Develop My Skills

How do employers know I have these skills?

Many employers will applicants against a range of criteria.  There may be a job specification which will make this explicit.  If not, you will need to identify the competencies the employer requires through the advert, job description and your research into the company.

In order to prove that you possess these skills, you will need to provide evidence to support your claim: it is not enough to say that you can do something – you have to prove it!

This is where all the work experience you have undertaken, the part time work you have taken on, the voluntary work you signed up for needs to be carefully considered, as well as the particular elements of your academic studies, and your social life.  All of these can provide that much needed evidence to prove to employers that you have put those required skills into practice.

Evidencing your skills

The University of Bolton has developed the Graduate Attributes Matrix for Employability (GAME) which provides an overview of the key skills it expects all graduates to leave University with. 

GAME is use by the Careers Team to help you self-assess where you are in terms of employability skills and attributes.  This model should be used to assess your professional development during your time at University, and provide you with a foundation for the start of your career.

Rather than viewing this as a tick list you will address on one occasion, you should make an assessment of where you are at this point in time, set your goals and determine what needs to be done in order to get that dream job.

Consider your USP (unique selling point).  What are your unique strengths, skills, attributes, attitudes and experiences which will help to distinguish you in the job market?  Do you have good, relevant examples for each attribute?

By developing an action plan now to address GAME, you will significantly increase your employability skills which will help you to enter your chosen profession.