel is incredibly useful for university projects, internships and beyond. The University of Bristol has self-guided training through its IT services to sharpen your skills.

5. Resilience: Mental well-being is key to leading an enjoyable life and managing the stress that comes with University and your future career. There are many resources and workshops available to help develop your resilience and other key skills needed to keep you mentally healthy.

6. Commercial Awareness: This is a key skill that is needed to get through any interview. The ability to show your prospective employer that you not only know what is currently going on in the sector as well as what their company shows you have a true interest in the job. The Economist and Financial Times are great ways of staying up to date with the financial sector and current affairs but there are other sites about that are great to use daily to stay current.

Some helpful links:

https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/volunteering-opportunities

Great for staying up to date with volunteering opportunities in Bristol.

https://www.codefirstgirls.org.uk/free-community-courses.html

Code First Girls are running free courses for female/non-binary students at the University of Bristol as well as many other universities this Autumn for HTML/CSS which should be a great way for beginners to get started.

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/it-services/learning/skills/msoffice.html

Self-guided learning of Excel and other MS Office tools

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/wellbeing/

Resources for staying well at University

https://affiliate.finimize.com/signup?kid=RGFCZ

We have recently affiliated with Finimize, a free newsletter that will help you stay updated on the financial world. This link allows us to gain £1 for every signup which goes straight back into the society.