Know yourself
- Your strengths and areas for development
- life and work experience
- extracurriculars
- traits
- ambitions
- values
- interests
Self awareness is important
You are not only selling your work but also yourself as an employee
What do employers look for?
- Attitude ————————————– 7
- Work experience —————————– 2
- Loyalty —————————————- 6
- Degree —————————————- 3 (over 60% in 2nd year and portfolio based) 1 or 2 degree
- Transferable skills ————————— 1
- Professional Competencies —————– 4 (software and growth mindset)
- Confidence ———————————– 5
- Innovation/enterprising mindset ——— 8
Skills required to be successful in IXD
- Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
- Technical – level of use & experience with programmes
- Design and visual skills
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Creative thinking
- Adaptability/Flexibility
- Focus and resilience
- Attention to detail
- Team-work (collaboration) Skills
- Ability to works on your own initiative
- Good self-management
- Planning and organising
How do I develop these skills?
- Your degree
- Freelance work
- Part-time job
- Clubs and societies
- Internships
- Industry experience
- International experience
- Volunteering
- Sport/leisure activities
- Ulster Edge Award – see employability portal
What does it mean to be professional?
- Being personally accountable
- Being able to see the big picture and adjust you actions based on that vision
- Willing to help, even when its not your job
- Controlling your emotions
- Working hard
- Treating the people you work with, with respect and kindness
- Humility
- Confidence not arrogance
- Doing the best you can and doing better
- Integrity
- Having a good attitude
Your online presence is important, what can people see?
Use this to start to build your network up
professional NETWORKING
Update your profile
- Profile picture (this should be consistent throughout your internet presence) Smart casual dressed for the image. No slogans or sport logos. If in doubt, leave it out. Make eye contact and smile. Use a neutral background. Don’t use pixelated or blurry photos.
- Headline is also super important – It’s the first piece of information that anyone will read about you, it needs to make an impact. Year 1 IXD student + a skill/strength (not hardworking – it is overused) It has to say who you are? and who you want to be professionally? (Job title you are aiming for/interested in – this will help you come up on searches when recruiters are looking for hires).
- Summary (this alone can give you 7 times more profile views). LinkedIn uses very direct and to the point wording. Use the min number of words to have the max impact. Who I am, what I can offer/skill/achievements + where I developed them (elevator pitch), showcase your transferable skills as well as your technical skills. Not just your course, also the other things that you do. The more detail the better
- Can have a background photo
- Education – University degree and 1st year modules School and collage qualifications, GCSE (not all) eg 7 grades A-C including English, Maths and Spanish
- Experience – be descriptive about your responsibilities in each position. Include keywords to illustrate your abilities and results. Do in bullet points!