Talents, skills and reflection

Talents and skills are how you put into action your engagement with the world of work; they are the abilities that afford you to engage with the world of work in ways you’d prefer and work towards the impacts you’d like to have.

Talents and skills are not only developed from paid/work experience; skills are developed and demonstrated through a variety of life experiences, especially post-secondary education (see Giancaspro & Manuti, 2021; Buckley & Lee, 2021). These experiences can include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Academics

  • Assignments

  • Teaching assistantships

  • Research assistantships

  • Projects (e.g., group work, thesis, or a major research paper)

  • Committees

  • Extra-curriculars

• Self-study

• Athletics

• Leisure activities

• Hobbies Family/community activities

• Work and volunteer experiences

Being clear about your specific set of skills will help increase your confidence when making appropriate job and occupational choices. It will also make it easier to write résumés and cover letters, and/or to network with individuals in your field of interest.

To support you with identifying the talents and skill you have and what you’d like to develop, you can refer to the Future Ready Talent Framework (FRTF). The FRTF was developed by the University of Waterloo to support you in your lifelong learning journey as you navigate your career and is a useful tool for reflecting on your skills, talents, and knowledge (otherwise known as competencies).

The FRTF consists of four major categories of competencies to reflect on:

• Expand and transfer expertise: these competencies are related to how you are expanding field-specific knowledge and skills and how you are applying these competencies in your career.

• Develop Self: these competencies are related to how you are building self-awareness of your needs, career goals, and areas you’d like to improve and engage in lifelong learning, like upskilling and reskilling.

• Build relationships: these competencies are related to how you communicate, collaborate, and create connections with others, especially in a diverse and globalized context.

• Design and deliver solutions: these competencies are related to how you engage with complex problems using innovation and effective problem solving.