Students gathered for the third session of the four-part Leaders Workshop Series on Wednesday night for a presentation and interactive group activities focused on self-confidence and team success.

The workshop titled “Preparing for your Career” was led by Angela Wagner, program coordinator for Liberal Arts and Sciences Student Academic Services.

At the very start of the session, students were asked to reflect on their own self-confidence and leadership skills in a positive manner and shared their ideas with other students.

“I was really looking forward to learning about self-confidence and how that can apply to the workplace, especially since I’m graduating in December,” said Matthew Lubben, senior in industrial engineering. “So I was looking to take these ideas and apply them to managing a production line or working with my other industrial engineers and helping to organize them better.”

In small groups, students discussed their confidence levels pertaining to personal qualities that may contribute to becoming an effective leader. Students were also given the opportunity to rate their own leadership proficiency and career readiness based on a diagram provided to invoke further thought.

After discussing these thoughts as a large group, students learned about the qualities of effective leaders and successful teams through an abundance of videos regarding how to practice self-confidence, desirable qualities of leaders and teamwork skills in a workspace.

Students were then introduced to tackling teamwork and generations in the workspace, as in today’s society it is not uncommon to see up to five generations in one area of work.

To help overcome obstacles in environments like this, students were offered certain values to consider including effective communication practices and providing positive feedback.

Throughout the event, students were faced with multiple “What would you do?” questions relevant to realistic issues that may come up in future careers. Students conversed about which approaches they would use to be an effective leader in the situation and later discussed their ideas with the group as a whole.

Worksheets were then handed out to students to provide an idea of skills that employers seek as well as helpful tips to assist students in describing important skills on a resume. Students also learned the significance of highlighting leadership experiences when creating a resume and the potential that doing so can hold.

As the session wrapped up, students were given concrete tips for career progression to help them in their futures. The night was concluded with the final, overarching idea that competency and mastering skills will increase their chances of obtaining trust and leadership opportunities in all types of environments.

“I was really hoping that students would leave with inspiration and higher confidence levels to positively impact their future career success,” Wagner said. “And also just reflecting on what makes an effective team, ‘how can I be a better leader?’”

The final session of the four-part Leaders Workshop Series, “Living Your Best Life,” will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will cover self-care and wellness.