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Can You Describe Your Skills?

Updated: Apr 26, 2021

A bit of reflection will allow you to see that your courses, research projects, college work experience, extracurricular activities or internships have all be instrumental in your development of these skills.

Planning and Organizational Skills

  • Manage time and priorities effectively

  • Successfully juggle multiple demands (school, work, family)

  • Identify, assess and evaluate needs

  • Develop measurable goals and a logical plan to achieve these goals

  • Stick to a difficult endeavor and see it through to completion

Critical Thinking Skills

  • Research and gather pertinent information and identify important elements

  • Sort information by relevance—discern what matters most for the task at hand

  • Evaluate data to detect trends or patterns

  • Recognize interrelationships in information obtained from diverse sources

  • Examine assumptions, underlying analyses or conclusions

  • Use facts to judge validity of theories

  • Create thoughtful or innovative solutions for complex problems

Human Relations and Interpersonal Skills

  • Embrace differences and value others from diverse cultural, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds

  • Demonstrate a commitment to diversity (consider all dimensions of diversity)

  • Understand one's own identity; identify personal values and apply them when making decisions

  • Interact and work collaboratively effectively with peers, supervisors and subordinates

  • Ability to anticipate needs of supervisor or co-worker

  • Communicate thoughtfully and effectively in both individual and group settings

  • Take initiative and propose new ideas

Leadership & Management Skills

  • Define and explain ethical behavior and practice it in difficult situations

  • Demonstrate flexibility and ability to handle change, stress and ambiguity

  • Define common goals and build consensus

  • Recognize connections and mutual interests between different groups

  • Effectively motivate and manage groups; negotiate change

  • Delegate tasks and responsibility with respect for others

  • Lead and support as the situation demands; act consistently and transparently in all dealings

  • Teach a skill, concept or principle

Communication Skills

  • Organize and present ideas coherently for formal and spontaneous speeches

  • Effectively participate in group discussions and brainstorming ideas

  • Debate ideas with respect for the opinions of others

  • Read and condense large amounts of materials

  • Write reports clearly, concisely, objectively, convincingly, with correct grammar and appropriate format

  • Listen well and interpret what you heard correctly

  • Ability to perceive non-verbal messages

On a resume:

  • Anticipate needs

  • Budget management

  • Community relations

  • Problem solving

  • Cultural dexterity

  • Communication

  • Interpersonal

  • Ability to work in teams (or teamwork)

  • Organizational

  • Initiative

  • Critical thinking

  • Software (list specific software)

  • Flexibility

  • Strong work ethic

  • Honesty

  • Integrity

  • Detail-oriented

  • Project management

  • Research

  • Tolerate ambiguity

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