Plan Skills Development

Unit Descriptor
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to identify and
document current skills and to plan future skills development under the guidance of an
appropriate adviser
Plan skill development
Element: seek advice on future career directions
Element: conduct self assessment of skills

1. Seek advice on future career directions

1.1 Identify possible career directions in industry or organization.
Why is career advice important?
Along the way, and more than in most occupations, individuals are free to make decisions
and choices about how they spend their time and about what they do. Making those decisions
requires information and judgment about consequences, since the decisions you make now
are likely to matter for the long term. With limited information, individuals lack the basis
needed to make informed judgments. That’s not likely to lead to the best decisions! And since
time is finite, “yes” to a new commitment today also means “no” to a current activity or
future opportunity. Career advice from people with information and experience can provide a
crucial context for decision-making and career development.
Lack of access to career advice—often because of few opportunities for informal interactions
in which information is conveyed casually—is one of the most widely reported barriers to
career advancement. Moreover, there is evidence that all women and men of color are
particularly likely to suffer career setbacks from lack of career guidance

What is the goal of providing career advice?

The ultimate goal of giving career advice to junior employees is to enhance their chances of
career success in earning permanent status or advancement and promotion through
achievements in their jobs.
• Providing information about promotion and occupancy processes
• Providing constructive and supportive feedback on specific work or on career
progress
• Providing encouragement and support
• Helping to foster important connections and visibility
What are the different forms of career advising?
Where will junior employees find career advice? We believe they may find it in many kinds
of interactions and relationships, including with peers. The following identifies several types
of career advising:

Specific (one-on-one) advising: This kind of advice depends on conferring with someone
very familiar with specific issues unique to the junior faculty member’s field, or involves
direct and specific feedback from a supervisor such as a department chair. Types of specific
advising include:
 Review of current activities and future plans. These may include:
 Research activity, including publishing, grant activity, etc.
  service activity, on campus and nationally
 teaching activity, both in formal courses and mentoring
students
 clinical assignments
 Review of documents, like curriculum vitae, annual reports, required professional
statements
 Critical feedback in the crucial years prior to tenure reviews or promotions, with
delineation of the exact criteria by which that faculty member will be evaluated at the
annual or third year review
 Personal advice on sensitive issues that individuals do not feel comfortable discussing
in groups
 Identification and facilitation of specific opportunities for faculty members to grow
into leadership positions
Group advising: Not all career advice requires one-on-one interaction. “Group advising”
refers to advising that can be accomplished for the benefit of multiple individuals
simultaneously.
Sessions can be led by one or by a few senior faculty and address broad issues such as a
collegial conversation about the intellectual concerns of the department or program,
developing new courses, teaching evaluations, time management, or policies on tenure.
Zone advising: This refers to interactions with individuals with particular areas of expertise
(zones) such as successful grant funding, university service assignments, or teaching and
learning resources such as the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). In this
variation on the group advising idea, one senior leader can serve as a resource on a particular
topic for multiple junior faculty members.
Peer advising: Another variation on group advising is provided by facilitating career-
relevant interactions among peers. Junior faculty can assist one another by sharing
information, strategies, knowledge about resources, and general moral support. Types of peer
advising activities include:
• Dissemination of information on institutional policies similar to the packages provided to all
junior faculty/new hires. Topics may include dual career programs, modified duties, delays of
the tenure review, leave policies, and work-family resources.
 Guidance in preparation of annual reports and tenure and promotion dossiers.
 Discussion of the level of achievement expected for promotion in various
areas (e.g., research, teaching, success at obtaining external funding).
 Communication of eligibility for internal awards and external national and
international recognition.
You want a job! So what is stopping you?
Of course, it’s very common for job seekers to worry about choosing a career that is the
perfect match. There are ways to handle this if you are at any stage of your career, whether as
a recent graduate, someone who has been out of the job market for a while or even if you are
a mid-life career changer. By conducting a self assessment of your skills and interests you
can generally focus on careers that will lead to long-term satisfaction. During a self
assessment you essentially gather detailed data about yourself in order to make a better
informed career decision by looking at your inherent values, talents, interests, and personality
as they relate to work.

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Future career directions
Identify your career path by:
• preparing well in advance
• following all the rules
• finding the correct mental attitude
• Possessing any relevant qualifications.
Before you begin the hunt for a job, there are two critical issues you have to look at:
 What kinds of jobs there are out there that you could do?
 Which of these you would be happy and successful doing?
You may have a very definite idea about a career you would like to follow or, like many
other people, you are far from sure. Often you will choose a job you know something
about just because you are not aware of the full range of possibilities.
Identify possible industries and possible jobs
One good starting point is to identify an industry that appeals to you first. If your parents
own a farm, your likely industry will be Primary Industry, unless you really want to get
away from the farm. If your family has a family business of any kind, you may want to go
into that business. But even then, there are lots of potential roles within a business and you
may not be interested in them all. For most of us, we have no real idea what the options are
unless we get some help finding our way around the work world.
"Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life."

Develop your personal work goals and priorities:

• industry type
• Full-time or part-time
• 9 to 5 or shift work
• permanent or casual (agency)
• internal or external (to the organization)

Look around you. How many people do you know who love the work they do? You can
love the work you do if you take the time to research the work world and your own likes
and dislikes.
Industry
An industry is a group of firm that offer a product or class of product that are close
substitutes for each other.
future career direction through:
• study
• working environment
• career-planning agencies
• Life experiences.

A career is a set of work choices representing what you do for a living.

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ACTIVITY 1

Identify an Industry Sector

List the industry you know in our environment of career sectors.

Find one that you think you might want to work in and write that sector below.
___________________________________________________________________
Now go into the sub-sections under your chosen sector. Choose one of these and write it
below.
____________________________________________________________________

Select a town and write below how many jobs are listed in your sector.
____________________________________________________________________

From this list, choose a job that you know nothing about but you think it sounds interesting.
List this job below.
____________________________________________________________________
write a few sentences about what this job entail.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

Finish the following sentence in relation to the job above.

This job would/would not be suitable to me because __________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
_

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Have you got it right?
Often you cannot tell by the name of a job whether it will be a suitable career for you. It is
much easier to do a little research into a profession before you start, rather than change your
course mid track. Keeping your options open and doing a little investigation can save you a
lot of hassle in the future. Let’s now utilise an Internet career pathway quiz in the next
activity to help select the right career for you.
 ACTIVITY 2

Complete a career quiz

Complete one of the following quizzes and answer the following questions.
See:
Career quiz (15 questions)
quizzes, career quiz
career wizard (63 questions)

Write the name of the quiz you selected.

_______________________________________________________________________
What did you learn about yourself and the types of job you might like from this quiz?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________Do
you agree with the results you obtained from the quiz? Why/why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

1.2 Identify and priorities personal work goals

So far you have started to put the work world under a microscope. Now let's have a deeper
look at who you are so you can identify the kind of work that will suit you.
Public
service
Private
Travel
company

Large
Voluntary
organisati
work Present ons
Position
Student
Casual
part-time
Self work Work
employed Interstate

Part-time Work
work Overseas
Partnersh
ip

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Who are you?
Each person has a unique personality and way of looking at the world they live in. In order
to see where your place in the world is, some self-assessment is necessary. You have done
those on-line career quizzes, so let's see now if you can identify more about yourself that will
help you choose a career that is right for you.

Many people find it difficult to put themselves under the microscope and it can feel
uncomfortable. At best we let others; parents, teachers, partners, tell us who we are in their
eyes - and that is often very uncomfortable, but we rarely take the effort to check what they
say and work it out for ourselves. There are many ways to assess your personality and formal
psychological testing systems are available should you wish to explore them. Some of these
tests are used when you apply for a position with some companies.

Personality tests such as Myers-Briggs or Neuro-Linguistic Programming are conducted by

specialists who have been trained to administer them correctly. You probably do not
have the luxury of doing this, so we will do the next best thing. The questions that are
asked in the exercises below will give you enough of an indication for you to understand
where and how you might be motivated and what type of work might suit your personality.
What are you interested in?
Begin by answering the questions on the following page for yourself, then get someone you
trust to do it for you. They will see things about you that you cannot see yourself.
Sometimes how we see ourselves and how others see us can be quite different. Our own
sense of our abilities is usually either over-estimated (we are too confident) or under-
estimated (we are not confident enough). If we continue to over or under estimate our
abilities we ensure that the workplace we have joined will become a place of frustration and
stress.

ACTIVITY 3

What do I enjoy most?

What do I enjoy doing by myself (some examples may be reading, fishing etc)?
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What activities do I enjoy doing with other people (some examples might be going to the movies,
playing tennis etc)?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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Now get another person in the room to go over your responses for Activity 4. Make sure
that person gives honest, constructive feedback. Remember, there are no right or wrong
answers.
ACTIVITY 4

Jobs I might like the idea of

Below are some examples of jobs. In each example, recommend what the person should do
and why. Also state whether you would be interested in the job and why/why not.

Xavier finds that he prefers doing things in a group. He likes being in the ‘in’ crowd. He has
been offered a great new job, but he’s unsure of whether to take it or not. His boss would
require him to go on long trips on his own. He would be responsible for making all
decisions in the field and reporting back to his boss with his findings. He would be
expected to return to head office once every couple of months for feedback and updates.
Of course he would get a company car, expense account and be well paid, and it is a
move up the corporate ladder.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. Kate loves being with people. She likes talking to them, helping them and being involved
in their lives. She has recently moved to a new town where she doesn’t know anyone.
Luckily for her, she has been accepted for two jobs. The first job is with an accountancy
firm handling the reception desk, basic office duties and some simple bookkeeping. It will
pay well and help her get on her feet in the new town quickly. The second job does not
pay as well, but is with an employment agency in town, working as an employment
officer. Her main role would be liaising with local businesses and helping clients seek
work. After 12 months experience, her performance in this job will be reviewed and a pay
rise is likely.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
___
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Developing Personal Goals

Think about what you want in life. Think about how you are going to get there. Where
does work fit in with your life plan and personal goals? You may be hungry for promotion
and responsibility. Or you may value pleasure and home and friends more highly than
your job. Most likely, you want to lead a full life and spend all your time in a
meaningful way. And you want to be good at your job and for the experience to be rewarding.
That's all! A valuable exercise is to sit down and work out what it is that you want to
achieve from work and in your personal life. Ask yourself "What are my personal goals?"
By first identifying your personal goals, you can develop a long-term game plan to achieve
them. By working out what you want, you'll also be able to strike a balance between home and
work that's right for you.

 ACTIVITY 5

Goals

On a separate piece of paper, or a blank word document, answer the following questions. It’s up
to you whether you share this information with others.
Think back over the past year. Write down:
All the major things that happened – good and bad – over which you had control.
What you achieved and what you didn’t achieve though you would have liked to. Be honest and
truthful with yourself.
Ask yourself some hard questions.
“In what areas of my life am I not achieving what I want?”
“How am I limiting myself?”
“Where am I lacking confidence?”

Write down your top five goals for next year.

Be specific.
Make sure they are measurable goals (i.e. at the end of the year you will be able to say whether
or not you achieved them)
Have deadlines for achieving them.

Identifying Your Personal and Work Values

Your values about work have a lot to do with doing a self assessment of your skills to find a
great career path. These are the ways you feel about work, your status and how this relates to
you personally. For example, if you have work values that include entrepreneurialism and a
deep sense of responsibility, you are likely to be more satisfied with a career that includes
owning your own business. By understanding your personal values, you will be able to select
a career path that is more in line with how you see the world of work and what matters the
most to you.
Evaluating Your Talents

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As an adult you no doubt have many talents, some of which are transferrable to career types
and work duties. When conducting your self assessment, be sure to take an inventory of your
natural skills to match up a career that will use these talents. This can be a good time to
research different career paths to determine if they will allow you to use your talents in a
constructive way, or if there will be certain talents you will need to develop. Failure to
recognize this early on can result in frustration over a job where you can't use your talents to
realize your full potential.
Learning More about Your Interests
While understanding your talents and skills is important, if you want to be successful in a
career, you will want to know how your interests come into play. Interests include what you
enjoy doing on an average day. Perhaps you like talking with people, being outdoors or
working with children? Knowing in advance what really gets you excited about life is a basic
component of any career assessment. Your interests can open your eyes to a wide range of
career choices and give you more joy on the job daily.
Considering Your Personality Type
As the old saying goes, “it takes many different personalities to make the world go around.”
Nothing could be more truthful when dealing with an assessment of yourself in terms of your
career. Your personality, which comes from life’s experiences and genetics, can influence
how well you get matched to careers as an adult. Personality can be a factor that can make
you good at what you do. By honouring your unique personality, you can find a career that
brings fulfilment and allows you to be genuine at work.
Identifying personal skills
It would be great to think that our ability to tell a joke, play football or tap dance would be
enough of a skill in the average workplace to ensure a wonderful career. Of course if
these are the careers you are pursuing, then these are not only recreational skills but the
work ones as well.
Generally speaking however, the term 'personal skills' refers to the intangible skills that these
recreational skills show. For example if you tell a good joke it could be that you are a great
communicator and that you bring a sense of humour and fun to the workplace. Or if you play
football, it could be that you are a good team player, have a great sense of discipline, fair play
or physical stamina. These personal skills then show what kind of person you are and how
you may relate to the whole organisation. A prospective employer will take this into
consideration particularly when they have more than one applicant with the professional skills
suitable for the position.
ACTIVITY 6
Identify the personal skills I bring to my workplace
Using a scale of 1 - 5 (1 being almost non-existent and 5 being most developed) score
your skills in the following list. Remember to be honest. No one is good at everything
and no one is bad at everything.

QUALITY QUALITIES I HAVE AND ENJOY

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Accuracy 1 2 3 4 5
Adaptability 1 2 3 4 5
Ask for help when needed 1 2 3 4 5
‘Can do’ attitude 1 2 3 4 5
Commitment 1 2 3 4 5
Communicator 1 2 3 4 5
Complete tasks 1 2 3 4 5
Computing skills 1 2 3 4 5
Creativity/flair 1 2 3 4 5
Critical thinking 1 2 3 4 5
Customer/Client service 1 2 3 4 5
Enthusiasm 1 2 3 4 5
Excellence 1 2 3 4 5
Flexibility 1 2 3 4 5
Focused 1 2 3 4 5
Follow through 1 2 3 4 5
Honest 1 2 3 4 5
Initiative 1 2 3 4 5
Innovation 1 2 3 4 5
Inspire others 1 2 3 4 5
Literacy skills 1 2 3 4 5
Listening skills 1 2 3 4 5
Leadership skills 1 2 3 4 5
Motivation 1 2 3 4 5
Numeracy 1 2 3 4 5
Openness to ideas and others 1 2 3 4 5
Organisational skills 1 2 3 4 5
Patience 1 2 3 4 5
Persistence 1 2 3 4 5
Personal responsibility 1 2 3 4 5
Problem solver 1 2 3 4 5
Project management 1 2 3 4 5
Quick learner 1 2 3 4 5
Reliable 1 2 3 4 5
Research ability 1 2 3 4 5
Self confidence 1 2 3 4 5
Sense of humour 1 2 3 4 5
Solutions orientated 1 2 3 4 5
Team player 1 2 3 4 5
Understanding of business practice 1 2 3 4 5
Willingness 1 2 3 4 5
Written skills 1 2 3 4 5

ACTIVITY 7

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Identifying my strengths and weaknesses.
In the box below, write out your strengths and weaknesses. This will draw a picture of
who you are right now.

Strengths Weaknesses

1.3Discuss future work/career directions with appropriate people and identify additional
skills requirements Appropriate people may include
 assessors
 colleagues
 mentors
 supervisors
 trainers
It's no use deciding you want to be an aeronautical engineer if you left school early and don't
intend to go back. It's probably not going to be possible to dig archaeological ruins if you
have a bad back, but there may be other aspects of archaeology that will appeal to you just as
much if you just research the options. When choosing a career you have to cut the suit to fit
the cloth, but it's amazing what the options really are when you start looking.

You've just completed a lot of self analysis, and now it is time to get expert help. If you are
a job seeker who has never worked, you may find it difficult to pay for this help, so you
need to know where you can get it free of charge.

Careers Counselors

Most schools have their own careers or guidance counsellors who are specially trained to help
you decide on subjects and a career path. Careers counselors have all the latest and greatest
career information at their fingertips and can offer advice on a multitude of careers and what
you need to do to get into them. They have local knowledge and contacts to set you up with
some work experience in a field you want to try out. Make sure you also keep your eyes open
around school or college for other opportunities to find out about your options, such as careers
seminars and training expos.

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 Work Experience

Another great way to find people to talk to you about your choices is to do some work
experience in a relevant field. You will get to see how other people doing the job are faring
and will get some first hand advice as to how you should approach the job. Again, if you are
at any kind of college, their careers office should be able to help you arrange work
experience. If not, you may have to find employers in your field of interest and call them
direct, although expect a few difficulties with this as the people who answer phones may not
be able to put you onto the people who could discuss work experience with you. In other
words, make a list of at least five prospects before you start ringing, then ring them all in turn
until you get a "yes". Don't get disheartened at the first knock-back.

1.4 Take into account personal values and attitudes regarding work and business, in
planning future work/career directions
You've done a lot of research to this point: you've looked at jobs, you've looked at
yourself, and you've looked at jobs again but with more information about yourself at
hand. So by now you should have short-listed a few options. Now you are going to look at
yourself yet again, but at a deeper level.

While you are doing the following exercises, keep your preferred jobs in your head and
assess whether they fit with your answers.

What are your values?

This may seem like an unimportant question but researchers studying the elements of
job satisfaction have found that our values can be more important than skills or salary when
it comes to an employee staying in the job they have chosen for themselves. One in eight
job searchers interviewed stated that a conflict in values (either the boss' or the
company's) was the main reason they left their employment.
ACTIVITY 8
Identify what I value. Complete the following exercise to discover what you value. Tick
each value with 1 (least important) to 5 (extremely important).
VALUE 1 2 3 4 5
Creativity
Skills development
Variety in tasks
Challenge in tasks
Indoors
Outdoors
Doing work others see as important
Helping others
High earnings
Mobility of the workplace
Working in the field
Travel (interstate or overseas)

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People contact
Managing others
Not having to work in leisure hours
Not having to work split shifts
Low-moderate stress levels
Physical activity in the workplace
Working with people you get along with
Environmentally conscious workplace
Morally sustainable work practices

ACTIVITY 9

How do I approach learning and work? Write down your answers to the following
questions.

What subjects did you enjoy doing at school?

Do you know where you are along the path in terms

of mapping out a career?
Are you interested in finding solutions or only
looking at what is not working in your life?
Are you fully automated (can you use the basic tools
of computer, fax, and email)?

Is there anything you haven’t yet mastered, but

would like to?
Do you take responsibility for your actions,
including failure? Can you do this without blame or
shame?
Do you finish your day’s work and leave on time
most nights?
Do you complete assignments?
 With time to spare
 Just on the deadline
 Consistently late
 Never finish assignments and usually drop
out of courses
Are you willing to make mistakes?

Do you suggest ways to create new products or

services or streamline work practices, or in some
way improve the systems you are living or working
with?

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If you cannot solve a problem do you:
 See your manager immediately and let them
know what the problem is?
 Wait to see if you can solve it by the end of
the day?
 Throw the problem away; hoping that it will
not come back to you again?
 Pass it to another term member and move on
to something easier?
1.5 Identify additional skills required and determine appropriate method/s to
acquire these skills
Method/s to acquire additional skills may include:
 attendance at workshop or demonstration
 formal course participation
 on-the-job coaching or mentoring
 work experience
So, have you reached a decision on what you want to do? If you have made a decision, you
now need to research that decision to ensure you can achieve it. If you have not made a
decision, you still have to research your range of options to see if they are achievable.
A plan of attack
Once you've done the hard yards and decided on a career direction, you next have to plan
how you're going to get there. For example, you might plan to do a course at university,
followed by several years of full-time employment before undertaking a post-graduate
degree in a specialist area. Your plan needs to cover how you're going to get to university or
other type of college if you don't yet have the pre-requisites or grades required for the course
you want to do, and how you're going to support yourself while you're there.

You must be prepared to be flexible. You might find you get the opportunity to live and
travel overseas, meaning a change of plan. Or, as you get older and experience new things,
you might want to change your career direction in line with your new interests. Remember,
changing your mind is perfectly OK. The earlier in life you make these changes, the longer
you have to steer in your new direction.
 SELF-CHECK 1
1. List your current skills
2. List at least 3 future career goals that you want to have
3. What additional personal and key skills do you want to develop in the future?
4. Describe the methods used to develop additional skills
2.1 Identify work, life and study experiences relating to business
Have I already gained in your work and personal life? When you put these experiences
together with current skills and knowledge that you already have it will give you some idea as
to what a good job for you might be.
This information can be discussed with a trainer or assessor who might then be able to
suggest whether or not you need to gain some further skills development.
In this topic you will learn to:-
 Identify work, life and study experiences relating to business

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  Assess current skills, knowledge and attitudes against a checklist of relevant
competencies
 Discuss results of self-assessment with trainer or assessor
 Identify further skills development needs
Experiences relating to business may include:
 family responsibilities
 study including formal or informal learning
 volunteer or recreational experience
 work experience
Why is self assessment important in career choice?
Self assessment is important in career choice because it helps candidates select careers based
on unique personalities, skills, interests and values. This step done early-on can help to
prevent years of needless frustration that can come about as a result of choosing a career that
doesn't mesh well with these factors. A self assessment is also important in discovering new
career paths that may not have been considered previously. Job seekers can use this
information to be more open to other careers available in new and developing industries.
Additionally, doing a self assessment can help to identify areas of weakness where more
training or education can help to develop existing skills into a long-lasting career.

Self-assessment of skills
What are your skills and life experiences?
• Qualifications:
– secondary school
– tertiary education
– trade or paraprofessional education
• Experiences:
– paid employment
– voluntary employment
– life

Life experiences are abilities that help to adapt and behave positively so that we can deal
effectively with the challenges of everyday life
ACTIVITY 10
Identify my current skills and experience
What technology do you use Work
(eg. fax, computer, internet, Life
email, telephone)? School
What research, analysis or Work
writing have you done?
Life
School
What experience have you had Work
dealing with other people? Life
School

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 What training have you had? Work
Life
School
List any other relevant skills Work
you believe you have here Life
School

2.2 Assess current skills, knowledge and attitudes against a checklist or relevant
competencies

Checking job choice against current attitudes to work

Relevant competencies may include

 academic results
 interpersonal skills
 organisation skills
 personal attributes
 personal skills e.g. demonstrated leadership, team work
 practical skills directly related to a workplace
Your attitude to work – like your attitude to life in general – will determine how stimulating
and satisfying the ride is. You might know people whose attitude is to do as little as possible –
people who wish away their day until home time. You can avoid this if you find a job you love
doing. If you have a bad attitude to work, no job will satisfy you and you will fail at whatever
you do. The key to a good attitude is to WANT to do the work. This course is designed to help
you find the work you want to do and will love doing.
Checking job choice against attitudes to other people
One key factor in enjoying work is enjoying the people working around you. It is important to
be able to recognise and relate to other peoples’ differences.
ACTIVITY 11
Look at the following list of differences and examine how you behave in relation to those
differences. Then discuss these differences as a class.
Do you treat this person differently?
Difference
How?
Gender – a person of the opposite sex to you

Sexual orientation – someone who does not

conform to the male/female conventions
Age – someone who is 30 years older or younger
than you

Temperament tests

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There are lots of different kinds of temperament, personality or work style tests that give us
insights into ourselves and others. So let’s look at who you are in this system? Personality
style tests can really help in raising your own self-knowledge and ability to understand others.

2.3 Discuss results of self-assessment with trainer or assessor

Do you see yourself differently now? You surely do.
You now have a much clearer picture of:
 your personal strengths and weaknesses
 your current work skills
 your current learning (therefore your potential skills)
 your current work experience
 your values
 your interests
 possible work options
So now you will be able to discuss who you are and what you want with your trainer for this
course, or some other person supplied by the college at which you are doing this course.

ACTIVITY 12

As a result of completing activities to date, you should have a clearer picture of your personal
strengths and weaknesses, current work skills, values, interests and possible work options. With
your classroom teacher, discuss the following points:

Have you found a career path that you want to follow?

Are you likely to be able to acquire the necessary skills and abilities to do the work?

2.4 Identify further skills development needs

Skills I need to develop

Good trainers or instructors know that different people learn in different ways. Good students
also work out how they learn best. Make sure that any training you do is suitable for your
learning type.

There are many ways of looking at learning styles but the simplest is to break them down into
three basic modes:
 VISUAL – some people like to see what you mean and make decisions based on how
things look.
 AUDITORY – some people like to hear your ideas and decide based on how things sound.
 KINAESTHETIC – some people like to experience what you are talking about and
decide by how things feel to them.
Creating a career plan
Many people do not work out a career plan. They hope that the ‘right job’ will come along and

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that when they are ready they will be able to make the changes they want to move into a new
career. There are a few things wrong with this approach. It puts you on the back foot. In this
position you are more likely to be ‘reactive’ to market trends rather than be ‘active’ with them,
and you are likely to find yourself in work that you may be good enough at, but that you are
not happy doing. You can choose to be:
 Reactive – and wait for the world to do it for you
 Active – and go with the flow, keeping abreast of changes so that you can move forward with
ease.
 Pro-active – and be in the forefront of change, creating the trends and new innovations.

 SELF-CHECK 2
I. Give short answer for the following questions
1. What kind of work, life and study experiences do you have relating to business?
2. Why and how you assess your current skills, knowledge and attitude?
3. Describe some of the personal and key skills required to be effective at both work and
in your daily lives
II. Match the employability skills/ work qualifications listed in column “A” with the
corresponding industry/ enterprise requirements described in column “B”
A
1. Team work
2. Communication
3. Planning and organizing
4. Self management
5. Technology
B
A. Behaving in ways that contribute to an effective and safe working environment
B. Operating a range of business equipment
C. Working with colleagues and supervisors to produce work place document
D. Formulating own work schedule to ensure tasks are completed on time
E. Gathering conveying and receiving verbal and written information

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3 PREPARE PORTFOLIO OF EVIDENCE
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a personalized collection of materials. Portfolios are often identified with
people in the arts (photography, design, etc.) and conjure up images of large black cases or
binders with samples of work. They are now widely used in many other fields.
A portfolio is:
• A reflection of you as a professional
• A record of your professional development
• Proof of performance on the job or in class
• What you have accomplished (i.e., tangible artifacts/evidence)
• Evidence of your learning new skills
• Paper-, computer-, or web-based
Why create a portfolio?
Portfolios can be used for a variety of purposes. This guide focuses on creating portfolios that
are used to:
• Market your capabilities in job interviews
• Negotiate promotions and raises
• Apply for bonuses, scholarships, or grants
• Document the quality and quantity of your professional development
• Demonstrate prior work or learning experiences for educational credit
Regardless of purpose, portfolios document skills and accomplishments through
examples of work.
3.1 Identify and discuss types of evidence required
 Types of evidence may include:
 academic results including informal studies
 personal interests and experiences
 previous employment
 recreational experiences
 volunteer work
 work experience

What’s included in a portfolio?

Items found in most portfolios include:
• Resume or CV (ask a career advisor for information on CV preparation)
• Transcripts
• Evidence of professional affiliations
• Licenses or certifications
• Letters of reference
• Evidence of specific skills (e.g., public speaking, leadership, writing)
• Work samples (e.g., class projects, items produced during internship or co-op
experiences)
Depending upon your profession, specific items can be added to provide an accurate
representation of your knowledge and abilities (see example at right). As you can imagine,

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your portfolio can become quite a large collection of items. During an interview it would be
impossible and unwise to go through every item with an employer. A better strategy is to
select items from your portfolio to be included in a smaller interview portfolio. This portfolio
can be presented during an interview to add evidence of important knowledge or skills you
possess that are relevant to the position or promotion at hand. Take your cues from the
interviewer in regards to an appropriate time to share items from your portfolio.

3.2 Develop a clear understanding of the purpose of evidence

Knowing what sort of work you would like to do is only half the battle. You then need to
actually get the job. So now you need to know how to impress an employer and stand out from
other applicants.
ACTIVITY 15

Identifying the evidence you will need to collect and why it matters
Work/Evidence Samples
For each sample, provide a reflection statement, either in paragraph or bulleted format that
contains:
• A brief description of the sample item and the context in which the item was
created (e.g., “A marketing plan for a nonprofit agency created for Marketing
425”)
• A detailed list of the competencies developed or revealed by the sample. (It is
this second part of the reflection statement that makes the portfolio element
especially useful in the interview process)
It is surprising how much paperwork there is that can tell someone else who you are. Even if
you have never worked before, a prospective employer can tell a lot about you from these
pieces of paper. Fill out the table below on the evidences you may need.

Portfolio of evidence
Before applying for any employment you will need:
• letter of application or cover letter
• resume
• certified copies of qualifications
• references
• referees
• Examples of projects or personal/work achievements.

Evidence I have Why I need it – what it

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Type of evidence shows about me
Formal Education
You will need originals of your:
 School reports
You will constantly be required to copy
these for job applications, so keep them
filed safely and cleanly.
Informal Education
You should have evidence of any short
courses you have attended or completed.
 Personal interest courses
 Sports training (football, volleyball
etc)
 Non-sporting (chess, school
magazine etc)
 First aid training
 Work experience
These will tell your prospective
employer that you are motivated,
interested and able to stick at something
you like doing.
Referees
You should organize referees who will
be able to say good things about you.
These can be previous employers,
teachers, coaches or perhaps a family
friend – as long as they have a good
word to say about you.
Computer and other technology skills
These are important and deserve
attention in their own right. Name
programs and software you have used.
Also include word processing skills,
graphics software, and spreadsheeting
and so on.

3.3 Collect examples of evidence for portfolio

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Evidence to support the fact you are who you say you are

You should now collect together all your documents relating to courses, volunteer and paid
work you have done.

ACTIVITY 16

My Portfolio
In a folder, collect together all of the information necessary for obtaining a job. This may
include samples of work.

3.4Complete application for recognition of current competency and/or personal resume with
assistance from assessor

A resume must be simple, but impressive, and be as generic as possible so that you can use it
for any job you apply for. Employers see hundreds and possibly thousands of resumes in a
year. The purpose of a resume is not to get a job – it is to get an interview for a job!! Your
resume is basically an advertisement to sell your skills to a potential employer. You need to
capture their interest and it is best to keep it short and sweet. Your resume must contain
personal details, qualifications, practical skills, and work experience.

Personal resume may include:

 contact details
 education and extra-curricular activities
 past employment and/or volunteer work
 personal attributes, skills, strengths
 professional development i.e. formal or informal courses undertaken
 work experience
 work related or personal references

ACTIVITY 17

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 My Resume and Cover letter
By using the examples below, complete a resume and cover letter. You may wish to use the templates
in Microsoft Word to create your work.

They can be found under File – New – Templates - On my computer – Other documents – then choose
either the elegant resume, professional resume or contemporary resume. Save this template into your
directory and fill in your details. You should also refer to the resume on the following pages and the
notes above.

The template for a letter may be found under File - New – Templates – On my computer – Letters and
Faxes – then choose either the elegant letter, professional letter or contemporary letter.

PERSONAL PARTICULARS

NAME: ----------------------------------------------

ADDRESS: -----------------------------------------------

TELEPHONE: ------------------------------------------------

HEALTH: Excellent

EDUCATION
(GORO High School, ADAMA)
SEM 2, 2011 - Year 10 results:
English B
Maths B
Science A
Art A
Study of Society and the Environment A
Business Education A
SKILLS LIST

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Communication skills:
 I am able to interact with people of all ages
 Attentive listening skills
 Friendly telephone manner
 Ability to accurately record messages
 Polite to customers
 Ability to handle difficult customers
 Excellent presentation
Computer/Administration skills:

 Able to use all Microsoft programs

 Internet and email skills
 Accurate typing
 General filing duties
 Experience in using a fax machine, photocopier and binder
 Operation of cash register
 Money handling skills
 Banking
 Operation of EFTPOS

Labouring skills:
 Lawn mowing
 Washing and wiping dishes
 Gardening
 Knowledge of the following:
o Electric sander
o Electric drill
 Painting
PERSONAL QUALITIES

 Positive attitude
 Excellent time management skills
 Self-motivated
 Good team worker
 Good sense of humour
 Honest and trustworthy
 Punctual
 Able to show initiative
 Eager to learn
 Confident

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CLUB INVOLVEMENT

5 years – member of Panthers Basketball – junior player

6 years – member of Little Athletics Club, Maryborough

8 years – member of the Maryborough and District Tennis Association

VOLUTERY WORK

Red Cross
Anti AIDS club
Environmental protection

HOBBIES ANDINTERRESTS

 Camping
 Basketball
 Tennis
 Athletics
 Fishing
 Restoring old cars
REFERNCE
THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXAMPLE OF A COVERING LETTER TO BE INCLUDED
WITH YOUR RESUME, WHEN APPLYING FOR A JOB

GETACHEW BILISA
Address Adama
TEL XXXXXXX

Dear Madam/Sir:
I would like to be considered an applicant for the position of “Retail Assistant” which was
advertised in the Ethiopian Herald on Monday, 26 January 2014.
I have the relevant qualifications and experience that would make me an asset to your
organisation. (Expand on your skills and experience that relate to this job).

Mention your personal qualities that you could offer the employer (being honest and
reliable, motivated, your willingness to undertake further training).

Further detailed information about my suitability to this position may be found in the attached
resume, along with names of referees. I would welcome an opportunity to further discuss this
position and I may be contacted after 3.30 pm on telephone number.521911000000
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully

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Getachew Bilisa
Enc

 Self check 3
Identify Current Skills and Experience
Identify your current skills and experience you will need to make a list of everything that you
currently do in your work if you are working.
If you are not working, look around your home, school or social life to find the answers.

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