Introduction to Make Your Experience

Count
What is this Pack all about?
Many of us feel at some point in our lives that we want to move on, whether it is to take up more study, start a new job or to progress in a career. However, we may feel we are unable to do this because we lack formal qualifications and experience. For some people with disabilities, moving on may seem even more daunting as they may feel there are so many more barriers to overcome. These barriers may include:

A lack of self confidence A lack of information about new legislation, where to go for help and what adjustments can be made in the workplace The fear of employers reactions to a job application from someone with a disability.

This Make Your Experience Count pack aims to address these issues by helping everyone to recognise what they have done and what they can do, and to generally feel better equipped to apply for a job or course.

This pack has helped me understand my achievements and given me more confidence in myself.

How is Make your Experience Count going to help me?

All of us possess many more skills than we realise. We gain these skills through our life and work experience. People with disabilities will be able to demonstrate just as many skills as non disabled people. In our day-to-day lives, for example when were making travel arrangements to be out, finding out information from different organisations, anticipating and solving potential problems and organising our time, we are demonstrating valuable skills that we can use in other ways. To make the most of our skills, we all need to be able to identify them, look at our strengths and demonstrate what we can do. This pack will help you to do just that. The pack consists of:

Book 1 Recognising Ability Book 2 Demonstrating Ability 6 Activity Sheets

The pack is also available in braille and on audio cassette.

I found that I had a lot more experience and skills that I thought, that I could transfer and apply to future work.

Contents

Page What is in the Make your Experience Count Pack? Chapter 1 Recognising your Achievements What have I achieved so far? Activity One Your Personal List of Achievements Personal Qualities Identifying Strengths Activity Two Your Personal Strengths Chapter 2 Identifying and Describing your skills Learning from Experience What makes you employable? List of transferable skills Identifying skills Activity Three Your Skills and Qualities Describing Key Skills Activity Four Your Key Skills Applying for jobs Selling your Skills and Personal Qualities Activity Five Your Job Advert Optional Activities for Chapter One Thinking about Experiences and personal roles and activities 6 8 8 12 14 19 20 23 23 24 26 31 38 40 44 45 48 51

What is in the Make Your Experience Count pack?

The pack is divided into two books. This book, Recognising Ability, contains a number of activities to help you to discover for yourself what you have done and what skills and qualities you possess. Book Two, Demonstrating Ability, contains guidance on how to use and demonstrate your skills and qualities, and signposts you to organisations that can help you move on. Once you have worked through the two books of this pack you will have:

identified just how much you have achieved in your life identified what skills you have gained through your experiences developed your ability to describe these skills when applying for a job or a course formed a clearer idea of what skills employers look for in potential employees gained more confidence to further your horizons and think about your apsirations

People who have worked through this pack have told us that they got more out of it by taking their time and approaching it in stages over a few weeks, rather than attempting it all at once. This may seem a long process, but it is the key to a successful job application. The aim of this pack is to equip you to convince an employer that you are the best person for the job, regardless of your disability. This pack has been reviewed by a number of employers who all believed that the process it takes people through is vital for ensuring a successful job application.

There is certainly a need for a document like this to guide people through what is often perceived as the daunting job application stage. Many simply do not know where to begin and experience definitely shows that those who have thoroughly prepared their thought processes perform better at interview too.

NatWest UK

The process of raising an individuals awareness of themselves, and what they have to offer, prepares them well for the various stages of a selection procedure. Most major employers now base their selection processes on competencies derived from behavioural indicators. This pack forces individuals to focus on exactly these things.

Ford Motor Company

Your experience does count whatever you wish to do in life!

Chapter 1

Recognising Your Achievements

What have I achieved so far?
We have all achieved a great deal more than we realise, simply through our life and work experience. Take a look at the following Achievements Checklist. Dont be surprised if you havent achieved everything on this list. You have probably achieved many other things that do not appear on the list. Some of the items on the list are quite general or may seem a bit vague or incomplete. You will probably find it helpful to adapt them to suit your specific experiences. Youll be surprised at just how many you are able to tick off.

I didnt realise I had accomplished so much!

Putting my achievements down in writing made them appear more concrete and relevant.

Achievement Checklist
Have you ever done any of the following? t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t Used a computer? Been interviewed for a job? Found somewhere to live? Become a parent? Applied for a grant, loan or benefits? Arranged for adaptations to be made to a car or a house? Lived or worked to a budget? Organised a social or formal event? Worked in a team? E.g. in a sports club or in a social activity Repaired a car or another machine? Been involved in committee work? E.g. with a social club or group Been involved in a political campaign or protest? Entered a competition? Come to terms with a major change in your life? Collected something? Performed in a play or concert? Been involved in environmental initiatives? Learned about and adapted a new legislation or procedures? Visited a foreign country? Lived or worked abroad?

t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t

Driven a car? Researched a project or new idea? Convinced others to change the way they do something? Written about yourself? Made a complaint to the Council or an MP? Found out information from the Council? Interviewed someone and recorded information? Spoken in public? Given a presentation? Led a group? Kept accurate records or files? Written a formal or business letter? Taught children? Learned about and applied a balanced diet? Made electric or plumbing repairs? Supervised people? Written short stories or poetry? Returned to study as an adult? Learned a specific technical skill? E.g. a computer Taken part in a sport? Taught yourself something? Counselled or advised someone? Visited museums, zoos, galleries or parks?

t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t

Learned about other cultures? Managed your time by balancing two or more commitments? Trained someone or a group of people? Been involved in the marketing of an event or product? Been separated from a member of your family? Defended an idea or position in a debate? Leaned to dance, sing or play a musical instrument? Done gardening or worked on a farm? Been to concerts, plays, dances or other entertainment events? Designed and produced a product? E.g. clothing, poster, furniture etc. Used a library? Done voluntary or charity work? Persuaded someone to buy something? Taken up a hobby or craft? Employed someone? Used sign language? Worked out a problem using calculations and measurements? E.g. buying materials for something. Cooked a meal? Written an essay? Read a newspaper and a magazine regularly? Used an office machine? Exercised regularly?

t t t t t t t t t

Delegated responsibility to other people? Decorated a home or office? Read about a historical era, event, philosophical movement or personality? Learned a foreign language? Written a letter to a newspaper? Written an article for a magazine or newspaper? Made improvements, e.g. to your home, car, your computer. Obtained and compared quotations for something, e.g. insurance, something you wanted to buy etc. Looked after someone? This could be a child, or an ill friend or relative.

Can you think of any others? t t t ... ... ...

Activity 1

Your Personal List of Achievements

Using this checklist as a guide, now use Activity Sheets 1 to write down what you consider to be your main achievements. These may have been experienced through any work you have done (paid or unpaid), in your home life, or through outside activities and interests. Think about how you felt about them at the time and list everything that felt important to you. Think in particular about the times when you have achieved something despite all the obstacles set in your way. For example, perhaps you passed your driving test when it felt like no one thought you would, or introduced a new initiative despite opposition from others. This is quite a difficult exercise, so take your time. You may find yourself struggling to list achievements. This isnt because you havent achieved anything. If may just mean that you have taken for granted many activities in your life, and perhaps dont regard them as achievements. Think about all areas of your life, past and present. These may include:

General day-to-day activities and responsibilities Past and present employment Your home life Your personal life decisions you have had to fact, changes you have had to cope with etc. Your hobbies and leisure pursuits Your local community Your family and circle of friends Your holidays

Dont worry about how you phrase your achievements at this stage just use your own words.

Note: If the Achievement Checklist and the previous guidance arent enough to guide you through this exercise, take a look at the optional activities in page 51. These may help you to think in more detail about what you have done.

Examples for Activity One

Your Personal List of Achievements

Achievement (remember to think about all aspects of your life, past and present) I learned how to use my sons computer I can now play games, type out letters and use a basic accounts package.

Why is this important to you? What kinds of problems did you have to overcome? I always felt a bit scared of computers and thought it would all be a bit beyond me. Once I overcame the fear, I quite enjoyed it. With the weakness in my hands, its so much easier than handwriting everything. I wasnt keen to write in at first as I am hardly an expert and I didnt want to make a fuss. Each time I went to pay my rent, I would moan about how inaccessible the place was, so my friends told me I should stop moaning and do something about it! I feel quite proud of myself as my letter may have helped to get something done for other people with the same problem.

I wrote to my council offices to complain that being partially sighted, I found it really difficult to find my way around their buildings as their lighting wasnt good, and their signs were small and unclear. The Access Officer invited me to the offices and asked me for my views on how it could be improved. Since then, they have made some changes which have helped me find my way around.

Personal Qualities
Now you have established what your main achievements are in the different areas of your life, it is useful to take a look at who you are. Consider the following questions:

How do you come across to other people and get on with them? How do you react and feel in different situations? How do you approach and carry out a task?

To help you to answer these questions, have a look at these suggestions of qualities. You may want to add more to this list. Keeping the previous questions in mind, tick off those which you feel describe you most. Another way of approaching this is to think about someone who knows you well. This could be a member of your family, your partner, a close friend or a colleague. Now ask yourself the question, how would they describe me? It might be an idea to actually ask them directly. We may not behave in the same way with different people or in different situations, so it might be helpful to ask various people how they would describe you. If you are working on this in a group, involve other people in this activity. Using the checklist, ask them to tick off or list the qualities they believe describe you most. This may seem a daunting task, but dont worry. You will be pleasantly surprised and will realise just how well thought of you are.

Remember

You do not need to demonstrate these qualities all the time for them to be characteristic of you. Similarly, no one can be all of these things. You do not need to tick off every characteristic. Different characteristics are valuable in different situations. For example, you may act differently at work to how you would at home. Similarly, different jobs require different qualities.

The questions after each quality in the checklist are meant as a guide. If you can answer them definitely, yes or quite often, tick if off.

Personal Qualities Checklist

t

Ambitious Are you keen to move on from where you are now? Analytical Can you tackle a problem by breaking it down into parts? Are you able to read between the lines? Approachable Do people find you easy to talk to? Do you appear friendly and receptive to other people? Assertive Are you able to get your point of view across effectively, without being aggressive? Cautious Are you careful when approaching new ideas? Do you feel uneasy taking risks? Competitive Do you compare your performance with your friends and colleagues? Confident Do you appear at ease or comfortable in most situations? Conscientious Are you hardworking when taking on a task? Co-operative Do you work well with other people? Decisive Do you find it easy to make up your mind about something? Determined Once you have made up your mind about something, do you strive to see it through to the end?

Effective Do you get things done? Enthusiastic Are you usually eager to help and keen to get on with something? Flexible Do you find it easy to adapt to different situations? Friendly Do you deal with people in a pleasant, likeable way? Honest Do people find it easy to trust you? Independent Are you comfortable carrying out a task without much help or supervision? Innovative Do you enjoy introducing new schemes and making changes? Do you often come up with new ideas or ways of doing things? Meticulous Are you careful and accurate when carrying out a task? Objective Do you find it easy to see the facts, without being influenced by strong feelings or opinions? Open-minded Do you find it easy to listen to new ideas and opinions? Organised Are you good at arranging tasks, information and materials? Patient Do you stay calm even in frustrating situations, or with annoying people?

Persuasive Can you convince other people to accept your point of view or ideas? Positive Do you always look on the bright side even when things arent going as well as you hoped? Practical Do you approach things in an orderly, systematic way? Are you good at solving problems efficiently and sensibly? Quiet Do people find it easy to approach you, as you are a good listener? Reliable Do people find you easy to depend on? Do you hate letting other people down? Can you keep a secret? Reserved Do you prefer to hide your thoughts and feelings from people you dont know? Are you happier to listen and let other people do the talking? Resilient Can you keep going with something even when the odds seem stacked against you? Resourceful Do you always seem to know whether to find information or help? Responsible Can you take charge of a situation or task? Subjective Do you see implications of a new idea on others? Are you influenced by your feelings and emotions? Tactful Do you usually know how to say the right thing, at the right time? Thoughtful Are you considerate towards other people?

Identifying Strengths
By now, you will have quite a number of personal qualities ticked off. Take a look at this list again. particularly confident about. Now highlight the ones you feel

Think about the qualities you feel are most you. You only need to highlight four or five strengths here, but you can mark off more or less if you prefer. Tip You may find that you have been able to tick off so many from the checklist, that you find it difficult to come up with just four or five. It may be helpful, therefore, to start to think about the kind of job you would like and what qualities you think an employer would want you to demonstrate. Obviously, it depends on the sort of job you are interested in, but many employers look for people who are adaptable, organised, assertive, able to get on with others in a team and who are self motivated. Some of the qualities will seem quite similar so you might find it easier to group these together. That will make it easier to think of four or five main strengths.

Generally, enthusiastic and friendly attitudes elicit the most positive response from employers. Kay Hounsham, The Post Office Disability Advice Centre

Activity 2

Your Personal Strengths

You will need Activity Sheet 2 for this. You might find it helpful to take out your Achievement List from Activity 1 and the list of personal strengths you ticked off. Can you see a link between them? Write the personal qualities you have identified as your strongest in the column entitled Characteristic or Strength. Next to each one, try to think of an example showing where or how you have demostrated this quality. Your list of achievements will help you with this.

Examples for Activity Two

Your Personal Strengths

Characteristic Or Strength
Confident

Demonstrated By:
With other people e.g. I feel at ease with other members of the job club and am confident with other people when I go out socially. In myself dealing with council, social security and social services can appear confident even if feeling nervous.

Independent

I try not to rely on other people for too much help. (Some members of my family think too much so!)

Determined/resilient

I refused to let things get me down and despite what feels like a negative attitude from my doctors about what I can and cant do, I got to college and studied for a GNVQ. My family probably think Im stubborn, but I needed to prove to myself and others that I could do it.

Now take out Activity Sheet 2 and write down your strengths, and how and when you demonstrate them.

Review of Chapter 1 By this stage, you will have a clearer idea of the following:

What you have achieved in life through your experiences and day-to-day activities and responsibilities What personal qualities you possess and how you demonstrate them in your day-to-day life and past experiences.

Dont forget, the notes you have made are just for your reference. You will probably want to come back to them and add or change bits later. The next chapter will help you to identify what skills you have acquired through these achievements and activities, and how to describe them when applying for a job or course. Keep your Achievements (Activity 1) and your Personal Qualities tables (Activity 2) nearby. You will find these a big help when working through the activities in the next chapter. You might want to take some time to mull over what youve just learned, before you tackle the next chapter which will take you one stage further.

Chapter 2

Identifying and Describing Your Skills

Learning from Experience
Now that you have thought about your past and day-to-day experiences you will be aware of how much you have achieved in your life, (and are still achieving) and what personal qualities you possess. This next chapter will take you one step further by helping you to identify what you have learned from your experience. While you have previously identified experiences where learning took place, you will now dig deeper into identifying exactly what learning took place. We are used to thinking of learning in terms of being taught something at school or on a course. Attitudes have changed a great deal over the last few years. Many people now recognise that we are learning new skills and developing our personal strengths all the time, throughout our lives. Many educational institutions and employers will now accept evidence of what people have learned from their experience as an alternative to formal qualifications.

What skills have you acquired from your experiences?

When we learn, we develop specific and general skills which help us to achieve new achievements in life. People often see skills in terms of expertise for a particular paid job, for example a computer technicians specialist knowledge of a computer system. However, if we look beyond this task skill, a computer technician will also have acquired many more skills that can be transferred to other jobs, courses and life in general, such as the ability to solve problems, organise time and priorities, work to a budget, listen to other peoples needs and initiate new ideas.

Jargon Alert!! Your transferable skills are important because they demonstrate your ability to take on new challenges. You may hear them referred to as Core Skills, Key Skills, Generic Skills or Common Skills by different organisations.

What makes you employable?

EMPLOYABILITY What do employers look for? Personal Qualities Transferable Skills Task Specific Skills For example:For example: These are skills Positive Personal/Interpersonal specific to a Reliable skills particular job, for Friendly Communication example: Self motivated Information Book keeping (See list in Chapter 1 Technology Speaking a on page 16) Application of number foreign language Problem solving Driving Evaluating own Word processing progress Welding Your qualifications or knowledge of a particular procedure or legislation

Failure to demonstrate the required skills is the most usual reason for lack of success at first interview. Most organisations have changed the emphasis away from task specific skills to transferable skills, especially for customer service oriented roles where the majority of new jobs are being created. Personnel Manager, a major financial institution

In the 1990s, a number of general skills and personal qualities are widely sought by employers. These include:Previous use of computers, verbal and written communication skills, people skills (the ability to communicate and deal with staff at all levels and clients), reliability, a positive approach and attitude, self motivation, conscientiousness, presentable business dress and adaptability to change. Deborah Manley, Personnel Controller, Sedgwick Group plc

To help you to identify what skills you have acquired through your experiences, take a look at the following examples of skills. Remember No one has all these skills. Some people are excellent communicators but hate working out calculations and sorting large amounts of information. Concentrate on your strengths; dont expect to be good at everything.

List of Transferable Skills

1. Personal and Interpersonal Skills (Here are some examples) Working with others t Recognising and relating to others needs t Working together in a team to achieve a common goal t Knowing what your role is in a team t Relating effectively to others in a team t Accepting criticism from team members t Keeping up morale in a team t Resolving conflict Working alone t Concentrating on a task t Using initiative t Keeping up your motivation t Persevering with a task over a period of time t Using feedback from your own work to improve performance 2. Communication Skills (Here are some examples)

Explaining and negotiating t Coping in unfamiliar or hostile situations t Negotiating with officials t Persuading others to a point of view t Expressing a point of view in a one-to-one and group situation t Listening to and taking account of others views t Participating effectively in a group discussion t Summarising information t Answering questions e.g. in an interview Communicating in writing t Filling in forms correctly t Using correct spelling and punctuation t Making notes from written and verbal information t Expanding notes into written passages t Expressing information and ideas in letters, memos, reports etc. t Writing formal and informal letters correctly t Using language for creative purposes (stories, poems, plays etc.)

3. Information Skills

(Here are some examples) Processing information t Selecting the information required to complete a task e.g. making a journey t Obtaining information from a range of retrieval systems t Using a range of filing systems to store information t Extracting information and ideas from sources such as diagrams, tables, graphs t Distinguishing factual information from expressions of opinion Reading t Extracting information and ideas from manuals, instruction books etc. t Extracting information and ideas from articles, passages, books etc. Computing t Inputting information or setting up storage systems for doing so t Editing and organising information or setting up routines to do so t Presenting information or setting up routines to do so t Evaluating the features and facilities of applications t Dealing with errors and faults accurately
4. Application of Number

(here are some examples) Measuring and calculating t Measuring length, weight, temperature etc. t Calculating in all four rules (+ - x ); whole numbers, fractions, decimals t Applying formulae and equations to solve problems t Using a calculator t Estimating and predicting calculations t Interpreting and presenting mathematical data

This pack focused my thoughts more clearly on issues that might arise in interviews I got the job!

5. Problem Solving

(Here are some examples) Planning and Organising t Identifying a problem in terms of what is to be done and how t Breaking a problem down into manageable parts t Making a plan to complete a task t Managing time and priorities, and meeting deadlines t Selecting procedures to clarify problems t Sorting, ordering, sequencing things t Suggesting and implementing possible solutions to a problem t Evaluating alternative solutions to a problem t Applying information gained in one situation to another Judging and Evaluating t Deciding what is relevant and what is not to a particular task t Judging the appropriateness of different courses of action t Estimating solutions to problems t Evaluating different ideas and pieces of information t Analysing differences in situations, arguments
6. Ability to learn and evaluate own progress

(Here are some examples) t t t t t Identifying personal strengths and weaknesses Initiating new ideas and improving methods and procedures for carrying out a task Coping with change and adapting to new situations Evaluating your own performance of a particular task Seeking and making use of feedback to learn and improve performance

In almost any job communication skills are important, both written and verbal, as well as flexibility and adaptability. Mike Keedwell, Principal Personnel Officer, Essex County Council.

Having read through this list of skills, you will probably find that you were able to tick off quite a few that you have gained through your experiences. Sandra, who is currently unemployed and looking for office work, describes how she identified her skills and qualities: Ive been keen to work in an office environment for a while now, particularly as my children are both at school. Ive never seriously look for a job because I felt that I didnt have much experience as other people and because I couldnt work full time because of my disability. However, when I looked back on my experiences and activities, I realised I had more skills than I thought. Recently I have had to arrange for some adaptations to be made to my house, including the installation of a stair lift. I didnt have a clue how to go about this at first, but my doctor pointed me in the right direction. It has all been incredibly time consuming and involved but has given me lots of experience of dealing with bureaucracy, finding information, filling out complicated forms and keeping financial records. I have had to liaise with Social Services and my local Council who gave me a grant for the work, as well as the lift company to make sure that I got exactly what I needed, so I know I am able to deal with lots of different people to get things done. I never realised that I could use all this experience for paid work!

How do I convey these skills to an employer?

Its all very well knowing you have these skills, but how do you go about describing them to an employer? You may know that you are a brilliant communicator, can organise your time, and are honest and reliable, but how do you convey this? You dont just want to write on an application form, I am honest and reliable. Instead, you need to think of examples and achievements that demonstrate your skills and qualities.

Identifying Skills
1. Take a look at your list of achievements and activities [Activity 1]. Pick the ones you feel are most relevant to the type of job or course you would like to do. 2. Now break this activity or achievement down into the skills you used to carry it out. Keep in mind the employability diagram [on page 24] and list of transferable skills [on page 26]. You need to think about your task-specific skills, your transferable skills as well as your personal qualities and attitudes. Think about the skills you demonstrate everyday. For example, when you go out, do you have to arrange in advance where you will park, or make arrangements for assistance on public transport? Perhaps you have to check beforehand if a building or an event is accessible to you. You may have to take your own equipment along with you to be able to take part in something. While you may consider these just life, they demonstrate your ability to anticipate and solve potential problems, and to organise and plan. It also shows that you are used to communicating with different people to get things done and to find out vital information. This is a very difficult exercise, as none of us are used to looking at our experiences in this way, so take your time. This helped me to put my achievements into words and prompted me to remember those I had forgotten.

Before you look at your own experiences, take a look at these three examples:

Examples for Activity Three

Your Skills and Qualities

Example 1: Maureen
My Accomplishment
I organised a fun run and raised over 500 for a local charity.

What did this involve? What did I do?

What skills did I use?

(Bear in mind transferable and task-specific skills as well as personal qualities)

Some parents and teachers at my sons school asked me if I wanted to get involved, so we formed a committee to organise the event. I made sure in advance that we met at the school as I know they have an induction loop that can be used in any of the classrooms.

Working in a team to plan and implement decisions participating in a group discussion, expressing my own point of view. Managing my time difficult to fit in with other responsibilities.

1) Between us we worked out who would do what. We decided that I would organise publicity for the run to ensure that lots of people turned up. This meant designing posters, contacting local press and talking to other schools in the area.

Planning meetings, organising venue and facilities. Creative skills designing posters, writing articles for press. My knowledge of and contacts for local media. Communication skills summarising info, answering questions. Selling skills promoting the event so that people would come and we would raise lots of money! Liaising with different people to gain support maintaining enthusiasm even when others seemed negative or uninterested.

What did this involve? What did I do?

2) On the day itself making sure that things were generally running smoothly and safely. Keeping an eye on people taking part, pointing people in the right direction for help or information.

What skills did I use?

(Bear in mind transferable and task-specific skills as well as personal qualities)

Awareness of the importance of safety being alert, liaising between safety staff and participants, ensuring cold drinks, plasters etc., in constant supply. Ability to keep up morale among participants.

3) Afterwards, organising collection of the sponsor money and presenting it to charity.

Keeping a record of what money was in and what was still due to come in. Monitoring skills chasing up people late with their sponsor money. Counting and paying money into bank. Keeping in constant contact with the charity organising local press to be present when cheque handed over.

Example 2: Mike
My Accomplishment
I organised a holiday for myself and three friends to the South of France.

What did this involve? What did I do?

1) Once I had the idea, I gathered up information from several travel agents and talked with the rest of the group about what they wanted in terms of accommodation, which resort, travel arrangements, when to go etc. We all had different needs, preferences, priorities. I wrote down all the different options for everyone so we could compare them all for price, dates, convenience etc. Eventually we decided what to go for, although some people didnt get their first choice.

What skills did I use?

(Bear in mind transferable and task-specific skills as well as personal qualities)

Working in a team recognising and listening to others needs and opinions, reaching a compromise so that everyone felt happy. Implementing a decision as a team. Investigative skills, finding information. Knowledge of this region of France.

2) Once we had decided when and where, I had to book the accommodation so that it would be accessible for me, but within the groups budget. Making travel arrangements. Ensuring that hostel was wheelchair friendly. Organising hire car so that we were able to get to the hostel and around the resort. Constantly checking with rest of the group that they were in agreement with my

Extracting information evaluating alternatives in terms of cost and accessibility. Anticipating problems and how they could be solved. Communication skills speaking French, negotiating with officials for discounts, summarising information to the group. Calculating skills costing all alternatives, predicting additional expenditure once there.

thoughts making decisions.

Problem solving suggesting and implementing possible solutions to problems.

What did this involve? What did I do?

3) The holiday itself some tricky moments! Finding places to eat and visit that were accessible for a wheelchair. The hire car was vital for getting around, but parking nearby sometimes difficult. Finding accessible toilets practically impossible! Making ourselves understood and solving problems in a foreign language. People werent always as friendly and helpful as they might have been, but we had to stay patient and persistent to get things sorted out.

What skills did I use?

(Bear in mind transferable and task-specific skills as well as personal qualities)

Ability to keep calm in stressful and tense situations. Negotiation skills with officials. Keeping a sense of humour. Finding our information and getting advice.

Example 3: Tarik
My Accomplishment
I am a member of the local social club for disabled and non disabled people.

What did this involve? What did I do?

I attend the club every week as a member and sometimes help to organise social events. 1) As I have a computer at home, I produce any letters, posters and leaflets that we need

What skills did I use?

(Bear in mind transferable and task-specific skills as well as personal qualities)

Written communication skills. Creativity designing leaflets for certain events. IT skills work-processing.

2) I recently helped to organise a trip to a local theatre. I booked the coach, organised with the theatre manager for us to have a sign interpreter as some members of the group have impaired hearing, and arranged a group discount. I had to get different quoted from coach companies, and as one member of the group is a wheelchair user, had to ensure that it was accessible for her, but that we could still afford it.

Organisation and planning. Identifying and responding to others needs. Negotiating discounts with theatre and good price for coach. Convincing theater to provide interpreter for performance. Evaluating and comparing different quotes.

3) We all take it in turns to make sandwiches and serve drinks to members. Some members cant eat certain things. Have to find out in advance how many and what sandwiches

Team work sharing responsibility. Basic food hygiene knowledge. Catering for peoples needs. Planning cant afford to

we need. My friend and I then have to buy all the ingredients again because we need to keep costs down, we have to shop around a bit to make sure that we dont spend too much.

waste food, but equally have to make sure we have enough! Comparing prices.

What did this involve? What did I do?

4) Taking part in quiz nights we get into groups of four our team has won a couple of times as we have a mixture of ages and interests in the group. Im better at questions about sport and music. One member of our team is deaf so the rest of our team discuss our answers through sign language.

What skills did I use?

(Bear in mind transferable and task-specific skills as well as personal qualities)

Working in a team to achieve a goal identifying strengths and roles within the team for effectiveness. Communication skills sign language.

Activity 3

Your Skills and Qualities

Now look at your own achievements in the same way. You will need: Activity Sheet 3 Your table of achievements (Activity 1) Your table of personal strengths (Activity 2) The list of Transferable Skills on page 26. You may also find it helpful to refer to: The Employability diagram on page 24 The list of skills written as verbs (on page 39) you may want to use these to help you describe what you have done if you are struggling to think of the right word to use. Think about any task-specific skills you have gained through your experiences. These may include your knowledge of a particular software package on your computer, or knowing how to operate a certain piece of machinery.

Skills written as verbs A

Achieve Act Adapt Address Advice Analyse Anticipate Arrange Assess

E
Edit Enforce Establish Estimate Evaluate Examine Expand Explain Extract

M
Maintain Make Manage Measure Meet Monitor Motivate

R
Read Recommend Reconcile Reflect Remember Repair Report Represent Research Resolve Respond Responsibility

N
Nagivate Negotiate

B
Bargain Budget Build Buy

F
File Fix Formulate Found

O
Observe Obtain Operate Organise Oversee

S
Select Sell Serve Set-up Shape Show Solve problems Study Summarise Supervise

C
Calculate Change Check Communicate Compare Complete Computer Consolidate Consult Control Convince Co-ordinate Cope Counsel Create

G
Generate Give Guide

P
Participate Perceive Perform Persuade Plan Predict Prepare Present Prioritise Product Programme Promote Provide Prove

H
Handle Have Help

T
Take instructions Team work Test Train Transcribe Translate Travel

I
Identify Implement Improve Increase Influence Inform Initiate Instruct Integrate Interpret Investigate

D
Decide Define Demonstrate Describe Design Develop Diagnose Direct Discover Display Draw

U
Understand Undertake Unite Use

Q
Question

J-K
Judge Keep

V
View

L
Lead Learn Listen Log

W
Weigh Win Word process Work Write

Describing Key Skills

When it comes to completing application forms for a job or a course, or writing a letter to a potential employer, you couldnt include the long lists of skills identified on your activity sheets. In an interview you will be given the chance to talk at more length about the skills you possess, and so you will have the chance to demonstrate them. In a letter, CV or application for, however, you will need to describe your skills more concisely. Take the example of Mike, who organised a group holiday. If we look back at his achievement, we see that his main strengths are: Organisation Communication and negotiation Speaking French Problem solving Budgeting

If Mike were to summarise his key skills in a few sentences on his CV or application form, he could describe them as follows: I am well organised and self motivated, and am able to initiate ideas in a team environment and get things done. I have effective communication and negotiations skills, and am able to stay calm, friendly yet assertive even in unfamiliar or hostile situations. I can make myself understood in French, both spoken and written. I am able to anticipate a range of problems, and investigate and implement solutions. I am experienced in achieving goals on a tight budget, therefore I am competent in predicting expenditure and evaluating costs of different methods and solutions.

Before you look at your own achievements and skills in this way, take another look at the example of Maureen, who organised a fun run. Her main strengths could be: Fund raising Team work Creative thinking up and promoting new ideas Safety, awareness of others needs Time management

She could summarise these on her application form or CV as: I am experienced in identifying the needs of my community, and have formed contacts in the local media and have raised funds for local groups. I am an effective team worker, and have experience in planning and implementing group decisions. I enjoy creating and initiating new ideas. I am able to utilise my skills in communication and negotiation to promote and convince others or new ideas. I am aware of the importance of ensuring the safety of and responding to the needs of others. I am competent in managing my time and priorities, and am experienced in meeting tight deadlines.

Similarly, if we take another look at Tarik, who is involved in his local social club, we can see that he has the following strengths: Communication and negotiation Team work Planning/organisation IT skills Sign language

In summary, his key skills could be described as: I am an effective communicator, and am experienced in negotiating with a variety of different people to achieve goals. I work well in a team, and am experienced in identifying peoples strengths, sharing and dividing up responsibilities within a group. I have good planning and organisation skills. I am able to identify what action is required, record and evaluate information and respond to others needs. I have good IT skills, and am experienced in word processing, and recording and storing information on a database. I have learned to communicate using sign language.

Remember!

Be prepared to be asked about these skills in an interview. Think back to your achievements and how you have demonstrated your skills. For example, an interviewer might say to you, tell me about a time when you have worked in a team environment. You will find it helpful if you have thought about this in advance. Book 2 deals with this in more detail.

You have probably come up with quite a few achievements pick the skills that appear most frequently or that you feel you demonstrate best. Dont forget your personal qualities. Although these are difficult to describe on paper, keep in mind how you want these to come across to an employer by the way you phrase things, and demonstrate a positive and conscientious attitude in an interview. All employers seem to agree that if they cant decide between two applicants with equal skills, its personality and attitude that counts.

Think about the skills you are likely to need for the job or course you would like to do. For example, if Tarik wants to apply for a course to train as a chef, he would choose to emphasise his catering and food hygiene skills, yet if he wants to apply for administrative jobs, he would want to draw more attention to his IT skills.

Activity 4

Your Key Skills

You will need Activity sheet 4 for this. Now take out your tables of achievements and skills from Activity 3. Use the same pattern for describing your skills as you have seen on pages 40 42. Make a list of five or six of the skills you feel you demonstrate best. Then expand them into sentences to include on your CV or application form. There is plenty of space on the activity sheet, so keep re-writing them until you are happy with the wording.

Applying for jobs Selling your Skills and Personal Qualities

What do employers want to know? Employers will often look for different skills and qualities, depending on the type of job they want to fill. When you are applying for a job or being interviewed, you need to focus on the skills and personal qualities you feel are more relevant. Take a look at this job advert. SALES ASSISTANT
As one of the UKs most successful retailers we aim to have 500 stores by the year 2000. As we grow, our staff are able to grow with us. We are looking for people who will immediately understand and identify with our customers. Your positive, helpful approach will make that vital difference to customer satisfaction and to our sales figures. If you have experience in a similar role, a good general level of education and are computer literate, so much the better. We offer a good rate of pay and a team atmosphere, as well as attractive career prospects.

Think about what the employer here is looking for. What skills would you want to emphasise if you were applying for this job? You may find it helpful to look at the list of transferable skills on page 26 as well as the list of personal qualities on page 16.