Glossary of skills and attributes
This glossary is intended to grow over time as we get feedback from users and ideas for useful entries. Contact EdGE.Admin@ed.ac.uk with any ideas or suggestions - or just let us know if you find it helpful.
W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A
Adaptability – describes your ability to adjust your behaviour and approaches to work effectively in response, for example, to new information or a changing work environment. Adaptable people are aware of changing situations, try to understand the changes, willingly try new approaches and maintain a positive attitude.
What could it look like on my CV? "Ensured customer satisfaction in busy hotel environment by being adaptable, remaining calm and courteous under pressure and able to think on my feet."
What could an employer ask in an interview? “Would your current employer describe you as adaptable? Why (or why not)?”
Business awareness – broadly describes two areas of work:
- understanding an occupation - what activities the job involves, the skills and attributes needed to be successful at these activities; and
- understanding the business environment - how an organisation or economic sector operates; the local, national and global economic and political contexts.
What could it look like on my CV? "This experience [volunteer marketing assistant for a charity] enhanced my business acumen, in particular how to successfully increase brand awareness and reputation building and management."
What could an employer ask in an interview? "What significant factors have affected [insert industry / sector / organisation here] in recent years, and how?"
Cultural awareness – is being aware of the culture, values, beliefs and perceptions of others as well as reflecting on and understanding your own: 'How do I see the world? Why do I do things this way? Why do I believe that?' This understanding helps us to avoid assumptions and build effective relationships with people from different backgrounds. In our ‘globalised’ world, it is an attribute often sought by employers.
What could it look like on my CV? “My ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with people from other cultures has been enhanced by my three month backpacking trip through SE Asia.” Try to collect and record some examples to support your claims.
What could an employer ask me in an interview? “You studied in Canada for your third year? Why did you go there? What did you get out of it that will help you be successful in this job?”
Leadership – is a complex quality. Many employers want it, but they may mean different things by the word. Leadership can be about setting the direction of a group of people or organisation, it may be the ability to influence people to take on responsibility and carry out tasks. Leaders motivate, inspire and encourage. Successful leaders may be described as balanced, fair-minded, confident or determined. After a bit of research and reflection, what do you think leadership means to you?
What could it look like on my CV? [As Captain of netball team] “Led the team to first place in the Scottish under-18s finals in 2010.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “Give an example of time when you motivated someone to do something that they were reluctant to do. How did you do it?”
Making things happen – how good are you at implementing ideas, innovations, etc. Whether you opt for work, further study or volunteering this ability to turn your ideas into reality will be a crucially important skill. Now isn’t too early to start getting some practice.
What could it look like on my CV? “I helped set up a new student magazine for European culture. As part of the PR/Advertising team, I raised £1000 in corporate sponsorship which enabled us to fund the first 3 issues.”
What could an employer ask me in an interview? “Tell us about an idea or improvement that you implemented that made a difference to a piece of work/project you were doing.”
Mentoring – describes a relationship where one person provides a combination of support, knowledge and skills sharing to encourage the personal or professional development of another. It might also involve giving constructive feedback.
What could it look like on my CV? “Homestart volunteer: Visiting young families in Gateshead to provide friendship and support; demonstrated a non-judgemental approach and strong interpersonal skills.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “Tell us about a time when you had to provide constructive feedback to someone. How did you do it?”
Negotiating – is the art of discussing a matter in order to reach an agreement or consensus, or possibly with a view to a compromise or settlement. Successful negotiators know their objectives but recognise when they can be flexible, they are willing to explore a wide range of possible outcomes, they are well prepared for interactions, they are adept listeners and good questioners.
What could it look like on my CV? "My persuasive communication style is exemplified by the successful challenge events I organised for charity and £3000 I raised."
What could an employer ask in an interview? "Can you describe a situation when you had to listen closely to the needs of another person to achieve a positive result?"
Organising – this actually refers to a suite of skills and abilities which can include prioritising, time management, information and resource management, attention to detail, and being able to follow through and complete tasks.
What could it look like on my CV? [Vacation work role as an administrator] “Successfully managing business demands and responding promptly to client queries required a high level of organising skills.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “How do you prioritise tasks in order to successfully complete a project?”
Planning – another one of those skills which is actually a collection of other skills and abilities including analysing the problem/situation/project, identifying tasks, estimating time, identifying and allocating resources, managing a budget, setting goals, forecasting problems, developing contingencies, identifying and managing risks.
What could it look like on my CV? “Exemplary planning skills demonstrated by successful completion of my PhD project: overcoming challenges, managing time, responsibilities and a research grant.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “It’s almost the end of your day and your line manager gives you a project that is due by lunchtime tomorrow. What would you do?”
Presenting – is showing and explaining a topic or giving information to an audience. Skilful presenters have a good idea of who their audience is and what they need, are well prepared, ready if things go awry, make effective use of visual and audio aids, speak clearly and are enthusiastic.
What could it look like on my CV? “My presenting skills have been enhanced by my experiences as a workshop facilitator for the LEAPS summer schools.”
What could an employer ask me in an interview? The might ask you to do a presentation, partly to test your presentation skills and partly to test your knowledge of a salient topic. An example of a competency-based presentation question could be: “Tell me about a time when you had to use a presentation to persuade someone to change their opinion.”
Problem solving – the ability to solve problems is considered one the most complex functions of intelligence as well as the most fundamental. Depending on the area of work you are interested in, problem solving skills might be technical – IT, engineering, maths – or refer to overcoming challenging situations in diverse other contexts. Good problem solving incorporates determination, creativity, insight, evaluation, synthesis, adaptability and, occasionally, a bit of courage.
What could it look like on my CV? “While on summer placement with an engineering firm in Denmark, I automated basic project management tasks using VBA macros, saving 10 hours of data management time each week.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “What approaches do you use to solve apparently intractable problems?”
Responsibility – we often hear the phrase “taking on responsibility”. It simply means the ability and motivation to meet obligations and fulfil duties as well as the demonstration of your reliability and trustworthiness.
What could it look like on my CV? “As a postgraduate tutor I was responsible for organising and allocating tutorial groups, devising activities, assessing essays and providing timely feedback.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty to get a job done.”
Teaching – is quite a different skill from presenting. Both entail having good subject knowledge and being able to transmit that effectively to a wide range of audiences. Teaching, however, requires an understanding of how people learn and the ability to design instructional strategies that account for these differences.
What could it look like on my CV? “Designed engaging lessons for adult EFL students addressing topics to do with current world events, film and music.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “In this role, you may be asked to help train student interns. How would you teach them to …?”
Writing – effective written communication means writing clearly: choosing appropriate language and style for different purposes; awareness of the audience, their needs and expectations.
What could it look like on my CV? “Excellent writing skills demonstrated by achieving a first class mark for my undergraduate dissertation.”
What could an employer ask in an interview? “What steps do you take to plan an effective piece of written work?”