4 Skills developed through work
By now, you are beginning to see that all the roles in your life require you to have certain skills. Some of these roles may have been in a social context, others in paid or unpaid work situations. In this section, you will focus on roles connected to work in some way. All ‘work’ counts for the purpose of this section.
Have a look at the example of Angela below. Notice that it is not clear from Table 4 whether the jobs Angela did were paid or voluntary. This is not important since you acquire the skills whether or not someone is paying for your work. The table also shows when Angela has done similar types of job, but that her responsibilities might have been different, and so she was able to extend the skills she had developed.
| Dates | Employer/organisation (include clubs, community groups, etc.) | Title | Responsibilities, duties and activities | Training (include formal training, coaching and workshops) | Skills developed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 – 1989 | W H Smith Ltd | Shop assistant | Management of magazine department and some staff management | Handling customers Use of cash tills | Handling cash Customer care Motivating others Time management Prioritising |
| 1991 – 1992 | Derngate Theatre | Front of house staff | Checking tickets Seating customers Refreshment sales | Basic First Aid | Understanding of team work Interpersonal skills Empathy Listening and questioning Presentation |
| 1993 – 1994 | Liverpool Higher Education College | Library assistant | Issue desk duties Cataloguing books Customer training | IT training Cataloguing skills | IT and keyboard skills Inputting data into spreadsheets and databases |
| 1995 – 1999 | Sailing Club | Membership secretary | Recruiting new members Managing membership subscriptions | Database development Accounting skills | |
| 1995 – 1998 | De Montfort University | Assistant librarian | Management of Library Social Sciences section Supervision of Library assistants | Management training | Decision taking Budget management Providing relevant and appropriate information |
| 1998 – to date | Milton Keynes University | Assistant librarian | Creation of new library service | Business management Process costing | Information literacy skills Report writing |
| 1998 – 2001 | Film club | Publicity secretary | Organising publicity leaflets Writing film reviews | Creativity Working to a brief |
Use this example to help you with the next activity.
Activity 4 My work and personal achievements
This activity helps you to look back over your own work and personal achievements and to decide what skills they have helped you to develop.
Copy a blank version of Table 4 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)] .
Comment
After completing this activity pause and allow yourself to feel proud of the abilities you have already developed. It is important to value what you can do. It will help you to present yourself positively to people who can offer you work opportunities.
Of course, work experiences are only part of the story. Any experiences that have helped you to learn can be just as influential in developing your capabilities. The next section, therefore, encourages you to review these too.