How to conduct a personal skills audit

The Importance of a Personal Skills Audit

Before any job search begins, you need to know what skills you bring to the table to help sell yourself on your CV and at interview. In this blog, we explain the importance of a personal skills audit and how to perform one to help secure your next job.

Conduct a personal skills audit to establish your skills and level of expertise for each skill. The audit will also be beneficial when applying for jobs, as you can identify which companies or types of companies are the best fit for you by cross-referencing your skills against the job specification.

What is a Personal Skills Audit?

A personal skills audit is a process of self evaluation - it will highlight any gaps in your skillset, allowing you to find new ways to improve and develop areas of weakness.

How to Conduct a Personal Skills Audit

Make a list of your skills

Write down a comprehensive list of skills you have gained from work experience, education, and personal experiences. It may help to think about specific projects you have carried out or achievements. To begin, make a note of these skills, for example adding them in to a table like below:

Skill	Score (1-10)	Areas to improve (if applicable)
Managing people
Innovation and design
Problem-solving
Organisation
Collaboration
Data analysis
Communication
Commercial awareness

 

Rate your expertise for each of the skills

You should now have identified your skills - it is time to evaluate how experienced you are for each skill. From one to ten (one being low and ten high), give an honest rating of each skill. Don't be tempted to put down the level you would like to perform, as this will not help you identify areas of improvement.

Write a list of jobs you would like and identify the skills required

Define which direction you would like to take your career, no matter how ambitious this may be. Find similar jobs online and look at the role specifications to identify the skills required for your dream job.

Highlight your weaknesses

You should now identify gaps between the skills you possess and the skills required to do your desired role. To highlight areas to improve and ultimately meet expectations of future employers, you need to have been honest when rating your skills.

Next, look at what you need to do to develop those skills - do you need to undertake any training or qualification? Or do you need to gain more experience?

Set yourself goals

Be strict with yourself and set deadlines for when you want to achieve goals to help you stay on course and continue to upskill. You could make your goals and deadlines visible to help you stay motivated. For example, display them on your computer home screen or a sticky note at your desk!

Identifying your skills and the areas in which you are the most confident will definitely help you in your job search. Ultimately, if you know you have the skills desired for the role, you will have confidence in your job application and during the interview stage.