The Graduate Life skills table below (adapted from Cheltenham & Gloucester
College of Higher Education, United Kingdom) will assist you to articulate the
skills and qualities you have developed as a student. The skills listed are
based on the major skills employers seek in graduates.
You should be able to offer examples of how and when you developed these skills.
Skills |
Academic- developed in relation to
your degree |
Communication |
Writing: grammatically correct, well reasoned,
succint & structured: reports, essays, assignments, thesis
Presentation: with confidence, in an interesting
way: both formal and informal, before a group, one to one, Presenting ideas
effectively in a formal situation using appropriate aids to understanding
Discussion: articulating relevant ideas
and opinions
Listening: attentively
in lectures, seminars, tutorials, meetings, one to one discussion
Communicating effectively in groups and
one to one situations
Listening
positively and responding to verbal and non verbal messages
Using appropriate communication tools (e.g.
telephone, e mail and internet)
Influencing
others and gaining agreement or acceptance of an idea/plan/activity
Negotiating to gain agreement satisfactory
to all parties
Being able to clarify,
summarise and check understanding |
| Teamwork |
Reliability: in group work: to attend meetings,
be punctual, contribute appropriately to task
Recognition:
of own strengths and limitations and of others
Encouragement:
and support of other members work
Working
with diverse people and understanding different perspectives
Understanding your own and othersà roles in
a team
Recognising and utilising
the skills and knowledge of team members
Showing
consideration for others and their views
Motivating
yourself and others to the achievement of common goals
Fostering
co-operation and dealing with conflict- give/accept constructive criticism
of work
Leading and taking responsibility |
| Leadership |
see above plus
Recognition
of how best to utilise and managethe strengths and weaknesses of team members
Direction or organisation of group project
chairing and negoitating in group discussion/activities
proactive approach: initiating new ideas
and strategies
representing views
of others eg student representative, team leader |
| Knowledge/Intellect Understanding |
Subject: specific knowledge & skills
Analysis: capability to absorb/analyse
information
Understanding: complex
theoretical ideas
Ability: to apply
knowledge and skills in different areas
Formulation:
of well reasoned arguments |
| Planning/Organisation |
Time Management: Spreading your workload,
working effectively to deadlines on daily, weekly and monthly tasks
Setting work goals: realistic and attainable-
and a clear framework for their achievement
Project
Planning: designing particular strategies to deal with different assignments/projects-
taking account of the people, literature and information sources you need
to consult
Thinking strategically
to achieve the overall goal
Organisation
of self, others and resources
Ranking
and prioritising tasks (what is important and what is urgent)
Establishing course(s) of action to meet a
specific goal |
| Problem Solving/Decision Making |
Theoretical: solving problems and making
decisions using your subject knowledge
Weighing
up: relative merits of various arguements and opinions
Practical:
in the context of a dissertion where solutions may have been suggested or
implemented |
| Maximising Opportunities/ Innovation/Transformation |
Active Participation: in all aspects of your
course- seminars, group discussions and optional events
Different
Approaches: looking for new angles and producing interesting innovative
projects and assignments |
| Self skills |
Self belief: that you can achieve your short
term and long term academic goals
Self
discipline: to motivate yourself to complete academic work
Initiative,
self motivation and self confidence
Being
hardworking and self disciplined
Showing
interest in what you are doing and being willing to Œgo the extra mileÃ
Being willing to take responsibility
Being punctual and professional |
| Using Information Technology |
Using appropriate IT tools for research and
communication
Developing competence
in word-processing, database and spreadsheet packages, use email, use Internet
Using commercial and technical applications
appropriate to the work environment |
| Research and Analytical skills |
Adopting a creative approach to research,
using a variety of sources/resources
Exploiting
new ideas and technologies to access information
Integration
of facts, concepts and principles
Critical
assessment of information to establish relevance and bias
Making
reasoned conclusions and relating data logically to other situations |
| Change Management |
Being prepared to challenge basic assumptions
Lateral thinking and finding new ways
of approaching problems
Adapting
your workstyle to new contexts, issues and colleagues |
| Ability to interpret and analyse data |
Ability to understand and interpret non-verbal
data
Using figures in a practical
context
Knowledge of appropriate
statistical techniques
Effective
presentation of non-verbal data to support an argument |
| Problem Solving and Decision making |
Analysing a problem fully to understand all
the issues
Using a logical and
systematic (or other appropriate) approach
Evaluating
options and taking calculated risks to achieve goals
Thinking
creatively to provide novel solutions and Œthinking on your feetÃ
Making realistic decisions and following
through with effective implementation
Accepting
responsibility for the outcomes and learning from them. |
