Developing adequate social and professional skills is a guarantee of success in our future work and personal life. The best time to develop social skills that will be useful in our professional field is during college. University is the environment where, for the first time, we will be surrounded by people who have the same interests as us, even coming from very different places, people who are experts in the field of knowledge we have chosen and where we can make valuable contacts for the future. The time we spend studying our degree is not only to learn and obtain the university degree; if we take advantage of it well, it will serve to open many doors and to live unique experiences. And what can we do to make the most of the situation and develop useful skills? Let's see:
1. Participate in extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities are an excellent way to meet new people and develop social and professional skills such as teamwork and leadership. We can join clubs, sports teams or volunteer groups and, in addition to networking, we can earn university credits that will be very useful to us later.
2. Attend university events
Attending university events is another way to meet new people and develop social skills. But it's not just about making contacts, you can also learn a lot by attending conferences and congresses to talk to experts and by going to job fairs to talk to professionals in our sector.
3. Develop communication skills
Communication skills are essential both in the social and professional field. We can improve our communication skills by attending specialized workshops or courses, but also by participating in class, participating in debates or presenting papers. Speaking in public may terrify us at first, but it is a skill that we will surely be grateful to have well developed in the future. By the way, having communication skills also includes knowing non-verbal communication and we must work on it properly.
4. Learn to work in a team
Teamwork is an essential skill in the professional field. We can develop teamwork skills by participating in group projects or joining sports teams.
5. Develop interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills are essential for establishing healthy and effective relationships with others. University gives us the opportunity to be in constant contact with people from different cultures, ideas, interests or backgrounds. It is an ideal situation to practice empathy and active listening.
6. Look for mentors
It is advisable to establish meaningful relationships with our professors and look for mentors in our field of study or profession. This will teach us how to relate to our superiors and to people of any age with due respect.
7. Take advantage of internship opportunities
This way we can learn specific skills and gain work experience that will later be very valuable to add to our resume. We must think that, when we finish college, no one has that "demonstrable experience" that recruiters usually ask for, so we will be differentiating ourselves from the competition from the beginning.
8. Seek feedback from colleagues and professors
We should not be afraid to ask for feedback, to know what our work or presentation has seemed like, to ask what things we can improve, if we have expressed ourselves clearly and directly, if our body language has been appropriate, etc. The perception of others will help us see if our message reaches the way we want it to reach and to know if what we believe others perceive corresponds to reality.
9. Develop intercultural skills
As we said before, university is the ideal place to meet people with similar interests, but also from different cultures and backgrounds. In addition, we have different scholarships available to travel and we can meet foreign students who come to our country. To develop valuable skills, it would be very positive to learn about different cultures and know how to work with people from different backgrounds.
10. Conflict management
Working in a team, meeting different people and having to meet a series of objectives creates a great opportunity to learn how to handle and resolve conflicts, mediate, be assertive, understand other points of view, improve our empathy and know how to negotiate. It can also give us the opportunity to learn how to work with
difficult or conflictive people and know how to handle it. All these skills will be very useful for our life and our work. Remember that the development of social and professional skills is essential to succeed in the world of work and in life in general. Keep working on them and you will see how your opportunities and relationships improve!
