Your most important skills won’t come from a single class or apply to just a single job.
Sometimes they’re called soft skills: ability to communicate, work in teams, problem solve, and to adapt to change, challenge and unknowns.
They’re also known as operational skills: without them, even the best technical knowledge and skills have little value.
And they’re transferable skills: once you gain them, you can apply them in new contexts and to new challenges.
That’s why employers prioritize these kinds of skills in hiring; they’re that essential.
And that’s why at Beloit College, all students learn to communicate, collaborate, solve programs and become intellectually and professionally agile. No matter what they study. No matter where and how they spend their time outside of class. No matter whom and from whom they learn.
Beloit helps you develop the skills that employers want.
The ability to communicate well is number one on the list of competencies desired by employers, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Beloit College graduates communicate effectively because they’ve listened and exchanged ideas daily with faculty, staff, and peers from all over the world, including the U.S., and with all sorts of backgrounds and identities.
They’ve debated, given presentations, and engaged in difficult conversations. They’ve written essays, research and policy papers, social media posts, funding requests, and job applications.
Beloit graduates are effective communicators, and this makes them stand out from their peers in the workplace and during graduate studies.
The world’s biggest challenges require creative solutions: climate change, income inequality, food security, gender equality. But so do teaching a child to read, creating a dance to convey a complex idea, or reducing food waste on a college campus.
Beloit College graduates are creative problem solvers, because they’ve problem-solved over and over, from learning how to live in a completely new environment while studying abroad, to tackling complex scientific problems in the lab.
No matter their sport, whether running track or playing baseball or softball, athletes know: teamwork matters to success. The same applies in academics; after all, everything from mathematics to language learning to forensics requires collaboration.
And for that matter, so does living and learning with others. Beloit College students have daily practice collaborating with peers and mentors on and off-campus who bring perspectives and experiences very different from their own.
That’s what helps Beloiters become productive collaborators.
In the professional world, as in life, disruption is no longer rare: it’s the norm. Industries are changing and new jobs are being invented.
But in learning to communicate effectively, collaborate productively, and problem solve creatively, Beloit students become adaptable, flexible, and resilient. And that is why Beloit College graduates not only respond well to change, but lead change, whether employed by others or as entrepreneurs themselves.
No wonder that intellectual and professional agility is Beloit’s most highly prized learning outcome.
See how students learn and use these skills.
Opening Doors to College Access
Teddy Williams’18 benefitted from mentors and programs that made college accessible for students of color. Now, he opens doors for future generations through his work with the Schuler Scholar Program.
On the Job, Applying Skills Developed at Beloit College
Mustafa Quadir’20, an associate scientist at the pharmaceutical company PPD, relies daily on skills developed at Beloit College to collaborate with colleagues.
Honing Writing and Analytical Skills to Develop Policy
Passionate about policy making and advocacy, Phidor Kong ’23 is taking every opportunity while at Beloit College to hone her communication and analytical skills by taking challenging courses, by serving as a research assistant, and creating policy alternatives as an intern for a Cambodian think tank.
