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Identifying your Skills and Attributes

Why Is It Important to Identify Your Skills & Attributes?

Understanding your skills, attributes, experience and interests is essential in order to make informed careers choices and to market yourself successfully to employers.

Employers value candidates who know what they have to offer in the workplace, provide evidence of how they have successfully demonstrated their skills, and have thought about why they are interested in the role and company.

Self Assessment

A clear understanding of your skills, interests and work values is important when matching yourself to appropriate roles and employers, writing a targeted job application, and marketing yourself at interview. The following resources will help you identify the interests, skills and knowledge you have developed via your studies, work experience & extracurricular activities.

  • Identifying Your Employability Skills (The University of Sydney Careers Centre)
  • Graduate Attributes - The University has identified the skills & attributes developed during your studies which are valued by graduate employers.
  • My Future - go to the My Guide section, then Identifying to access self assessment activities. Of particular relevance are the Interests, Skills, and Values quizzes.

What Employers Want

How do you identify which of your skills and attributes are most relevant in the job market?

  • What Employers Want article (Graduate Careers Australia) provides an overview of the generic skills and attributes sought by graduate employers - and what they don't want!
  • Regularly review Job Vacancies in your field to identify the skills, knowledge and experience commonly mentioned in job advertisements

If you are an enrolled student of the Business School log into Blackboard for more detailed information on the above.

As well as your studies, employers will look at what you do outside of studying- so get involved!

  • Join a club or society that will help you connect with employers and increase your knowledge of different industries and job roles
  • Mentoring Programs can help you increase your business knowledge, your academic and social networks (Peer Mentoring), or give you work based learning opportunities (Lucy Mentoring Program)
  • Volunteering is a great way to get experience and add to your resume

Professional Associations

Professional Associations are an excellent way to increase your employability. They usually have student membership, careers advice, networking events and are a great way to take the first step into the industry that interests you.

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