ASSESSING YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS February 2, 2016 First Tuesday

Outline ■What skills are used on the job ■Typical physics major skills ■Brainstorming your experiences ■Convert a skill category into something marketable ■Next steps Today’s topic is based on material found at 2

What knowledge and skills are used on the job? ■What are the three most common knowledge and skills used by physics bachelor’s recipients in their first “real” job after graduation? ■Discuss with a neighbor 3

4

5

Thoughts about this? 6

Typical physics major skills ■Communicating complex ideas ■Analysis and quantitative thinking ■Working with others ■Problem solving and critical thinking ■Working with laboratory instruments ■Conducting research ■Proficiency with computer hardware and software 7

Brainstorming your experiences ■On the worksheet, list your experiences that may have some relevance in a job. ■These include… –science courses you have taken –laboratory courses that you have taken –any work experience (whether paid or volunteer) –leadership experiences –events sponsored by organizations in which you have been actively involved ■Let’s share a few of these with the group 8

9

Skills Assessment Activity ■Now you’ll relate some of these experiences to the skills and knowledge discussed earlier ■Identify a skill category that appears in multiple experiences ■Follow the “Skills Assessment Guidelines” to fill out the Assessment Worksheet for at least one skill category ■There are more copies of the worksheet found at rc/live/data/excercises/CareersToolbox-Exercise4.pdf rc/live/data/excercises/CareersToolbox-Exercise4.pdf ■Feel free to work with a neighbor ■Discuss at least one example as a group 10

11

Next steps If you are a senior ■Work through the skills assessment guidelines for more skills ■Add the resulting bullet points to your resume ■Develop a few quick anecdotes to share at an interview or networking session If you are a junior or earlier ■Get more experience ■Try some of the experiences you have heard about from others ■Refine your resume 12

Next Meeting ■April 5, 2016 ■5:30 – 6:30 pm ■Topic: Student choice. Some possibilities –Career Services presentation –What’s grad school like –Job search skills such as interview, resume, cover letter –Networking skills 13