Understand yourself

Strengths are the skills you have that you actively enjoy using and are naturally good at. 

The difference between skills and strengths is that we usually feel energised when we use our strengths. Consider the things you are involved in where the time has flown by because you were so absorbed in what you were doing – that’s probably because you were using one or more of your strengths. 

Equally, you might have a strength that you aren’t fully competent in, but that you want to develop - something you really enjoy doing but know you could do better.  

Being able to categorise your strengths can help you to define more clearly how you like to work. This can help you make career decisions.  Be proud of what you are good at, identify the things you need to work on, and appreciate others for how their strengths could complement yours.  

Many recruiters use strength-based recruitment practices, and assessing your own strengths will help you to talk about them both on paper and in person. 

How to identify your strengths 

Ask for feedback from those around you on what they think your strengths are and what they value in you.  

Try this assessment where you are asked to assign each of 50 work-related attributes (for example time management and negotiation) to a category (important or unimportant, whether or not you enjoy it, and how good you are at it). The report summarises your strengths, necessary skills, weaknesses, untapped strengths and underdeveloped skills. 

Career assessment - Strengths (UoE login required)

Recognising your skills and being clear about what you have to offer helps you make decisions about what type of work suits you and shows your suitability to potential employers. It also helps you identify which skills you would like to work on through your time at University.

Whether you arrived at the University from school, as a mature student, or you are returning to study to change career, you will have brought skills with you, developed through your various experiences, and you will be developing more all the time.

Don’t discount any of your experiences - everything counts. Part-time work, caring responsibilities, volunteering, societies, interests, internships, previous careers in a different industry, international experiences or travel, personal experiences – they will all have built the skills that you have now. We often take our skills for granted. To help you identify them, look at your experiences and ask yourself the following questions:

• How did I feel at the end of each experience? What did I learn along the way? What am I more confident in?
• When have I really enjoyed myself and what skills were involved in my success? What has been more of a challenge and what skills got me through?
• When have I had good feedback? Others often notice and appreciate things that we don’t see in ourselves.

If you find this difficult, try talking it through with someone you feel comfortable with, perhaps an employer or a friend, or book an appointment with a Careers Consultant.

To get a clear idea of the skills you’re developing in your degree look at the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study (DRPS). These outline the learning outcomes and skills you will develop as a result of the courses you are taking. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has produced benchmark statements which summarise skills gained in studying different subjects.

DRPS

QAA Subject Benchmark Statement

This analysis of graduate skills will help you understand skills, how to develop them and how to show them to an employer. When you are considering them, think about all the scenarios in which you have developed them.

TARGETjobs - Skills and Competencies

Looking for ideas of ways to develop your skills?

Build experience: develop your skills

What’s important to you?  

What drives or motivates you? Your values are your attitudes and beliefs about what you feel is important in life. 

Values are central to our motivation and influence how satisfied we are in our work. If your values are well aligned to those of your work environment, you are likely to feel a sense of pride in what you are doing. If, however, your values are at odds with your work environment and the people around you, you may lose motivation.  

People with similar skills may, because of differing values, wish to use them for varying purposes. For example, you could put good social skills to use in advertising, teaching or banking – a variety of career areas can satisfy different values.  

People want different things from their careers, and everyone defines success in their own way. You may be looking for a large salary and a senior role, or prioritising stability and security, or seeking as much autonomy as possible. Reflecting on your values – what drives or motivates you – can help you to assess different career options and make decisions.  

We’ve pulled together some resources and tools to help you explore your values: 

The following course takes you through what values are, why they’re important and how to discover yours: 

Discovering your personal values (UoE log in required) 

This article explains the difference between personal and company values. It talks about the importance of reflecting on your personal values when looking for a job: 

Personal values vs company values (UoE log in required)  

Our Understand yourself toolkit is an interactive resource that will help you reflect on your skills, values and strengths, identifying what’s important to you: 

Understand yourself toolkit (UoE log in required) 

The following are short tests that aim to help you understand your motivations, preferences and values. Reflecting on the questions and the results can be useful when considering your career path:

Self-awareness assessments (UoE log in required)  

What’s important to us? 

Our values as a Careers Service inform how we work with you and our stakeholders, both inside and outside the University. Read more on ethics and impartiality in the context of the Careers Service:  

Impartiality and Ethics Statement 

How we support the UN Sustainable Development Goals