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 various 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 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.
Future Ready Talent Framework
To support you with identifying the talents and skills you have and what you’d like to develop, you can refer to the Future Ready Talent Framework (FRTF). The University of Waterloo developed the FRTF to support 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 relate to how you expand field-specific knowledge and skills and apply these competencies in your career.
Develop self: These competencies relate to how you are building self-awareness of your needs, career goals, and areas you’d like to improve and engaging in lifelong learning, like upskilling and reskilling.
Build relationships: These competencies relate to how you communicate, collaborate and create connections with others, especially in a diverse and globalized context.
Design and deliver solutions: These competencies relate to how you engage with complex problems using innovation and effective problem-solving.
Use the FRTF Competency Matrix to explore the full list of competencies within each category.
Gathering evidence and goal setting with the FRTF
After reviewing the competency matrix, take the opportunity to note down what competencies you have and the evidence that demonstrates you have that competency using the FRTF Competency Chart.
Reflect on the competencies you build in the above experiences, from work experiences and school projects to volunteer and extracurriculars. The practice of reflecting on what competencies you have and where you can demonstrate evidence of these competencies is very useful for:
writing applications
answering interview questions
networking
building your LinkedIn profile
connecting with employers at job/career fairs
The FRTF can also be used for goal setting and planning what competencies you’d like to develop during your time at Waterloo and later in your career.
Use the FRTF Competency Goal-Setting Worksheet to identify what competencies you would like to develop and how you plan on developing them (there can be more than one possibility for developing them).
Planning your goals can support you in strategically and intentionally pursuing specific projects or selecting certain courses, articulating to employers your career goals and why you’re interested in working for them and giving you confidence in your career decision-making.
Need support with goal setting and/or identifying strategies for goal setting? Check out our page on
And consider booking an appointment with a career advisor through WaterlooWorks to support you in identifying goals and planning how to achieve them.
Reflecting on “what is purposeful” is an ongoing and cyclical process
As you progress throughout your career, certain values and needs may shift, you may want to take on a new set of projects to engage with your field of work or there may be new talents and skills for you to develop to stay up to date with your field.
What is purposeful in your career is ever-changing, so it is good practice to continue to check in with yourself and engage with these reflections as you move through your career journey.
Additional self-assessment tools
There are many self-assessment tools that you can use. However, it is recommended that you meet with a career advisor to discuss which of these tools might be right for you. Additionally, the career advisor can guide you through the assessments and help you debrief the results and reflections that emerge.
To have a conversation with a career advisor about self-assessment tools and resources, book a career planning appointment on WaterlooWorks.
- Return to: Exploring purposeful work