Skills you can perfect during the leap from college to career

KATHMANDU, Oct 13: You need to have some skills in place right before you step into the world of jobs and bills. Once you start a job, you will have less and less time to learn something new or sharpen your talents. College is an ideal time to upgrade your skills and practice them.

The time you devote to these skills now will reap you opportunities in the years to come.

Improve your Nepali language and typing skills

While having a good command over the English language is very useful, it is as important to be good in written and spoken Nepali. Many job requirements specifically ask for candidates who have good skills in Nepali and who can do Nepali typing as well. Even if your job doesn't demand you to do Nepali typing, it can come in very handy if you are open to part time jobs. Your Nepali language skills will also be able to fetch you some extra money as you can do translations in your free time.

Video editing/photography

It always helps to have something extra you can add to your CV. While it might not be immediately apparent why skills like photography or taking videos/ video editing are useful in your line of profession, sometimes it helps to be versatile. You can always use these talents when your office requires help of this sort. Also, this could lead you to land some extra work in your leisure.

Get a driving license

There are times when certain job vacancies state a driver's license as a prerequisite for any candidate. The job might need you to stay late or travel over the city during the course of the day for which you need a vehicle and a license. In case, you don't already have a license to drive, get one in your free time. If you don't have a bike or a car of your own, take lessons from friends or from driving institutes. Having a driver's license might be just that edge over the other candidates.

Communication skills

It's said that the ability to communicate effectively is the most important skill today. Communication helps solve problems, puts our thoughts across plainly, and clears up our doubts. Take this time in college to work on your ability to communicate successfully. There are numerous courses offered to help you become a better communicator. You should also work on improving your body language. People can pick up various clues based on your non verbal communication. Avoiding eye contact, crossing your hands and poor posture of slumped and bent shoulders are some examples of bad body language. Once you enter the job market with good communication skills you can be a good negotiator, have the ability to convince your clients, and enter into fruitful group discussions with colleagues.

Hone your presentation skills

College is a time when you get to hone your presentation skills to the maximum. You are assigned to give solo and group presentations in class every month which gives students ample time to practice. Many jobs, especially in the business and development world, entail employees to give presentations to colleagues or clients. Take this time in college to perfect how you present your ideas, thoughts and findings. Don't just dump everything you know onto the slides and read them out. Learn how to create interesting presentations using PowerPoint. As you get your points across successfully, you receive excellent marks from your teachers now and from your boss and clients later.