Study Skills for Higher Education: Techniques for Personal and Professional Development

This essay discusses the different study skills and knowledge required for personal and professional development in higher education. It suggests techniques to enhance your CV, acquire additional skills, and overcome challenges in the workplace. It covers adaptive thinking, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, personal management, and self-motivation skills. It also highlights the importance of online courses, group projects, and counselling sessions for skill development.

Study Skills in Higher
Education

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Assessment 1 ..............................................................................................................................1
Assessment 2 ..............................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Study skills is a set of techniques that will help a student in studying, recalling and
retaining information. Skills can be applied in any field other than studies. They improvise the
overall efficiency of an individual and adds opportunities in their careers. It leads the individual
to acquire personal development , personality traits, inherent social cues and communication
abilities. It strengthen knowledge, capabilities and self awareness to accomplish your goals and
objectives. It attributes skills in the personal CV of an individual and help them get potential
earning and living in long term (Hains-Wesson and Ji, 2020). This essay suggests the different
skills and knowledge that are required by an individual to develop themselves and their impact
on a individual career while their working for any business premises and at any workplace. Its
suggest the skills which should get added in the skills of an individual that will help them to get
higher roles in their future and help them to overcome different challenges that are to be faced in
the workplaces. It also discusses the key skills which an individual should acquire during their
academic learning.
MAIN BODY
Assessment 1
A curriculum vitae that a applicant used to describe their academic and professional
accomplishments. It is a document which is required by an individual when they are applying for
a specific post and expertise. It is a document that employer looks for while analysing any
candidates. This document includes the personal information of an applicant, education
qualification that are being pursued by an individual and grades that are being obtained by an
individual at various education levels. It also includes the work experience is an individual have
it and honours and awards that are being received by an individual during their academics or in
their previous employment. In addition it also includes the skills that are additional and makes
you different from the others. But there is a question that arise in every individual minds that
what if the individual do not hold any work experience than how they can get opportunities for
jobs in business world (Melnychuk and et.al , 2019). There are various alternatives that an
individual may may work on in order to get better skills and can contribute in their personal
development. With the passage of time and growing competition there is more need to add more
skills. Enhancing your personal skills can contribute in making an individual more confident and
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develop professionalism in their career growth. It will help you to fight against all the challenges
that may arise in the near future in life or at the workplace due to the changes that are taking
place in the market (Hora, 2018). Personal development means when an individual holds
expertise in a particular field of operation in addition it also domain in other area as well. It
enables an individual to set and define their own objectives and goals for their future determine
their expectations. Identification of own sets of skills will lead an individual to improvise and
make suitable strategies and plans. After the pandemic there is rise of online personal and
professional development programmes to improve the knowledge and skills of different
individuals in their specialised field. There are numerous online sources that are providing
opportunities to individual for supporting their career development and growth. These kinds of
certifications through different authentic sources helps an individual to add more and more skills
in their CV and get them the chances to get good jobs. There are various institutions that are
providing individuals with the chances to get diploma and get trained for their personal and
professional development. It will help an individual to embedded themselves with the various
qualities, capabilities and knowledge that can help them in real work when they will be working
in any organisation. By working at different workplaces can also adds skills and knowledge in
an individuals lives as they get to gain adequate knowledge to tackle different different situations
that may arise in the business environment and also get to develop their personal and
professional skills and knowledge by learning from other professional individuals and experts.
Connecting with different peoples and getting regularised update regarding the various market
trends can entail a person with adequate skills. An individual can get engaged in personal
counselling sessions with mentors that will guide you as how you can improvise your skills and
the are where we need to work on to get more and more opportunities in their future. Develop
within a attitude of leadership by connecting in groups union, these skills are highly praised and
valued by the employers. Engage in different campaigns and determine the role you have
performed and determines the knowledge and skills that are being pursued from that particular
Campaign (Reed, 2019).
As per the above discussion, it is being seen that skills of an individual plays a significant
role in affecting the career of an individual. They can lead a path for more opportunities in a
individual career. In my CV there are lack of some of the skills which are required by an
individual to get recognised and grab different opportunities. It is one of the weak spots and lack
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of proper skills set lead an individual to lack being in the competition. The foremost think which
a recruiter looks in an individual CV is whether our skills are efficient or not, whether we are an
asset to company that will contribute in their growth and success (Pitan and Muller, 2020). This
the skills which I am lacking behind as there is lack of confidence and skill set than other
applicants. Another think which is lacking in my CV is lack of experience, which acts as a
challenge and barrier to communicate with different business professionals. In order to overcome
this problems I need to enhance my skills and capabilities that will enable me to get more
recognised and praised and boost my overall morale and confidence. To improve my personal
and professional skills, I will en roll myself with different online courses and programmes which
will help me to gain additional skills and knowledge that will get me more opportunities in my
future. In addition, to these I also lack behind in leadership skills which is one of the important
skills which recruiters look in a candidate CV, in their specialised areas. Leadership is such a
quality which organisations look for in order to achieve their goals and objectives. In order to
gain such skills I will try to engage in group projects and tasks that will help me to assist
different individuals their tasks as per their skills and knowledge.
Assessment 2
With the rising competition in today's youth, there is increasing demand for an individual
to get the specified skills and degrees that will enable the individual to get a competitive
advantage. It is very important for an individual to get specialised knowledge and additional set
of skills that will enable an individual to apply them in different fields of education and business
organisations as well. Studying in universities provides individual with different set of
knowledge and skills that will make them more competent in their tasks. There are certain skills
that a student must develop in order to get benefits at the workplace. The first skill is adaptive
thinking, with the digitalisation the world is changing at a fast pace and it is very important for
an employee to understand and learn newest software and program. Business environment is a
dynamic factor and changes take place at a constant rate. It is essential for an individual to be
adaptive to the different changes in order to get success and growth in future (Tazewell, 2022).
Communication skills are another important skills which an applicant must possess in
themselves. It is the way through which individual connect and convey their ideas to others. In
order to build this skills an individual may access to different video conferencing , social
platforms and more. It is an essential skill which leader should possess, it enables them to
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communicate with their team and external individuals as well. It will lead a business organisation
to achieve their objectives within specified period of time span. Another skill which an
individual should develop within themselves is collaborative skills, which involves an individual
to work with others and contribute their skills and knowledge for completion of a particular
project (Keddie, 2018). Most universities assigned their individuals with team projects and
tasks that help individuals to get the skills to collaborate their efforts and coordinate with the
efforts of different individuals. In business organisation it is essential to get collaborative with
subordinates and other stakeholders outside organisation to get access to different technological
advancement and upgradation, that will lead an organisation to attain a competent and
coordinative workforce that can organisation to accomplish different tasks and objectives.
Another important and significant skills which an individual should possess is critical
thinking and problem solving skills. Critical thinking is the ability of an individual to think
clearly and rationally by applying logics, skilfully conceptualizing, analysing, synthesising and
evaluating the information which have been gathered which will help n individual to make and
connect with different ideas and concepts. It will help an individual to appropriately and
adequately understand their motivation and goals that will help them to attain personal growth
and overall happiness. Problem solving relates to an skill which enables an individual to solve
different challenges and problems by making different strategies and plans. In universities,
students are assigned with different projects and tasks which help them to develop critical
thinking abilities within themselves and help them to analyse the different ideas and strategies
and help them evaluate the best alternatives that will help them to attain their outcomes and
objectives. In the same way, in a business organisation, it is essential for the top executives and
employers to have the ability of critical thinking which can help an organisation to deal with
different changes and challenges that may impact the functioning of organisation. This skills
enable the employers to provide ideas and strategies to improve performance and productivity of
employees and overall operations. Critical thinking and problem thinking are the skills that will
maximise the strengths and creativity of an individual. It will help an individual to make
decisions , it will help in improving the relationship with the subordinates (Cottrell, 2020). It is
an kind of activity for the mind of an individual like it makes an individual to attain logical
thinking, open mindset and more. In business organisation it enables the individual to impress
their employers, It can get more career opportunities for individual in higher posts like manger,
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human resource specialist, marketing associate and more. Critical thinking is the most crucial
cognitive skills and can make a significant change in your lives and help them to attain growth
and success.
Personal management are another skill that is basically your self management skills that
enable you to control, thoughts and actions (Chicca and Shellenbarger, 2018). It is planning,
organizing, compensation, integration and maintenance of people for the purpose of contributing
to organisational, individual and societal goals. It can help business leader to utilise both human
and material resources optimistically that can lead to growth and success. It will enhance your
productivity and performance at work that will help in achieving professional goals. It is a skill
that increases your employability and gives you a direction for your career. In universities the
students can develop personal management skills by keeping a focus on their tasks, by evaluating
skills which you want to develop along with the goals to acquire those skills. An individual can
develop these skills by evaluating their work and performance and having responsibility for your
own work practice. It enables you to prioritize tasks, maintain focus and avoid distraction. In
business organisation personal management, helps employees and employers. Employers will
help to delegate the tasks accordingly that will help to achieve goals and objectives. An
individual will be enable to set their tasks and monitor their progress accordingly. It will help an
individual to manage their time wisely and daily tasks and activities.
In universities various projects are assigned to students which are related to different
fields and different areas of any business that will enable individual to have a wide and open
knowledge in different field as a part of their research they get to learn different skills. It
provides students a wide perception rather than that academic and theoretical knowledge,They
will get an exposure to practical knowledge and activities that are existing in the business
organisation. Universities provide their students with different programs and projects where they
have to gather information and make research to collect information on that specified project and
tasks that will help them to acquire wide knowledge. It enables them to acquire the knowledge to
different tools and techniques that is being used in the business organisation and learn the ways
which can contribute in growth and success (Dumford and Miller, 2018). It develop within an
individual the quality to identify the dynamic and uncertainties of the business environment and
help them to make strategies and plans to tackle the changes and its impacts on organisation
functioning. It will help a business organisation to understand their customers needs and
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preferences and identification of the business trends that will help an organisation to gain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace. It enables the organisation to adopt new innovations
and technological upgradation in their functioning and operations which will improvise the
overall production and profitability of an business (Jena, 2020) .
Another important advantage which an individual gain and learn in their universities
while studying is self motivation. Self motivation is a key to success in an individual lives it help
an individual to gain growth and prosperity. Through out their journey as a student they come
across many obstacles and challenges, ups and downs, but they learn to survive and tackle these
all problems and focus on their studies .It is basically the task top boost the morale of an
individual to perform better that will contribute in increasing their overall productivity and
performance. Universities arranges various counselling for their students to motivate them and to
make them stay motivated and coordinated towards their goals and desires. In context to business
organisation there are many certainties and challenges, as organisation operates in a dynamic
environment which can demotivate the employees and impact their performance. Another reason
for demotivation within employees is rising competition in the marketplace. It leads to a fear of
loosing within individuals that impact their performance. Building self confidence within
employees help them to fight against all the negativity that are existing in the business
environment. Superiors can make a coordinative environment in an organisation and make every
employees to have a sense of belongingness to each other. By making a friendly environment,
within an organisation boost the motivation of employees and help them top contribute their
tasks with their full potentials. Another important skills which an individual should possess is
money engagement by cutting their expenses and making proper plans before making
investments. The quality will be useful both in business organisation or in real life as
management of expenses helps na organisation to get optimised in their cost reduction and help
them to acquire and attract more and more customers. Students should be aware to manage their
resources and should utilise them where they can get maximum return (Jabbarova, 2020).
Universities also promote different programmes where they provide their students limited funds
and they have to deal with the given amount to mange and complete that particular project and
carry out all the assigned activities. It help an individual to get a knowledge about different
potential funding sources that are being available to organisation to achieve growth and success.
It will help an individual to allocate their financial resources in their activities that will able to
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accomplish their tasks effectively. In business organisation this will enable an organisation to
grow their reputation and get potential investors that will help the organisation to gain
competitive edge. In order to remain competitive and different from others it is very essential for
an individual to acquire all the skills. Having a set of skills boost the overall confidence and
performance of an individual which gets them success and growth in long run. It will help an
individual to remain socially acceptable and admirable towards the society. It will help them to
develop their overall qualities and capabilities that lead in achievement of their dreams and
desires.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, It has been concluded that set of sills, capability and abilities plays
a significant role in an individual lives. It brings success and growth as they allow an individual
to work well with their employers, employees, colleagues, clients and vendors. Strong skills
helps an individual to get exposure to get connect with different individuals and help them
accomplish their set goals and objectives. In addition it will enhance the overall CV of an
individual and make them strong enough to compete with other applicant which are fighting for
the same job roles and positions. This particular essay discusses the different skills that an
individual should possess that will enable them to remain motivate and confident in external
world. It also discusses the role of CV for an individual to get better position and job profiles and
how it effects the success and career of an individual. In addition it discusses a reflection about
what are the weakness that an individual look for in their CV. Along with that ,it discusses a set
of skills that an individual must possess at their universities while they are getting their academic
knowledge and studying to make their career.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hains-Wesson and Ji, 2020. Students’ perceptions of an interdisciplinary global study tour:
uncovering inexplicit employability skills. Higher Education Research &
Development, 39(4), pp.657-671.
Melnychuk and et.al , 2019. Higher School Instructors' Pedagogical Skills Improvement as a
Basis of Educational Strategy for Development of Students' Professional
Training. Romanian Journal for Multidimensional Education/Revista Romaneasca
pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 11.
Hora, 2018. Beyond the Skills Gap: How the Vocationalist Framing of Higher Education
Undermines Student, Employer, and Societal Interests. Liberal Education, 104(2), p.n2.
Reed, 2019. The 7 second CV: How to land the Interview. Random House.
Pitan and Muller, 2020. Student perspectives on employability development in higher education
in South Africa. Education+ Training, 63(3), pp.453-471.
Tazewell, 2022. Using a funds of knowledge approach to engage diverse cohorts through active
and personally relevant learning. In Strategies for Supporting Inclusion and Diversity in
the Academy (pp. 247-266). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Keddie, 2018. Adult education: An ideology of individualism. In Adult education for a
change (pp. 45-64). Routledge.
Cottrell, 2020. Teaching study skills and supporting learning. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Chicca and Shellenbarger, 2018. Connecting with Generation Z: Approaches in nursing
education. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 13(3), pp.180-184.
Dumford and Miller, 2018. Online learning in higher education: exploring advantages and
disadvantages for engagement. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(3),
pp.452-465.
Jena, 2020. Measuring the impact of business management Student's attitude towards
entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention: A case study. Computers in
Human Behavior, 107, p.106275.
Jabbarova, 2020. Teaching Foreign Language Through Distance Learning On The Basis Of
Interactive Means. Архив Научных Публикаций JSPI.
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