Self Assessment
SKILLS ASSESSMENT : PLANNING AHEAD
This section enables you to assess your key skills now in order that you can then plan for and reflect upon your skills development during your work experience .
WHAT DO EMPLOYERS WANT ? When you start making applications to graduate employers you will be asked a range of questions about your skills and need to provide evidence of these . The questions below give a few examples of the strategies employers use to gather evidence that you have the skills they are looking for . This makes identifying the skills and knowledge you have extremely important .
Teamwork : “ Describe a time when you have contributed successfully to a team in which you have been involved . Outline your role , the impact you had on the work of the team and the outcome .”
Communication and Influencing : “ Tell us about an occasion when you have had to convince someone of a course of action . How did you influence them ? Why was the outcome achieved better as a result ?”
Analysis , Problem Solving and Creative Thinking : “ Describe a difficult problem that you have solved . State how you decided which were the salient issues . Describe what action you undertook and the result . What alternative approaches could you have taken ?”
Planning and Implementation : “ Outline a challenging project , activity or event which you have managed . State your objective , the tasks involved , any adaptations necessary and explain how you measured your achievements .”
In an employment market that is very competitive you need to have clearly defined skills and qualities that make you stand out from the crowd . For additional skill / competencies required by recruiters see The Recruiters ’ Shopping List .
Employers are very precise and demanding in terms of the competencies and skills they expect graduates to possess , so it is critical to be able to provide specific evidence of these at all stages of the application process .
COMPLETION OF THIS SECTION WILL :
• Enable you to carry out an assessment of your skills .
• Help you to recognise the skills , attributes and knowledge you have already .
• Help you to identify gaps , areas for improvement and plan ahead to fill these .
• Enable you to build up evidence , which will be invaluable for completing application forms and performing effectively at interviews .
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