Obtaining studentships require a lot of skills. And unless you are looking to pursue an academic career, you might be concerned that these skills will end up going to waste. But many of these studentship skills can be just the thing you need to get a competitive edge in the marketplace and land you the job of your dream. Here are some of the abilities you can highlight to guarantee you a spot in the marketplace.
1. Working with Strict Deadlines
Research and study are very time-consuming activities that require some degree of creativity as well. Anyone who has ever taken the time to look at a topic in-depth knows that this process cannot be rushed.
Yet, often times students have to work under tight deadlines. The ability to produce quality work under these conditions is a highly valuable asset in the eyes of any employer.And it’s going to make a much more desirable candidate since working with strict deadlines is the sort of skill that can only be learned through constant practice.
It will take a while before you can perfect the formula. Employers tend to prefer candidates who have already demonstrated this ability. Because it means you’re already past the trial and error phase of the process.
2. Writing Professional Documents
If you’ve ever tried to apply for a studentship, or if you’ve done some research on how the process unfolds, you’ve probably noticed there is a large amount of paperwork to do.
This part of the process is perhaps the least glamorous, but it’s immensely appealing on the marketplace. A surprisingly large number of people commit some very basic cover letter mistakes that ruin their chances of landing a job. And cover letters and resumes are only just the beginning.
Employees will often neglect the importance of writing in a professional tone. It might not be the main component of their jobs, or maybe they just don’t have the practice.
Either way,this inability to write professional documents can cost them serious points. Applying for studentships will help you flex that muscle constantly. And the ability you gain this way is going to be incredibly useful, either directly or indirectly. It can help you all throughout the job application process, from writing your resume and cover letter, to communicating with your coworkers on the job.
3. Translating Professional Jargon for Non-Experts
Most of times, when you’re writing academic essays, you’re probably writing for other experts in the field. But when describing your research goals for a studentship, you might not be addressing people who know the professional terms you are using.
So you have to adapt your tone and style, and “translate” the complicated terms and concepts you’re using for someone who is not an expert. This happensespecially when you apply for a studentship at a non-academic institution.
There’s a fine line between dumbing-down your academic writing and simply writing in such a way as to make your work easy to understand for everyone. They are not the same. The ability to write in an intelligent and coherent manner is definitely going to make you stand out.
Often times, this lack of communication between experts and employers is what ruing a prospective candidate’s prospects. Knowing how to put your professional research in simple terms shows you are comfortable enough with your subject that you don’t have to hide behind fancy terms.
4. Ability to Extract Valuable Information from Large Amounts of Data
No matter what you field you work in you will have to deal with vast amounts of information. For many this is just part of the job. For others, this information helps them in an indirect manner.
For example, you’ll probably have to stay up to date with current technological developments in your field. You’ll have to adapt quickly to technological changes in the workplace and figure out ways to make the most out of recent innovations.
When you’re writing essays or preparing to apply for a studentship, you need to be able to review large amounts of information in a relatively limited amount of time. Not only that, but you have to be able to recognize what is useful in that information, and then be able to use it for your own work.
Like many of the skills on this list, this one requires a lot of training. There aren’t really any universal tricks to doing it. You need to figure out what works best for you. Some people are very good at skimming through texts, and skipping the parts their not interested in. Others are better at figuring out exactly what they need beforehand, and sticking only to the resources that are relevant to them.
You need to find the method or methods that work for you, and the only way you can do that is by experimenting.
5. Dealing with Lots of Different People
No matter how good you are at what you do, or how niche your field is, having people skillsis absolutely vital in the current marketplace.
People skills is a vague concept, and there are very many different things that fall into this category. And the best way to develop people skills is simply by interacting with lots and lots of people in many different contexts.
This is one of the things that makes developing people skills a somewhat difficult process. It’s not just about being able to handle different personality types. People skills need to be adapted to the context of the interaction as well.
You’re going to have to relate differently with a person when you’re out for a drink versus when you’re at work. And it gets even more complicated if you have both a personal and a professional relationship with one and the same person.
This might seem like the least important studentship skill, but it’s there, and it’s invaluable. The academic environment is going to force you to interact with all sorts of people on many different occasions.
These are just a few of the studentship skills that are going to make you stand out in the marketplace. With a little bit of ingenuity, you can probably leverage many other skills. Feel free to share your insights!
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