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Development

Become aware of your strengths and make the most of them

Studerene ses i et klatrestativ og smiler til kameraet
Getting to know your personal competencies and using them actively in your studies can both increase your well-being and improve your academic results. But do you even know your strengths, and do you know how to use them optimally?

Table of contents

  • Make use of what you are already good at
  • How to spot and use your personal skills
  • Use your hobby
  • Be careful that your strengths do not become a weakness

Make use of what you are already good at

You undoubtedly have personal skills that you can use in your studies. Are you patient, persistent, or good at communicating? No matter what it is, you can advantageously embrace them and use them actively in your studies. In this way, you can become even better at what you are already good at. This is the advice from career counseling at IDA.

It is about picking the low-hanging fruit and becoming better at something you are already good at or have a talent for. There are more setbacks in struggling with something you are bad at.
Sanne Mattebjerg, career advisor at IDA

She points out, however, that this does not mean that you should avoid working on the skills you are less good at. Focusing on your talents is a way to improve quickly, and it can boost your self-esteem and well-being.

Do you have a plan or are you taking it as it comes?

How to spot and use your personal skills

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Further improve your strengths

With IDA's Student Job Finder, you can find a relevant student job or internship within your field. The experience gained can help strengthen your current competencies further, and it may lead to acquiring entirely new strengths.
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Use your hobby

It may sound simple, but it can actually be a good idea to take a closer look at your hobby. Whether you love knitting, playing the piano, gaming, or painting Warhammer figures, there are strengths and skills you can use in your studies.

If you are painting small role-playing figures, what competencies are you using while doing it? Patience, I think, perseverance and persistence, perhaps?
Sanne Mattebjerg, career advisor at IDA

Together, these are qualities that are invaluable in many situations during your studies, whether you are studying biomedicine or have your nose in a microscope in a laboratory.

And according to Sanne Mattebjerg, it is important to look at your strengths from a helicopter perspective and not just focus on what you can use your strengths for at your educational institution, but also be aware of what you can use your abilities for in general in your work and private life. Our competencies help define us as people.

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Be careful that your strengths do not become a weakness

Also be aware that your competencies can become a hindrance in your academic life. A strength can almost become a weakness. If you are very perfectionistic when, for example, painting role-playing figures, you are probably also perfectionistic before submitting a large group assignment.

You need to ask yourself if it is for your own sake that you are perfectionistic, or if it is because you are afraid of not being good enough.
Sanne Mattebjerg, career advisor at IDA

According to Sanne Mattebjerg, it is important to align expectations in a group before starting the work. Here you can, for example, say that you can deliver a perfect piece of work, but that it is something that will demand too much of you in relation to what you have to give.

Your strengths and personal competencies can be superpowers in your studies, so find them and use them as much as you can. Just make sure it doesn’t go overboard and become a hindrance for you.

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IDA helps you in your development

As a student, you are constantly developing every time you open a textbook or step into the classroom. However, there are other ways to strengthen your skills.

Use IDA Study Job Finder to find a relevant student job or an exciting internship. Also, use IDA Campus, our online learning platform, to master important tools and programs and gain skills that go beyond your education.
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