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Student development specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Michael Ward,

Mike Hagarty

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical student development specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for student development specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 25.9% of student development specialist resumes contained student development as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a student development specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 student development specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Student Development

Here's how student development specialists use student development:

Coordinated planning, operation and evaluation of the campus Student Development Program, which included all marketing activities.
Assisted the Associate Director of Student Development in planning and implementing activities for the student body.

2. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how student development specialists use professional development:

Created and implemented programs for staff on-boarding and professional development.
Conducted learning gap analysis and prepared recommendations for 2016 professional development offerings that increased leadership capability and communication quality within divisions.

3. Student Services

Here's how student development specialists use student services:

Provide individual academic and career planning as well as referrals to testing and student services.
Provide work direction to student workers and student services assistants.

4. Event Planning

Here's how student development specialists use event planning:

Worked closely with the Student Government Association and assisted student groups with event planning and organization.
Structured and maintained event planning for community outreaches that our family center provided to community members.

5. Student Organizations

Student organizations are commonly found in colleges or universities. Students join together and organize a club, event, or other activity in order to meet other students with similar interests. This may be a sport, leisurely activity, or academic pursuit that students wish to discuss; however, there may also be student organizations to raise awareness and funds for a particular disease or cause.

Here's how student development specialists use student organizations:

Coordinated community volunteers programs, leadership development activities, and advised two student organizations.
Coordinated with hundreds of students and student organizations to schedule engaging activities, speakers, and educational outreach.

6. Colleges

A college is a learning environment, an academic institution primarily for degree acquisition. It is targeted at running advanced programs and educational classes for professional degrees. Vocational education is also part of the syllabus in some colleges.

Here's how student development specialists use colleges:

Motivated and inspired students to apply to colleges through Decision Day, Wall of Acceptance, and daily advising sessions.
Market Jump Start during the Meeting of Colleges to 100+ students for areas in Math and Chemistry.

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7. Financial Aid Applications

Here's how student development specialists use financial aid applications:

Guide and assist applicants in completing enrollment paperwork and financial aid applications.

8. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is an often necessary skill in business, employed for processes such as contract negotiations, legal matters, and even personal, emotional situations and conflicts. It is the ability to find and create an appropriate and peaceful solution to some sort of dilemma or argument in which two or more parties are involved. The resolution itself must benefit and satisfy all parties and this is what makes it so difficult to reach a peaceful point sometimes.

Here's how student development specialists use conflict resolution:

Conduct peer counseling and assist with conflict resolutions - Design and lead educational and cultural programs for hall residents to facilitate self-governance
Initiated group discussions, social and recreational activities and facilitated conflict resolution in dormitory living.

9. Federal Regulations

Federal regulations refer to the set of rules, both general and permanent that are published in the Federal Register by the agencies of the federal government and the executive departments. Federal regulations are the large body of rules that govern federal practice. Examples of these laws include taxes and financial regulation, discrimination law, wages law, and so on.

Here's how student development specialists use federal regulations:

Ensured compliance with federal regulations and university policies.
Followed all Federal regulations and Universities polices.

10. Student Engagement

Here's how student development specialists use student engagement:

Boosted student engagement by conceptualizing and facilitating events throughout the university.
Assisted the Student Engagement Director with safety issues relating to building Surveillance, emergency management, and safety risk management.

11. Crisis Intervention

Here's how student development specialists use crisis intervention:

Serve as part of an on-call emergency response team for crisis intervention on campus.
Responded to incoming telephone calls, provided information and /or crisis intervention and produce written documentation.

12. Student Retention

Here's how student development specialists use student retention:

Increased enrollment and student retention through careful attention to students' needs.
Co-managed teams of over 30 Admissions Advisors to maximize starts, show rates and student retention.

13. Academic Support

Academic support is the assistance granted to students on top of the regular teaching in the classroom.

Here's how student development specialists use academic support:

Provided academic support to tertiary level students through the offering of academic advising, personal counseling, and administrative assistance.
Assessed student academic needs, arranged for academic support, provided translation, and facilitated cultural understanding and adjustment.

14. Student Body

Here's how student development specialists use student body:

Work closely with the student body to make connections throughout the whole university community.
Lead EOF programming to engage and interact with student body at large.

15. Student Enrollment

Here's how student development specialists use student enrollment:

Implemented University policies concerning student enrollment in compliance with professional and accrediting agency standards.
Facilitated student enrollment and registration each semester to assure retention of students through graduation.

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What skills help Student Development Specialists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on student development specialist resumes?

Michael Ward

Professor, The University of Texas at Arlington

Doing well in coursework is great, but what sells a job candidate is the initiative in an activity that shows that you have synthesized and applied what you have learned across multiple courses. This is a big ask but, there are plenty of ways to do this. You can join an extra-curricular club, but better is providing the leadership to enhance the club experience. You can take a part-time job, but better is founding a small entrepreneurial business that fills an unmet need. You can write term papers for classes, but better is helping draft and implement action plans for, say, a non-profit. If you have an interest in a hobby, a sport, or an industry, show that you have developed it into an expertise. All resumes include coursework, but activities that demonstrate initiative will stand out.

What student development specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Mike Hagarty

Director of Career Services, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

The most important element of a gap year for a graduate is to do it with purpose and a plan. Before taking the gap year try to answer the question, "What do I want to be true at the end of the year?" For example, if you are a college graduate and you want to apply (or re-apply) to graduate school next year, what do you need to do in the gap year to succeed at being accepted (e.g., entrance exam practice, work or internship experience that will make you more qualified)? If you want to change direction or don't have a career direction yet, what will help you arrive at clarity or prepare you for the transition (perhaps testing a new field, volunteering, learning a new culture)? If you want to land a position at a dream company, set specific networking or skill-building goals (including certificates and other professional credentials) so that you are at a different place at the end of the gap year.

I know this is a graduate question, but if you are an incoming freshman and decide on a gap year, the same concept holds - fill the year with learning experiences that will bring clarity, experience, and direction. In all cases, set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timed) to be intentional about growing your knowledge, skills, abilities, and network of support.

What type of skills will young student development specialists need?

Brad Morgan

Director of Career Services, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

With increased frequency, employers with whom we work emphasize the importance of new hires being able to demonstrate adaptability, effective communication, and efficiency. As the demands of not only consumers but regulatory bodies evolve, it is essential for those entering the workforce-and those who are already in the force-to acknowledge that just because we successfully employed one strategy years ago (or even last week) does not mean that we can use the same strategy with the same success in the future. Adaptability. Likewise, it is essential to communicate complex ideas and concepts in ways that simplify and add clarity to a discussion. Both of these skills contribute to workers being efficient in deed and word.

Do you want to know more?

List of student development specialist skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a student development specialist resume and required skills for a student development specialist to have include:

Student Development
Professional Development
Student Services
Event Planning
Student Organizations
Colleges
Financial Aid Applications
Conflict Resolution
Federal Regulations
Student Engagement
Crisis Intervention

Student Retention
Academic Support
Student Body
Student Enrollment
Study
Front Desk
DSO
Academic Issues
Emails
Enrollment Process
Data Collection

Course Selection
PowerPoint
Admissions Process
Facebook
Utsa
Community Organizations
Classroom Presentations
Continuous Improvement
Blackboard
Student Attendance

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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