Skills and Attributes: Make an impact
Power your success with skills to set you apart.
Build your edge
Making an impact, in your life and your career, starts with building the skills, confidence and personal attributes to achieve your goals.
Take the first step: discover your opportunities to grow, drive change and inspire others as you shape your own path to success.
Explore the skills you’ll need to shape your relationship with your world.
Communication
Strong communication skills are key to:
- expressing your ideas well in different formats
- being an empathetic and active listener
- being able to co-create and work effectively, negotiate, and influence others
- being able to engage effectively with people from different backgrounds and cultures
Opportunities to develop this skill include:
Choose from a programme of workshops. Develop the academic and information skills that will underpin your confidence and boost how you communicate.
Go abroad as part of your degree. Absorb new cultures and become more adaptable, clear, and confident in how you interact with others from diverse backgrounds.
Collaboration
One of the top skills valued by employers, being able to collaborate means:
- working well with others to achieve a shared goal
- contributing effectively within a group or team, sharing responsibilities and contributing ideas
- valuing other people’s ideas and contributions
Opportunities to develop this skill include:
Represent Performance Sport students on the Athlete Commission. Work with our Sports staff to drive meaningful improvements across athlete welfare and inclusivity.
Create positive changes at a course level. Work with School representatives, University staff and our Students’ Union officers to feedback about your learning experience.
Leading and influencing
How you’ll lead and influence others grows from:
- managing a project to completion
- organising a group to achieve a shared aim
- creating arguments that enable others to understand your perspective
- enabling others to learn from you and work alongside you
- taking responsibility
- ensuring your impact on others and the world is positive
Opportunities to develop these skills and attributes include:
Motivate others, make decisions, and work towards shared goals as a team captain, committee member, or official in our internal student sport programme.
Join our outstanding Student Ambassador team. Deliver recruitment events, on and off campus, that inspire and support the next generation of Newcastle students.
Insight
With insight you’ll dive deeper and understand more by:
- developing an awareness of how the world is changing
- observing and scrutinising new ideas
- having an enquiring mind
- being able to recognise opportunities to adapt and respond to external challenges and change
- appreciating and respecting different cultures and perspectives
Opportunities to develop this skill include:
Discover what it’s like to work in a professional environment. Gain industry experience, make contacts and understand what employers look for in their candidates.
Understand what assertiveness is and increase your awareness of your own style of communication. Learn how to communicate well and improve relationships.
Future facing
Developing your ability to shift to forward-thinking involves:
- having the capacity to look forward and prepare yourself for opportunities
- being curious about how technological innovation and progress will impact society and the environment
- understanding how world issues, whether economic, political, social or environmental can affect society and peoples’ lives and how you can respond to those challenges positively
Opportunities to develop this skill include:
Work with schools, clubs and organisations that are passionate about giving back to the community. Deliver community engagement sessions centred around practical sport and education.
Explore your options after graduation – whether that's a graduate job, further study or self-employment. Gain the employability skills you need and be supported to take your next steps.
Ready to skill up?
Success comes from learning, improving, and growing every day.
Start your journey by reflecting on your skills and assess where you are. It’ll help you uncover the skills and personal attributes you already have. They’re your strengths. Lean into them.
It’ll also highlight areas where you can grow. But don’t see these as weaknesses: they’re the foundations of your development plan.
More ways to make an impact
Every experience, big or small, can strengthen your employability.
It can also help you develop the confidence, character, and skills you'll carry with you for life.
Here’s some more ways to skill up:
- Join one of our sports clubs: sport teaches you how to communicate effectively, work towards shared goals, and support others.
- Become a student rep: strengthen your communication and collaboration skills as you work to improve the student experience. Learn how to lead, influence and represent others professionally and respectfully.
- Go Volunteer: giving your time to help others, take on new responsibilities, and adapt to unfamiliar situations shows you’re someone who can have a meaningful impact in society.