11 Skills You Gain Working Your First Part-time Job

Young individuals often struggle to find full-time work. Typically, employers want to hire people with experience. But how can you gain experience if no one will hire you? It’s a catch-22, but there are ways to make the situation easier. If you work a part-time job, you may be able to obtain the skills you need to qualify for a full-time position. Here are some examples of skills you can add to your resume with almost any part-time job.

1. Time Management

If you’ve never had a job before, you might find it difficult to keep track of your time. It’s one thing to handle homework from school and another to be able to juggle a list of tasks and duties every day. In a part-time role, time management is particularly essential. You have limited hours to accomplish your duties.

When you work your first part-time job, you can learn time management skills that will help you excel in any field. You figure out how to prioritize tasks and how to be more efficient with your day.

2. Dependability

Every employer depends on their employees. If you aren’t dependable, your employer won’t put up with you for long. They need to know that you will show up when you say you will, you’ll accomplish what your employer asks you to do and you will do your job to the best of your ability.

When you progress to a full-time role, an employer will appreciate your dependability. This makes you less of a risk and, oftentimes, an employer is willing to hire someone less experienced if they have a track record of being dependable.

3. Customer Service

Although not all part-time jobs involve customer service, many of them do. And this is a skill that translates well to other industries. When you work with customers, you need to figure out how to resolve problems and maintain a professional attitude. It’s not easy, but customer interactions are an introduction to most careers.

4. Teamwork

Unless you’re a social butterfly, you may not be used to working together with others to accomplish a goal. In school, you might work on a few group projects. However, that doesn’t compare to being in the workplace and routinely working with coworkers to meet goals. The collaboration skills that you improve in a part-time role translate to any full-time job. After only a short time, you may be able to work with any personality type and use communication, leadership, and other skills to work well as a team.

5. Communication

Even if you work by yourself at your job, you still need to have communication skills. If you have no teammates, you need to communicate effectively with your boss or manager. In a team environment, you must be able to communicate with your co-workers. People who work in a customer service role have a chance to focus even more on their verbal and written communication skills. No matter what industry you want to work in, you’ll be able to use this skill.

6. Emotional IQ

Emotional intelligence doesn’t come overnight. In fact, most people only develop strong emotional intelligence when they work their first job. They figure out how to analyze their own weaknesses and how to adapt to difficult situations. When someone has emotional intelligence, they can be empathetic towards customers and co-workers. As a result, they perform better and integrate well with a team.

7. Problem Resolution

Regardless of how well your employer runs their business, there will be problems in your day-to-day part-time job. You need to learn how to think on the spot and come up with effective solutions to problems. It could involve something as simple as calling IT for a tech issue or handling an angry customer. When you progress to a full-time role, you’ll be more capable and your employer will have more confidence in your abilities.

8. Decision-Making

Decision-making skills are similar to problem resolution in that you need to be ready for the unexpected. When an issue arises, you may not be able to call your manager for advice. You need to be able to make decisions on your own and in only a few seconds. Even part-time employees need to make decisions that can affect the business. By practicing these skills, you prepare yourself for a full-time position.

9. Stress Management

Let’s face it - work is stressful. Whether or not you enjoy your job, you’re bound to have some stress from work. To avoid living a life of misery, you need to find ways to deal with the stress of a job. You might practice meditation, set clear boundaries at work, or find a new hobby. When you learn how to manage your stress, you’re able to be happier and perform better at work. Full-time jobs tend to be more stressful than part-time ones, so stress management is essential.

10. Leadership

You may not be a natural-born leader, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t develop leadership skills. As you progress through your career, you’ll need to use leadership skills to show your employer that you deserve a promotion. Although part-time roles don’t usually involve management positions, you can still practice leadership skills. Find ways to lead your coworkers and take initiative.

11. Organization

Staying on top of your tasks in your part-time job requires organization. Furthermore, juggling your job along with anything else going on in your life also demands organizational skills. As you work a part-time position, you need to find ways to remain organized. Otherwise, your performance will suffer and you won’t be efficient. Over time, you’ll learn the organizational techniques that work for you. When you go full-time, you can use your skills to manage the workload.

Which Skills Translate to a Full-Time Role?

All of the skills above are broad enough to translate to most full-time positions. With that said, there may be other skills that also transfer over to your desired role. When you start looking for a full-time job, think about the job description. Make a list of skills that you learned in your part-time job, and circle any that relate to the new job. You might be surprised at how many skills you have.