Whether you’re looking for a job or planning to start your own business, what skills do you need to survive and thrive in the creative sector? Members of UAL’s Careers and Employability team examined current graduate roles and found 3 main overlapping skills from their requirements. Can you guess what they are?
- Creativity
Creativity, innovation and the ability to adapt are all necessary skills in today’s workplace.
Recent events such as Brexit and Covid have impacted on the labour market and forced employers to re-think how they operate. Applying your creativity to challenging situations can help you to see things from a different perspective and develop new ideas. Lateral thinking - using an indirect and creative approach to solve problems – can add value to many industries.
CV tip: the creative processes you fine-tuned at university - such as ideation and problem solving - can be helpful in many situations and industries.
- Project Management
As a creative graduate you’ll have completed projects during your course can help to demonstrate your project management skills. If you’ve worked with others on a joint project, this will demonstrate your ability to work as part of a team and interpersonal skills.
Whether you are working for someone else or for yourself, the ability to research and find relevant information is vital for informed decision-making.
CV tip: meeting deadlines, managing time, organising activities and breaking down larger tasks into smaller tasks are all forms of project management.
- Communication
Being able to communicate information clearly to a range of audiences is an essential skill to have. If you’ve identified a specific audience as part of your degree show and produced a product or project tailored to their needs, you can understand an audience. This transferable skill can enable you to effectively reach others. Instead of listing all of your positive attributes in a job application, reframe them to meet the employer or market needs.
Interview tip: Employers expect you to research their company prior to an interview or pitch so make sure you look at their website and gain an understanding of their target audience and motivations.
Looking for vacancies? Register with UAL's creative industries jobs board, Creative Opportunities and start applying today.
Need help with your career, job search or CV? You can email us with your questions at any time gradsupport@arts.ac.uk or visit Support for Graduates.