1. Employability Skills Session 2 Assessing yourself

2. Why do self- assessment? It helps you to get a better understanding of yourself. It helps you to decide what’s important to you. It gives you a system to work with as your career changes and develops throughout your whole working life. It provides you with further ideas to develop.

3. What is self- assessment? It is a step by step process which enables you to understand your: Skills Motivationswork values and personal ethics And Personality

4. How can I get the most out of it? By answering the questions honestly – remember there are no right or wrong answers – just YOUR answers. If you are unsure about certain aspects of self-assessment get clarification from a careers adviser or someone who knows you well.

5. Will self-assessment answer all my questions? The exercises we ask you to complete give you a framework to get you started. They can’t actually make the decisions for you. There are many more resources you can use such as careers advisers, your tutors, friends, relatives.

6. Where do I start? Begin by identifying what skills you have and would like to develop Look at the skills you’ve gained from all aspects of your life - academic, leisure, work You need to be able to assess and provide evidence for these when you begin applying for jobs

7. What kinds of skills are there? Specialist Skills – acquired through knowledge, training and expertise in a job. Generalist Skills – such as computer and communication which apply to all areas of work. These two are skills much wanted by employers. Connected Skills – such as time management and confidence. These refer to the way you work and are vital if you are to be a productive worker. Effective social skills are the basis for these and others Self-reliant Skills – Require good time management, planning and organisation skills. Self confidence is a related skill enabling you to perform well and make a difference at work

8. How else can you classify skills? By working out which of the four categories below you belong to: Data dealing with information, systems, statistics or data Examples include: information scientist/archivist/accountant/ Tax inspector/banker/computer programmer/actuary/ stock controller/investment analyst/statistician/ Ideasoriginality and creativity, development of ideas, design of new systems or layouts, policy making and research Examples include: economist/sociologist/historian/artist/ Media designer/interior designer/copy/ writer/journalist/editor/lecturer Thingsunderstanding, designing, making equipment and machinery, using tools or carrying out precise manipulations Examples include: engineering/ food scientist/ brewer/pilot/ surveyor/factory inspector/museum conservation worker/ Environmental health officer Peopledealing directly with people in a variety of ways, instructing, helping, caring, explaining, negotiating with or organising others Examples include: teacher/youth worker/ nurse/sales rep/estate agent/store manager See Skills Exercise 2 ‘Finding your skill category’ in the accompanying word document to this session to find out what your skill categories are and how they can help you choose your future career.

9. Interests One way of classifying your interests is as follows: Artistic – you enjoy using creative approaches to problem solving. Enterprising – you enjoy developing and leading projects. You may be an ambitious risk taker. Investigative – you enjoy using intellectual approaches to problem solving and being curious about things. Organisational – you enjoy structure, routines and planning activities in a logical manner. Practical – you enjoy working with and using equipment. Social – you enjoy getting close to people, using skills of empathy, sharing ideas, solving problems by consensus

10. Motivation Motivation helps to give meaning to the work you do and helps ensure social responsibility and reinforces ethical principles. Three main aspects to consider: Responsibility Importance Involvement They help you develop responsibility for your work. If what you do is important to you will probably work harder at it. Your sense of involvement is therefore greater as will be your output. The Motivations Exercise 1 ‘Assessing your work values and personal ethics’ will help you to further explore this area of self-assessment.

11. Personality Different types of people get enjoyment and interest from different activities. Gaining greater insight into your personality may help you discover which career you are suited to. Following these steps will form key elements of your self-assessment.

12. Pulling it all together This activity involves summarising the results of exercises we have asked you to complete to assess your Skills, Motivations (work values and personal ethics) and Personality. It helps to write these down rather than just keep them in your head as vague thoughts. It can therefore help to clarify ideas and turn them into actions.