Build your skills and experience
Skills
Everyone possesses a range of skills. It's important to be aware of the skills you have, as well as the level of any particular skill you have. Remember you can have a skill at a basic level and improve that skill level to an advanced level.
- Check out Prospects: What skills do employers want?
- Check out Prospects: What can I do with my degree? Each degree listed has a Skills for your CV section.
Employers and jobs
Job adverts will normally include a person specification section where the employer states details of the skills/competencies required for the job on offer. To make a good application you need to look at the "skills and experience required" section and make sure the skills and experience section of your CV/application form provide evidence of what the employer is looking for.
How do I get skills or improve my skills?
There are lots of opportunites to develop or improve your skills. You can do this through:
- your course
- work experience (part-time jobs, vacation work, volunteering, internships, insight events)
- extra-curricular activities ie involvement in clubs, hobbies or sports
These will help you to give good answers on application forms and/or to employers' questions at interview.
There are other types of practical skills that lots of students have eg digital skills, language skills. Make sure potential employers see your full skillset on your CV.
Research opportunities to develop your skills further and access training opportunities:
Find out about the many Clubs and Societies you can join at the Students' Union.
If the club you want to join doesn't exist you can start your own club.
The Union offers training for students to help them in running their club or society.
See the Careers Service page on Volunteering.
You'll find lots of worthwhile volunteering opportunities at the Students' Union: Volunteering
The Students' Union represents all Strathclyde students: Strath Reps.
There are way you can get involved in decisions that are made, eg you can become a Programme Rep (formerly Class Rep) for your class.
The Union supports all Reps with training and additional guidance througout the year.
If sport is your thing, there are over 50 sports clubs to choose from, catering for all different levels of participation: Sports Union
If you are studying Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics, you could consider becoming a STEM Ambassador.
There are many opportunities to develop IT/Data/Digital Marketing/Finance skills using free platforms.
Google Garage - develop skills for a digital world
Codecademy (free and paid for courses)
Twitter Flight School - training on how to advertise on Twitter
Ahrefs Academy - free video tutorials on digital marketing and blogging for business
Semrush Academy - free online digital marketing courses and exams
Finance Unlocked - learn about every aspect of finance, delivered through videos
Udemy - wide range of online courses (some must be paid for)
The Skills Toolkit - free digital and numeracy courses
Hubspot Academy - free sales and marketing courses
LinkedIn Learning - one month free trial
MOOCs offer free options to develop additional skills which you might need for your future career:
You can build your skills and add to your CV by taking part in competitions. Here are a few ideas:
The Case Centre Competitions List
Have a look at the range of programmes in the Careers Online Toolkit to help you upskill in a number of areas.
- Develop your Skills is a short course for students that includes a section on developing your skills (login with DS username and password).
- My Graduate Career is a short course for graduates that includes a section on developing your skills (graduate login required for Careers Online Toolkit).
If you are a current student self-enrol on the Careers Module to gain an understanding of the processes of career choice and career development as well as graduate recruitment processes and the labour market.
Useful links:
Prospects: The importance of extra curricular activities
TARGETjobs: Career-friendly activities you can do while social distancing
TARGETjobs: Skills and competencies for graduates