How to Gain the Leadership Experience Employers Want

Most experts agree that leadership can be a bit difficult to define. Therefore, David Mielach of 

 went right to the source, the leaders of business and industry, to discover, “10 Ways to Define Leadership” (27 December 2012). The answer that stands out most of all is the definition offered by business consultant, Kendra Coleman:

Most see leadership as the ability to take proactive, preventative, results-producing action. This has no connection to a job title or position. Rather, the group of experts Mielach interviewed sees leadership as an inner strength that inspires outward results, a sense of vision that envelops others and guides a team to further success.

There are a few additional traits that are often mentioned.

Some additional attributes of leadership should also be kept in mind. Good leaders are:

Note that some of these attributes are broken down separately on lists of skills employers look for in employees.

There are quite a few ways that students, online or on-ground, can gain leadership experience. You may even be doing some of these already.

Now that you understand what leadership is and have some ways to gain skills in this area, it’s also time to think about how you will demonstrate this to employers. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

Pursuing, documenting, and demonstrating that you have leadership skills can take time; however, the knowledge that employers are increasingly looking for talent in this area, especially in some of the top career fields, should motivate you to take action. You also do not need to accomplish all of the above steps at once. Rather, try to focus on one or two ways each semester and gradually build an impressive portfolio for employers and online presence that brands you clearly as a leader.

Guest author 

has been an active writer, editor and educator for over 20 years and also writes pieces for

where the article was originally posted.

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