While employers are impressed by the credentials, there are some skills that recent graduates like myself aren’t taught in school. These skills are those that will make or break your career. These skills are the other 90% of what you need to be successful. These skills have nothing to do with your GPA, the associations you were apart of, or the prestige of the university you went to.

These skills are those that you often leave off your resume because you don’t know that they are those that will set you apart. They are also known as the dreaded soft skills.

There are far too many soft skills to name, so for the sake of this article, I’ve decided to pose the following questions:

1. When was the last time you had to self motivate?

2. How have you handled managing upwards?

3. How are your presentation skills? (And no, I am not talking about the many presentations you were mandated to do in class).

4. How do you self promote?

5. How do you walk the line of assertiveness and arrogance?

6. How do you manage difficult conversations?

Yes, you’ve obtained your degree and it’s an amazing accomplishment. After you celebrate, I challenge you to think beyond the new found credentials and think about what it will take to get you to the next level. The next level requires an individual who has the ability to motivate themselves when it’s not attached to a passing or failing grade. The next level requires an emotionally intelligent individual who is communicative in presenting ideas and effectively managing resistance. The next level requires emotional regulation and self promotion.

There is not enough space in this article to fully expound on my endless thoughts on this topic. However, the gist of what I am saying, is that while you should be proud to have earned your degree, you have yet to even crack the door open to the full house of success. Obtaining your degree gives you a peek inside the house through the window. It will never get you inside if you can’t work with folks you don’t like, if you don’t know how to regulate your emotions, if you don’t master the art of influence and if you don’t develop the spring of resiliency.

abeg more!!

pls recommend books for undergraduates/students self Development and being successful generally at large