Audit your skills

Tools to help you think about what skills are important to your current job, and which ones you think you need to develop further to progress your career.

Why should I do a skills audit?

Research jobs require a variety of technical expertise and professional transferable skills.

Many of your professional skills are highly valuable and relevant to a wide range of jobs, inside and outside academia. It is important to identify them so that you know what you have to offer in these competitive academic and non-academic job markets. Once you have done this, you should also have a greater awareness of what skills you may need to further your career.

Skills guide for research staff

We have written a skills guide to help you get thinking about the full range of skills you may possess. It lists broad categories of transferable skills that particularly apply to academic research staff. The guide may be used as a reference when:

  • identifying your skill gaps in your current job role
  • preparing for review or progress meetings
  • updating your CV.
  • preparing for interviews.

How do I do a skills audit?

We have designed a skills audit template to complement the skills guide and help you with identifying your own skill set.

The audit document takes you through the process: getting started, reviewing what you have achieved so far, assessing the skills you have and need, and how you are doing.

We would recommend setting aside an hour or two to do it properly.

What next?

After reviewing your skills, you will have a better idea of where to direct your time and effort in terms of your own development.

Workshops for research staff

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