Here are some professional development tips for college students

1. Understand And Admit Your Weaknesses

The only way to develop both personally and professionally as a college student is to first understand what needs to be developed in the first place. Self-reflection is so crucial in all of our lives, but especially during your college years.

Taking ownership of what you don’t do well and trying to improve is just as important, if not more important than understanding what you are good at. College is the time to improve and grow and that will only happen if you have goals set on what skills you want to enhance. If you have never completed a transferable skills survey before, I encourage you to give it a shot, as this can really show you where you need more development.

2. Research, Read, Be Aware

All of us have had people we have looked up to in our lives. For those of us who have been in the workforce for a good while, we probably have had mentors and leaders that we have looked up to along the way. One way you can take ownership of your own development is to emulate the people that you look up to.

By being aware of your surroundings and understanding what exactly has drawn you to certain people, you can understand what skills you need to be able to showcase to someday be in that position of leadership. This only happens through reading, researching, and being intentional with your learning. Having outstanding job specific skills are important, but you need to have the intangible qualities that employers are looking for to ultimately reach your career goals. To grow in your development, you must first identify the skills you actually want to develop.

3. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

As a college student, I knew that I was a terrible public speaker and not very good in large social situations, as I would get extremely nervous. In my second year, I forced myself out of my comfort zone and attended a Boost seminar at Mandel training center. At this seminar, there were over 100 students and it was an extremely packed room. While I accomplished something just by going, I didn’t actually do anything. That’s right; I simply walked around and didn’t talk to anybody.

Many of us are afraid to stray from what is comfortable to us, but you only get better with practice and experience. I challenge my students to try something new that gets you out of your comfort zone at least once a month. Obviously, the key to that is you have to actual take action and not just walk around!

By getting out of your comfort zone, you can learn a lot about yourself and develop interests that you never thought were possible. Who would have thought that 2 years after I walked around doing nothing, I would be teaching students in high schools mentoring them. Own your insecurities.

4. Diversify Your Experiences

There is no better way to take advantage of your own development than by diversifying your experiences while in school. Think about it. The more involved you are and the more experiences you have, the better your chances of finding out what your true passion is.

For example, I work with organizations that aim to build student talents and we started a trust which deal with young and disabled children ton of student, many of them end up changing their major because they love what they do within their student job. I implore all students to diversify your experiences by getting involved in student organizations, volunteering, and being employed while a student.  At the very least, a diversified resume with a lot of experiences looks pretty good to an employer!

5. Stop Waiting For Things To Happen, Make Them Happen

We have students all the time who come to our meetings  and want help finding a student job. The first question I ask them is where they want to work. I ask this specifically because if they want to work in the Library, why are they coming and talking to us? Go talk to somebody at the Library!

There is a reason most jobs in this country are filled without advertising, and that is because they don’t need to advertise. If you want to develop yourself, get the career you want, and meet the people that you want to meet, then go do it! Take charge and make things happen for yourself by being PROACTIVE. If you are an employer, what skills does it show you when someone proactively comes to you looking to learn more? Plus, as a student, you are in a learning phase and can play the student card, which will probably get you in the door easier than someone older.

6.Take control of your own fate and make things happen.

So many things that happen in your career and life are going to be out of your control. Take that control back and take ownership of your own development. Learn from every experience that you have good or bad. You never know, one day all the failures that you learned from when you were a college student could lead you to the career you never knew you always wanted. Be a lifelong learner and you never know what you could be doing next.