The Personal Audit

How do you turn what your feelings

about what you are good at, into
something employers are interested in
reading and hearing about? The answer
is to use a Personal Audit. For someone
looking for a job, whether it is trying to
find employment in a role that you have
eperien!e at, or in a job that is new, a
personal audit is a good pla!e to start.
A personal audit will identify personal
features that !an help a !andidate stand
out when applying for a job and allow
the potential employer to see how the
!andidate mat!hes up with the person
spe!ifi!ation.
How do you start a personal audit?
To write a personal audit does take time
and effort, but this work is always
worthwhile. Those who !arry out a
personal audit are often "uite surprised
by what they dis!over about thier skills,
talent and employability.
To !omplete a personal audit there are a
number of different stages or steps.
#tep $.
The first task is to list all the jobs you
have done. %ou do not have to be
employed to do this&have you helped
with a s!hool produ!tion, organised an
event&all of this type of pra!ti!al
eperien!e will be used in a personal
audit.
#tep '.
(et for ea!h job or a!tivity, list the skills
you used or developed whilst doing the
job. #o if you organised an event, did
you buy any supplies, drinks or food&
so skills are ordering and payments.
Have you dealt with !ustomers&so
!ustomer relations and so on. %ou may
have !oa!hed youngsters in a football or
rugby team) using skills like leadership,
motivation, en!ouragement, training et!.
*y using this stru!ture it is "uite easy to
start des!ribing an effe!tive range of
eperien!es and skills.
#tep+
,hoose your top marketable attributes
in ea!h !ategory. -se eamples from
the notes made to prove your point )if
you believe you are !reative, prove it
with a real world eample.
#tep .
Try to mat!h employment opportunities
with your skills/ good at figures and
handling money&where does this lead?
0hay sort of job would these skills
make you suitable for? -se your
personal audit with !areers advisors,
show then your skills, and let them point
you in the right dire!tion.
1n!e you have !ompleted a personal
audit, you should be able to mat!h your
skills to job opportunities. 2ost job
va!an!y adverts will give details of
tasks and duties involved 3from the 4ob
5es!ription6, and the sort of person
needed to do the job 3from the Person
#pe!ifi!ation6. #o !an you now mat!h
your knowledge and skills, whi!h have
been made !lear through the personal
Audit, to what the employer wants.
0hat the appli!ant now has to do
through the appli!ation pro!ess, is make
!lear to the employer how their skills,
mat!h the employers needs.
An good eample of a students personal
audit !an be found at/
http788resour!es.glos.a!.uk8pdp8pdpstud
ents8stua!tivities8skillsaudit'eample.!f
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