If you’re coming to the end of secondary school, you may be looking for a part-time job, or want to get your foot on the career ladder. But what can you put on your CV other than your education? This explains how to present your school experiences as CV-worthy skills.

Speaking up in class

Do you find when a teacher asks the whole class a question you all sit in silence? If you speak up you’ll gain a lot more than just making your teacher feel relieved.

If you’re worried you’ll be judged for being a know-it-all, or are scared you’ll get the answer wrong, you need to tackle this fear head on. Being able to explain your ideas is an essential skill to have in the workplace. And if you do get the answer wrong, it’s not a bad thing. The ability to learn from your mistakes is an extremely useful quality when it comes to the working world and one which employers value.

Reading aloud

Never volunteer to read aloud in class either? You should! This will help with your public speaking. Throughout your career there may come times when you have to address a team in a meeting, or give a presentation to some important clients. It’s best to address your fear of public speaking as soon as possible, and reading aloud in class is the perfect place to start.

Managing coursework

Find yourself managing several sets of coursework at once? While it’s hard staying on top of all your projects, especially when deadlines are close together, these experiences supply you with excellent project management skills. With every job, you will have your own responsibilities and duties, and will have to manage your own workload.

Revision

The words study leave, revision and exams usually bring a pang of dread to the average student, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Trying to juggle your revision workload is a key way of developing your time management skills – which is great because they’re a workplace necessity.  So invest in that rainbow of sticky notes, highlighters, and a planner and remember you’re making yourself more employable as you put your revision plan into practice.

IT classes

Think going to your IT class is a waste of time? Think again. Employers often take it for granted that you have good Microsoft Office skills so paying attention now to Excel’s IF and SUM functions, or how to add cells together, means you won’t be lost when you start work.