Business internship skills for your resume and career

In my opinion, the skills that recent university graduates need to succeed professionally in a time of the pandemic, i.e., mostly remote office work, are 1) communication skills, 2) research skills, 3) data analytics skills, and 4) adaptability. A newly hired graduate in an accounting firm or in the accounting department of a non-accounting firm needs to write concisely, to the point, and error-free. Bad writing projects a weak professional (and company) image to clients, suppliers, and others. Communication skills do not extend only to writing emails and reports; asking questions when clarification is needed also is very important for a smooth work process. No one is born knowing everything, but one can research topics of interest and learn new things. Nowadays, there are plenty of library books, magazines, databases, search engines, online forums, massive open online courses (MOOCs), such as Udemy, EdX, and Coursera, and other resources available at our fingertips. Knowledge has never been available so widely and so cheaply, often for free. I call this the democratization of knowledge. Curiosity is an important characteristic of acquiring new knowledge and skills. New knowledge and skills lead to upskilling, especially if acquired regularly. The future belongs to those willing to get out of their comfort zone, upskill, and adopt a lifetime learning worldview. This is a matter of values and priorities. We see lifetime learning in action in business, too - Netflix and SpaceX, for example, have adopted innovative business models that no one had thought of before, and they have not stopped innovating. These companies did not rest on their laurels. Likewise, graduates need to be proactive, do research, and find the answers the company is looking for. "Data" is all around us and is valuable. Learning the basics of Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Tableau, or Microsoft Power BI and getting certified in them can be very useful, too. For more advanced software features, the makers of these programs have online classes, support, and user manuals. Learning data analytics skills may take some time, but it will save a lot of time and effort in the long run. Finally, adaptability.
My native country, Bulgaria, for example, has seen an influx of workers from Latin America, North America, the rest of Europe, and other places since the mid-2000s. Big Western pharmaceutical and software companies, among others, have offshored their offices there because the cost of labor and the income taxes are lower than those in Western countries. A low cost of labor corresponds to a low cost of living, too. Today, recent graduates should stay open-minded as to the location of their employer. We live in a global village that constantly changes. Sometimes, one's ideal job is far away from home. Accepting a job opportunity abroad requires flexibility and the long term in mind. It may come with nice surprises - a generous foreign earned income tax credit (for U.S. citizens working abroad), college debt forgiveness or postponement (for jobs with the Peace Corps and the Fulbright Commission, for example), new places to see, new languages to learn, and new friends to make. When one door shuts, another one opens.