Involvement
Transferable Skills
Transferable skills are skills you learn in one setting that can be applied in multiple other places. You will start developing these skills in many of your courses, but you will need to engage in opportunities beyond the classroom to continue their development.
Work Life Balance
While we encouraging you to engage actively in your classes and prepare for the future, you should also be mindful of the fact that you need to balance coursework and skill building with the rest of your life. You can do this by improving your time management and prioritizing routine self-care. USF provides resources such as the Academic Success Center and Wellness Coaching to help you achieve this balance.
ePortfolio
Since you're building transferable skills in multiple way over several years, it's important to keep track of what you've accomplished and what you still need to do. One effective way to do this is by creating an ePortfolio. In addition to tracking the skills you're developing, you can also use this platform to share them with potential employers and graduate schools. USF has integrated multiple platforms into Canvas for hosting portfolios, including ePortfolio and Portfolium. You can also use additional public-facing sites like LinkedIn. Whichever platform you choose, you should consistently add to your portfolio as you build skills.
Career Exploration
Many of these transferable skills you are developing will assist you in identifying and succeeding in your intended career. When you think about what skills to work on, we recommend consulting information provided by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) to align your development with what employers are seeking. The act of building these skills is in fact one of the eight primary competencies - Career Management - that NACE encourages students to develop.
If your goal is to enter a health professions career, you need a variety of skills, many of which overlap with NACE competencies, including communication, collaboration, empathy, cultural fluency, critical thinking, flexibility, and leadership.
If your goal is to enter the legal profession, you need a variety of skills, many of which overlap with NACE competencies, including research and writing, leadership, communication, logic, collaboration, empathy, cultural fluency, and critical thinking.