Whatever career path you choose to take, it is vital that you develop knowledge-based competence and transferable skills to remain marketable to employers, especially as you approach the twilight of your career. To be successful in your chosen field, simply getting a degree and good grades won’t be enough. More importantly, you have to be able to develop skills and traits that will keep employers looking for you. Perhaps you are wondering now what knowledge and skills you need to focus on acquiring and enhancing throughout your career.
In general, employers are in search for individuals who are good at:
- writing with precision and clarity
- speaking persuasively and articulately
- working with a team
- handling huge amounts of data
- listening accurately and carefully
- time management
- resolving conflicts appropriately
- adapting to company procedures and regulations
If you think you lack such skills, find opportunities to get them and enhance them. You have to understand that skills are not like knowledge that you can acquire by studying and learning. You can get skills through constant practice. It would also help if you can receive feedback so you may know if you are doing things right or not. Thus, you have to consistently search for classes or training courses that will require you to develop such skills.
Why are psychology majors attractive to employers?
It’s quite interesting to know that most employers find psychology majors very attractive as candidates for a job. This is particularly because of the traits and abilities that these individuals have. For instance, they are naturally interested to know what causes people to do certain things and react in certain ways. They then use various principles in psychology to try to find explanations for these. Competent graduates of psychology also possess excellent scientific skills. They know how to use relevant data to come up with conclusions.
If you want employers to think of you as a worthy member of the workforce, you have to be patient and determined enough to earn some training in statistics and research methods. Employers will appreciate the fact that you have the ability to collect, analyze, and even interpret data and findings. Having such abilities, you will also be good at conducting surveys, doing market research, performing analyses of statistics and data, and others.
Having a clear career path doesn’t always mean you will stay in your profession or job for the rest of your life. There is always this possibility of you wanting to have a career change. When this happens, the first thing you would worry about is if you have what it takes to switch careers and if you are still that interesting to employers. Thus, you have to start early and grab every opportunity to learn and grow as a professional.
