MUST-HAVE SKILLS FOR FRESH GRADUATES

The world continuously evolves rapidly and so do the needs of companies. Every company competes with each other to create new innovations that can satisfy their customers’ expectations and needs. To do so, it is essential for a company to have high quality human resources that can give contributions through their work performance and achievements. The quality of human resources can be seen from their soft skills and hard skills. With a wide set of skills, individuals can become more desirable for employers, thus making it easier for job seekers to earn a spot in the company. That’s why it is important for fresh graduates to have and develop their skills by learning and gaining experiences so they can compete with other job seekers that are more knowledgeable and experienced. Each job may have different requirements for the set of skills needed, but there are a few skills that are considered important by all employers for fresh graduates to possess:

• Communication skill
  Communication skill is the proficiency to be able to convey information to others through spoken language or written symbols. This includes charts, maps, and other demonstration tools. Through communicating, we can share information, influence others, bond with our team members, and thus lead to an overall better performing organization.
• Leadership
  Leadership is the ability to develop, guide, direct, and move others in order to work together and achieve the goals that have been set. With good leadership, individuals can regulate the activities of its members, so they are able to effectively achieve the common goal. It can also help to motivate others to work with more enthusiasm!
• Planning and organizing skills.
  Planning is a projection of what must be carried out to achieve goals and objectives that have been set, while organizing is the determination, grouping, and arrangement of various things or activities needed to achieve goals. Through good planning and organizing skills, individuals can explain the objectives that need to be achieved, the people involved in that planning, the various resources required, and steps and methods taken based on urgency and priority. They can also assign the personnel needed for the job, divide work fairly, delegate authority and responsibility, and work together efficiently.
• Time management skills
  Time management is the act and process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time that will be spent on certain activities. It’s essential to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. A person with good time management skills can use their work time productively, finish all of their tasks, and still have the strength for their next tasks. Time management skills are also closely related to other skills regarding delegation of tasks, work planning and organizing, and the capability to carry out effective mental and physical rehabilitation after work or when experiencing heavy stress.

But, this doesn’t mean that other skills that aren’t mentioned are not important. There are skills such as negotiating skills, coordination skills, the ability to see the big picture, and many other skills that are flexible in many different work fields and will surely be able to help individuals increase their chances to be employed by an exceptional company. The importance of hard skills also can’t be ignored, depending on the needs of the job description. For these reasons, we suggest that all fresh graduates hone their skills to become the high-quality employees that companies are looking for to be able to grow and succeed in achieving their goals!

References

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Sanjaya, Putu. (2016). Pentingnya kepemimpinan dan kemampuan manajerial untuk peningkatan mutu lembaga pendidikan. Jurnal Penjaminan Mutu, 1(1), 127-138. Accessed from http://ejournal.ihdn.ac.id/index.php/JPM/article/viewFile/78/87

Santoso, N, E., & Ambarwati, Susilo. (2020). Implementasi planning, organizing, actuating dan controlling program afirmasi pendidikan menengah (ADEM) siswa Papua Barat di SMK Negeri 2 Jember. PROSIDING NASCA 2020, 1(1), 104-121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47387/nasca.v1i1.23

Suderajat, Hari. (2003). Implementasi kurikulum berbasis kompetensi (KBK).
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Pang, E., Wong, M., Leung, C. H., & Coombes, J. (2019). Competencies for fresh graduates’ success at work: Perspectives of employers. Industry and Higher Education, 33(1), 55–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218792333