Pandemic-Proof Skills for Your Placement Journey

Building a pandemic proof skillset for your placement journey

For many students, a placement or internship is the first step into the world of work. What better way to get a feel of what it’s like out there! However, to get there seems to be more and more competitive and the pandemic has thrown a few more obstacles into the mix.

What are the skills employers are looking for these days and how can you build them?

According to Target jobs, ‘soft skills’ are more important than ever: (https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/career-planning/1053210-job-hunting-in-2021-ten-things-that-graduates-need-to-know) Adaptability, managing ambiguity, creativity, resilience and problem solving have become key skills during the pandemic.

My colleague’s workshop on resilience on 3rd March 2021 may provide a good starting point: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/uob-careers/careers-resilience-in-2021/e-oyjvkj

The STEM Placements Team (https://www.brighton.ac.uk/brighton-students/your-learning/placements/science-engineering-and-technology.aspx) can help you build up your skills set to get that first foot in the door so you can gain as many other skills as possible before you approach the graduate job market.

There is no set formula to secure a placement as each depends on the job description. So the main skill to build is your reading and organisational skills – study that description carefully. Tackle each requirement one by one and answer it to the point. Don’t get distracted. Check you have enough time to get feedback. Remember you can arrange 1-2-1s with our coordinators.

The STEM Placement team have developed a series of workshops for tackling applications including CV and cover letter writing, interview techniques and online etiquette to mention just a few. The latter is becoming more relevant and it’s worth building your digital skills. Stay abreast with the latest developments such as LinkedIn and video interviews. Get an overview on what’s on offer across the University of Brighton’s Careers and Employability team: https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/careers/2021/02/26/be-more-skilled

One thing that’s sometimes overlooked is our strengths and how they aid us to build and identify skills we already have. You can do a free strength survey to build the most crucial skills of all: confidence (https://www.viacharacter.org)

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Our Be More Skilled week is all about helping you to show off your skills and work out how you can develop further:

• You can use our online Career Skills Workbook
• Attend a LinkedIn Learning course
• Come to one of our workshops
• Book an appointment with a Career Development Adviser to discuss your skills and development.

For more information visit the Be More Skilled Week homepage.