I've been working for 8 years since I finished my Master's. I've had a successful and generally happy career by my own standards, but I do feel that I could hav

I've been working for 8 years since I finished my Master's. I've had a successful and generally happy career by my own standards, but I do feel that I could have done better. I think others will focus more on technical skills but I think, particularly for Computer Science, soft skills stand out more. And these aren't just great skills for your career, they'll also help you outside of work. Some examples: - Maintain contact with more of my friends from different groups. This isn't just beneficial for one's life outside of work - several interesting career opportunities have come to me through university friends. - Get involved deeper with a diverse range of societies. I was in the committee of a couple and intermittently joined events of several others, but many had great, interesting people, focused on interesting projects and ideologies that I wish I had kept in touch with. University makes it super easy to broaden your horizons and discover new orthogonal interests. - Get good at presenting. I think I was quite decent when I started work thanks to the dozens of interviews and day-long assessment centres I had to do when applying for jobs in investment banking. Even outside of the interviews, there are plenty of other opportunities for this at university e.g. team projects, societies, etc. This all gives you a better ability to not just present something you've been working on, but also yourself, in an interview, and to others during networking opportunities. - Follow your passions. For me, a passionate person is a very hireable quality. I'm sure you find something interesting outside of work, get into it more, read about it, do it, speak to others who like it, etc. For me, getting involved in my passions made me happier generally, but was also useful for mentioning in passing in interviews, or striking up networking conversations, or even for drawing analogies in solving a related work problem.