By Sydney Schabacker

Please raise your hand if you’d like to make some money. While it’s up there, wave and smile

pleasantly at someone to practice social skills, and then make your way to the Career Center.

There are people in the Career Center who want nothing more than to help you find the

employment that will lead you to that money. California’s unemployment is currently at 5.9

percent, and if students all would rather be in that other 94.1 percent, then students need to know

what employers want.

“What employers look for are ‘soft skills,’” Career Center Director, Pam Wells, said.

These skills include: communication efficiency, both oral and written, experience working in

teams, tech[nology] skills, experience in a diverse environment, leadership potential and the

capability to learn new things.

“[The] majority of these are [skills] students are getting [at CSUSM],” Career Counselor, Dian

Sanchez, said.

GEO and GEW, required for every student, focus on oral and written communication skills.

There is no shortage of group work as students progress through classes. The technological skills

she referred to can be gained through the computer classes that are offered.

CSUSM is a diverse environment with students from all over the country. Thanks to the

international student program, we are globally diverse. The clubs, activities and organizations

students participate in can indicate leadership potential.

As college students, the capacity and ability to learn can hopefully be assumed here at CSUSM.

Graduates of the CSU system offer strong skills to employers. A CSU executive summary,

published January 19, 2012, reviewed the results of a survey of employers in California. The

four distinctive characteristics of CSU graduates are teamwork, flexibility, capacity to learn and

representation of the diversity of the workplace.

However, according to the above mentioned research, this is what students need to improve on:

interpersonal skills. In any workplace of any size, these skills matter. As a specialized area of

interpersonal skills, CSUSM students need to cultivate their interviewing skills.

“Feedback is that some of our students are not as polished as other colleges,” Wells said.

Employers know what they are looking for in potential employees, and the interview process is

when they are considering most who to hire.

Here are some things to keep in mind to get to that point. The Career Center offers “mock

interviews” where students can practice and gain familiarity with possible questions and

appropriate answers.

Social media has also become a significant and even a determining factor in what employers are

looking for, so strong interview skills can be undermined by unprofessional revelations online.

As follow up to an interview, thank-you notes are imperative. In every business, time is valuable.

Every candidate for a position must acknowledge and show appreciation for the time spent on

their interview. These notes are standard in business and networking, and the lack of them can

also undermine a strong interview performance when it comes to deciding which candidate will

be hired.

As a show of strength, having some pertinent work experience before seeking employment could

put you at the top of the candidacy pile. The answer to this conundrum is internships. The Career

Center offers students assistance in finding a variety of internships that best fits the students’

needs. Some internships pay, some offer class credit, but all look good on a resume.

As college students, we are building our employment futures right now. Don’t wait until you are

sitting in an interview to contemplate how you will answer “What are your weaknesses?”

Thinking about what employers look for in college graduates now and addressing what needs to

be addressed can only strengthen your opportunities.

For more information, stopover at the Career Center or visit the website www.csusm.edu/careers/

to see what they can help you with as you prepare for your future.