Communication

Communication skills include reading, speaking, writing, editing, listening, making presentations, and interpersonal relations. These skills are critically important in the workplace because they involve the transmission of information among people.

Communication skills include

• Reading (obtaining information from manuals, reports, directions, and other written materials)

• Writing (using correct punctuation, referencing, spelling, and sentence construction in producing written materials)

• Editing (correcting written material for grammar, content, and style)

• Explaining (communicating information accurately and clearly to increase others' understanding)

• Questioning (formulating questions which cause others to develop new information and insights)

• Listening (accurately understanding information presented by another person and transmitting that information without bias)

• Presenting (addressing a large group by projecting your voice, using sound amplification, visual aids, or a computer to aid the presentation)

• Interpersonal Communication (based upon speaking and listening skills and picking up visual cues, e.g., body language, to increase understanding; understanding the context of the conversation, attending to the value structures of others, and clearly presenting your feelings are important components of effective interpersonal communication skills)

Think about...

...projects in and out of class that have emphasized communications, or that might be available to you in the future. This could include working on the school yearbook, writing up a research project, or authoring an essay for a class; personal courses and skill training; or other experiences that are related to communication skills.

Creativity

Creativity may include skills in many different areas, e.g., artistic, literary, mechanical, and social areas.

Creativity skills include:

• Imagination (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic creativity allows you to express ideas and feelings by applying your imagination to produce unique creations)
• Literary (writing a poem, short story or a play)
• Social (imagining a new way to have a group process go better or improve a program that provides services to others)
• Innovation (using information from a variety of different sources to create unique solutions to a problem)
• Aesthetics (using your sense of beauty to judge something),
• Visualizing (creating a mental image of an object or idea),
• Designing (creating plans for a new project or product)
• Judgment (using discrimination skills in sound, color, and shape to determine differences)

Think about...

...a time that you came up with an innovative solution to a problem and what made it so unique. What experiences could you seek in the future to develop skills in creativity?

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves things such as identifying problems in a situation or organization, thinking about the complexity of problems, gathering evidence through research, evaluating options to solve the problem, and deriving a conclusion or solution.

In developing options to solve a problem, you may need to think about what are both possible and likely solutions. To compare these options you need some type of measurement criteria or standard, and this may be drawn from various sources. Coming to a position, taking a stand, and making a recommendation to solve a problem are the culmination of critical thinking.

Critical thinking skills include

• Investigating (systematically searching out and gathering information)
• Conceptualizing (developing a system for organizing topics, ideas, or things)
• Planning (deciding the order of things)
• Analyzing (breaking a problem into parts for separate review)
• Visualizing (creating a mental image of an object or idea)
• Synthesis (putting things together in new, effective ways)
• Experience (using past experience or history to evaluate issues or people)
• Structuring (defining a system for organizing ideas, people, or things)
• Reasoning (using logic, math, or statistical procedures to analyze data and make decisions)

Think about...

...situations in classes or working on projects where you have exercised critical thinking in the past. Think about situations where you could develop this skill in the future.

Leadership

Leadership is the ability to set goals and point out directions for the group to take. You have been a "formal" leader when you suggested a plan or a way to achieve a group goal. This might have involved "making a motion" to move a group to take action on an issue.

Leadership also involves the ability to delegate responsibility or authority to someone else. It involves the skill of motivating others. An example of this might be asking clarifying questions about the team's goals or presenting a proposal to your group, as a way to solve a specific problem.

Leadership skills include

• Decision-Making (taking action and accepting responsibility for consequences)
• Directing Others (telling others what to do, monitoring their performance, taking responsibility for their actions)
• Initiative (starting new tasks, projects or getting others to do this; bringing up new ideas)
• Persuading (influencing the ideas and behavior of others)
• Performing/Presenting (getting in front of a group to inform or entertain them)
• Training (working to get others to develop new skills and attitudes)
• Confronting (telling others something they do not want to hear)
• Negotiating (developing a mutually beneficial solution among parties)

Think about...

...where you might have held or would want to hold a leadership role in a class group project, campus organization (officer, committee chair, etc.), community or church group.

Life Management

Life management includes such things as managing time, both for long- term projects and activities, as well as day-to-day time management (e.g., finishing class projects, effectively managing work and school demands on a weekly basis). This includes being on time and being prepared to act.

Life management can also include the ability to adapt to change. Your personal life management skills may also include the ability to manage finances (e.g., writing budgets, assessing expenses and income, and keeping accurate records).

Life management skills include

• Record Keeping (keeping track of money, objects, or facts in written records)
• Drive (pushing yourself to do your best)
• Emotional Control (remaining calm when others are angry and you are frustrated)
• Caution (examining activities or procedures to avoid injury or loss)
• Precision (working carefully; being accurate and exact in completing tasks)
• Tenacity (persistently working toward a goal in spite of distractions)
• Integrity (basing your decisions on a personal code of ethics)
• Using Experience (using past experience or training to evaluate situations, people, or ideas)
• Stamina (doing physical activity without becoming exhausted)
• Travel (experience in using public transportation and facilities to move between geographic regions)
• Adaptability (making positive adjustments to changing social situations and events)
• Efficiency (arranging personal activities to save time and energy)
• Learning (open to learning new things in classrooms or as an independent learner)

Think about...

...where you have demonstrated life management skills in the past, or how you could demonstrate these skills in the future.

Research/Project Development

Research and/or project development involves finding and using information for problem solving and decision making.  In researching an issue or problem, individuals read and evaluate reports of prior work or collect new data that can be summarized in a written or oral presentation in order to provide new information.  In addition to investigating a problem, individuals may develop plans for projects that provide a logical series of activities for eliminating the problem.  

This includes planning for the direction and coordination of a project to ensure that the goals and objectives are met in a cost-effective way and within budget.

There are many opportunities for you to develop and polish research and project development skills at the university.

Research and project development skills include

• Research (researching a problem in the library or a database and writing a report based on the findings)
• Investigating (systematically searching out and gathering information)
• Analyzing (breaking a problem into parts for separate review)
• Reasoning (using logic, math, or statistical procedures to analyze data and make decisions)
• Structuring (defining a system for organizing ideas, people, or things)
• Synthesis (putting things together in new, effective ways)
• Following Procedures (performing tasks as others have determined they should be done)
• Using Facts (using knowledge or principles to evaluate data, things, or ideas)
• Record Keeping (keeping track of data or facts in written records)
• Precision (working carefully; being accurate and exact in completing tasks)
• Reading (obtaining information from manuals, reports, directions, and other written materials)
• Writing (using correct punctuation, referencing, spelling, and sentence construction in producing written materials)
• Sorting (placing facts or data in the correct place or category)
• Questioning (formulating questions which help others to develop new information and insights)
• Listening (accurately understanding information presented by another person and transmitting that information without bias)
• Innovation (using information from a variety of different sources to create unique solutions to a problem)
• Designing (creating plans for a new project or product)
• Report Writing (writing scientific reports based on data collected in a study)

Think about...

research papers assigned in classes by your professors, work projects given by your job supervisors, and service projects for clubs and organizations, e.g., orienting new members, fundraising.

Social Responsibility

Social responsibility involves respecting individual and cultural differences. Finding admirable qualities in others, especially those who appear to be quite different physically, mentally, or in personality style, are acts of being a responsible person.

Social responsibility relates to good citizenship. Individuals with skills in this area actively take part in community building projects on a regular basis.

Social responsibility skills include

• Community Building (participate in activities that enrich or enhance the opportunities for learning, service, or entertainment among people)
• Service (doing something without compensation to help others experiencing stress, personal loss, or discomfort)
• Teaching/Training (assisting another person to change or learn new skills, knowledge, and attitudes)
• Empathy (the ability to experience the feelings of someone else as if they were your own)
• Multicultural Understanding (the experience of a positive relationship with someone different from yourself in terms of culture, language, social condition, or history)
• Ethics (demonstrating ethical behavior with respect to the rights of other people)
• Caregiving (doing something on a regular, sustained basis to nurture and sustain another person)

Think about...

...instances when you were involved in your community, e.g., being a member of a community service group, a church group, a recreation group, as well as providing some community service.

Teamwork

Teamwork may include initiating ideas within a team or having team members cooperate and negotiate with each other. Effective teamwork behaviors involve a commitment to join with others to achieve a goal (cooperation). Teamwork involves recognizing your and others' strengths and weakness, and encouraging team assignments that draw on strengths and minimize weaknesses.

Teamwork skills include

• Conforming (dressing and behaving according to the culture and rules of the group)
• Flexibility (being able to adjust your priorities to those of the group when necessary)
• Following Procedures (performing tasks as others have determined they should be done)
• Dependability (constantly performing at the same level of effort and excellence)
• Responding to Feedback (changing your behavior when supervisors and others you respect make suggestions)
• Punctuality (being on time to meetings and events; not delaying the work of others)
• Reliability (following through on tasks assigned with minimal supervision; avoiding unnecessary absences)

Think about...

...situations where you have been (or could be) a team member in a class group project, campus organization (officer, committee chair, etc.), community, or church group and you used teamwork skills.

Technical/Scientific

Technical/scientific skills relate to experiences in the social, biological, and physical sciences. The most popular current application of technical/scientific skills involves the applications of computers.

Technical/scientific skills include

• Laboratory Work (experiences you have had in a science or computer lab)
• Report Writing (writing scientific reports based on data collected in a study)
• Research (researching a problem in the library or a database and writing a report based on the findings)
• Computers (knowledge of various hardware, e.g., recommending a computer purchase for a group you're involved with, installing a software system on your personal computer)
• Software (experience with software programs, e.g., word-processing, e-mail, graphic presentations, spreadsheet calculations, and database entry/editing)
• Systems (understand the operation of organizational, technical, and social systems)
• Troubleshooting (solving hardware/software problems with computers and telecommunications systems)

Think about...

...a time where you used a software program for a particular project or activity. Other technical skills may include system management (e.g., managing data warehouses or web services) and using the Internet for research and related activities. What experiences could you seek that would enhance skills in this area?