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Many students often work part-time jobs throughout college. While their part-time job may not be what they want to do forever, it could help them land their dream job later.

Whether it’s working in food service, retail or on campus, part-time jobs can offer students a lot more than money. No matter what your student’s career goals are, part-time jobs allow them to develop valuable professional skills that apply to all industries. These include non-technical skills like communication, problem solving and collaboration that can translate to future work in their field of interest.Ìý

Â鶹ÒùÔº can find ways to focus on building these skills now to help them later in their career. Depending on their part-time job, they may be able to ask their supervisor to assist with projects or work that will help them learn new skills. Here are a few skills that are highly sought after in job postings, and tips to share with your student to help them develop these skills with part-time work.

Communication

Communication includes listening, writing and speaking as well as using non-verbal communication to deliver a message. People with strong communication skills convey thoughts and ideas clearly and concisely. They do this in written, oral and visual forms for people to make meaning and build connections.

Opportunities at your student’s part-time job to practice their communication skills may include:

• Public speaking
• Content creation
• Managing an online community
• Social media management
• Writing emailsÌý
• Marketing
• Sales
• Sharing policies or information with customersÌý
• Listening to customer complaints and sharing them with the company

Critical thinking and problem solving

Challenges can come up at any time, and at any job your student may have. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills allow them to exercise sound reasoning to analyze information, make decisions and overcome challenges.

A great way for your student to strengthen these skills at their part-time job is through customer service and troubleshooting customer issues. They could also solve problems in ways that use their resources and represent the company well.

Collaboration

Many jobs require us to work effectively and respectfully with others, whether that’s with coworkers or clients. Collaboration skills help develop authentic, purposeful and mutually beneficial relationships. This is often with people of diverse perspectives in which all parties choose to cooperate and commit to achieving shared goals.

To develop collaboration skills, suggest that your student find ways to work with others—maybe on a team or with a partner. They could practice resolving a conflict between coworkers, or completing a project where they need to work with others.

Collaboration skills are not only necessary for most jobs, but they can also help your student build their professional network. Your student may not be in a field or role that they want to stay in long-term, but their coworkers and supervisors can make valuable recommendations and serve as a reference for future job opportunities. Encourage your student to build rapport with their supervisor and keep in touch with coworkers to maintain their network. If your student is looking for other ways to build their network, they can check out the to connect with CU Boulder alumni and other students.

Connecting part-time work to career goals

The responsibilities of your student’s part-time job may not always seem important, but the skills they can develop are critical. No matter what their career goals are, the skills they are learning are often ones that employers find universally appealing. And when your student highlights those skills in application materials, they stand out from the other candidates.

Encourage your student to keep track of the skills they are learning and how they demonstrate them in their work. It can be challenging to remember everything if they wait until it’s time to apply to their dream job. Your student can continually add experience to their LinkedIn profile or resume to keep track of the skills they’re learning in their work, or they could keep a journal to reference previous work experience and skill development. This can help provide specific and relevant content for their resume and stories to share during interviews with each job opportunity. Â鶹ÒùÔº can attend upcoming workshops to get tips on creating a resume and more.