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Succeed in the workplace
Succeed in the workplace

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3.1 Evidence of my abilities

Thinking about what you have done shows how you have developed or used your abilities in particular roles. This is very useful for both job applications and interviews.

This next activity will help you do just that.

Activity 3 How have I shown or developed my abilities?

Timing: Allow approximately 15 minutes

Table 3 shows an example of how you might link your different abilities to activities that you have carried out.

Table 3 Abilities
Role Ability usedEvidence of ability
Social Club secretary Liaise Have to coordinate dates of meetings with all committee members and the community centre manager for room booking.
Enhance The previous secretary used to write very long meeting notes, which people complained about. So I introduced a short summary that just records actions, decisions and news. The chairman said this was a big improvement.

Copy a blank version of Table 3 into your notebook or you can also complete this in your Resource pack [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]   and fill in the list of roles and associated abilities you identified from Activity 2.

Next, think of any specific activities or actions, which show the ability that describes you, and add these to the third column. Evidence means things you have done that show you have used the ability you want to demonstrate. Be as specific as you can. It can be helpful to think of particular occasions when you used the ability.

You are not, at this point, trying to include everything but to pick out significant roles and abilities that have helped you to develop. Aim to include between three to five roles.

Comment

Creating the list may have felt difficult. After all, asking yourself how you know you have an ability, and identifying evidence to show it, is not something you do every day. So pause now and give yourself a bit of credit. You are developing a new skill! Even if your completed table is not quite as you would like it yet, hopefully you can now see how useful this will be when you come to prepare for a job application or for an interview. You’ll learn more about this in Weeks 6 and 7.

In the next two sections you will develop your thinking further. You will learn how to gather evidence of your abilities so that you can use this to support your job applications. It is helpful to start to add to your table by linking the abilities you have to any type of work you have already done. Remember that ‘work’ does not only mean something you are paid for. Interpret it as widely as you find helpful.

Learning about something often develops abilities that are easily overlooked. For instance, you may have studied on a course, served an apprenticeship, or travelled and learned about other places, cultures or people.

The next two sections invite you to think through both your work and learning experiences.