Professional Development after Graduation: Ways to Stay Competitive

Even after graduation, it’s extremely important to continue building your professional development and staying competitive to make yourself stand out and more marketable to potential employers by adapting and developing skills. This helps you grow further into your career goals and attain a successful future.

1. Continue to grow your professional network

Continue to build your network and make professional connections in your field after graduation. Think of your professional network as your support system and build on that. Stay in touch with people you already know such as coworkers, former managers, career services, etc. since they can help alert you to possible opportunities. Attend events, join organizations and utilize online platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed and Handshake to expand your network and market yourself to experienced professionals.

2. Continue to build your soft skills

Soft skills play an extremely important role when it comes to getting jobs in this job market. Soft skills that employers are looking for include communication, leadership, problem solving, adaptability and teamwork. You can continue to develop these skills after graduation with internships, projects, programs, training courses and even extracurricular events.

3. Continue to seek internships and entry-level positions

Internships and entry-level positions offer valuable opportunities to gain hands-on experience about your industry and how your career of interests operates.

4. Set your goals

Having a plan and setting your goals is a great way to start your life towards reaching your career success after graduation. Use the SMART goals method to ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and have a time bound.

5. Be adaptable and accept change

The job market is constantly changing, and recent graduates must learn to adapt to stay marketable to employers. Be open to change and look at new opportunities and demonstrate a strong sense of willingness to learn and grow. Look at challenges to push yourself further than what you believe your capabilities are.

By: Shannon Alexander (Career Peer)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strategies-graduates-staying-competitive-constantly-job-balakrishna/ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/professional-growth

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