Employability skills

Employability skills (sometimes called ‘soft’ skills) refer to a set of transferable skills and key personal attributes which are highly valued by employers and essential for effective performance in the workplace. Unlike professional or technical skills, these employability skills are generic in nature, rather than job-specific, and are common to all work roles and workplaces across all industry types - for instance, communication and teamwork.

Academic qualifications and good marks are not the only way to successfully engage at university. You should also gain experiences to enhance your employability skills, as these experiences will also provide you with skill examples for your job applications.

While at university:

1. Make the most of opportunities within your studies to develop employability skills, eg, through group project work, presentations, student exchange programs, internship subjects, industry and community project units and mentoring programs.
2. Get involved in extracurricular activities such as clubs and societies, sport, public speaking, special interest groups, or community activities, as these experiences will also provide you with evidence of skills for your job applications.
3. Gain work experience through internships and vacation work, voluntary work for not-for-profit organisations, casual work and paid part-time work relevant to your field where possible.
4. Maintain a record (or portfolio) of your work experiences, volunteering roles, and activities. Make a note of skills gained and qualities demonstrated. Gather evidence of achievements and outcomes, including positive comments made by supervisers, peers and customers, and include these in your portfolio.

Why identify your employability skills?

Knowing how to speak about your skills is an important skill in itself! Incorporate relevant examples of your skills into job applications and interviews to increase your chances of success when applying for jobs.

Taking the time to identify your employability skills can help you to:

• identify skill gaps and plan your skill development to build a portfolio of skills valued by employers
• recognise the value of your skills and build self-confidence
• write effective job applications including resumes, cover letters and selection criteria responses
• perform well in behavioural interview situations by clearly articulating skills you can bring to the job.

How to spot your employability skills

1. Start by listing all the activities you have been involved in through study, work and extracurricular opportunities.

If your studies involved work experience, clinical placements, internships or field work, draw examples from these experiences. These may include ‘devising a business plan’, ‘developing a site survey’ or ‘conducting and analysing client evaluations’.  Remember to also include skills developed via research, projects and assignments undertaken during your studies.

Your work and extracurricular activities can also offer practical examples of employability skills such as training staff, event organisation, team sports and customer service skills.

2. For each activity, list the responsibilities you had, the skills you used and qualities you demonstrated. Be specific and avoid vague or general claims to skills.

3. Use this information to compile a list of the employability skills you have developed that are relevant to your field of expertise.  

Examples of employability skills

Skills sought by graduate employers include teamwork, communication, planning and organising, problem solving, and so forth. Some skills overlap with one another. Leadership, for example, encompasses a number of other skills including decision making, verbal communication, planning, organising, and collaboration.

Personal attributes that contribute to overall employability include commitment, adaptability, honesty and integrity, reliability, ability to deal with pressure, motivation, and cultural fit with the employing organisation.