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# 2.2 Identifying skills and personal qualities

There are several ways to approach this:

Reflective

It’s a great opportunity to reflect about yourself and to ask others, your friends, family or colleagues just what they think as well. Be realistic about your strengths and your weaknesses. Ask them to be honest; weaknesses can be just as important as strengths here!

Look at the ‘Know yourself’ section of the OU Careers Advisory Service website, which covers personal strengths and skills.

## Activity 2

Use Worksheet 1 as a prompt for ideas, and to record your conclusions.

## Worksheet 1

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Practical

You might also like to try accessing websites such as Do-it or the websites of any of the major charities. They describe the personal qualities needed for any of their vacancies e.g. being non-judgmental, patient, flexible. Check out how you match up. These sites will also say if there are any specific skills required for a post, such as IT, driving etc. and give an idea about practical considerations, like time commitment.

## Activity 3

Use Worksheet 2 as a prompt for assessing how your voluntary work might be shaped by issues such as mobility, time available, location etc. There are some suggested solutions for any potential problems, e.g. virtual volunteering for those who can only offer irregular time slots or those with a lack of mobility.

## Worksheet 2

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OpenLearn - Using Voluntary work to get ahead in the job market
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