Welcome to Know Your Skills
We will start in a couple minutes. While you wait:
✓ Please mute (for now)
✓ Turn on subtitles (Note: REV's logo appears as "LIVE" on the top left corner of Zoom.
This session is not being recorded.)
• Hover your cursor over the Zoom toolbar at the bottom of your Zoom screen
• Click on the three dots in the bottom right corner. Select "Show Subtitles"
✓ Display your name
• Hover your cursor over the square with your name and click on the three dots in the top
right corner
• Use the “Rename” function to display your preferred name
✓ In the chat (centre, bottom of screen):
• Name, department, what you hope to gain after today’s workshop?
Know Your Skills
CLNx.utoronto.ca
© 2022, Career Exploration & Education, University of Toronto. This work is made available under a Creative Commons Attributi on-
NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Users
can only copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form for non-commercial purposes with attribution.
Land Acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of
Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the
traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the
Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the
home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and
we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.
Access Check
We understand access to be a shared responsibility between everyone
in this space. We strive to create an accessible space that reduces the need
for you to disclose a disability or impairment for the purposes of gaining an
accommodation. In doing this together, we strive to welcome disability, and
the changes it brings, into our space. (AODA Office, University of Toronto)
• What do you need to engage in this virtual space today?
• Are there any access needs we could address as a group to support
your engagement?
Equity Statement
The Division of Student Life at the University of Toronto is driven by a mission
to “enrich the university experience for and with students by fostering learning,
growth, connections, community, and support” (Student Life webpage, 2021).
Career Education seeks to do this through a commitment to equity, diversity,
inclusion, access, belonging and reconciliation as we navigate career
conversations and skill development, while simultaneously recognizing that
career education is limited by its grounding in a Euro-Western worldview.
• What is one thing we can each do today to contribute to an equitable
and inclusive space? (Please reflect privately; this will not be shared.)
Forms of Engagement
In this workshop, you can expect to engage through the following
formats and mediums:
• Optional sharing on-mic and/or in the Chat
• Discussion questions and open Q&A (via Chat or on-mic, your preference)
• PDFs and Word documents shared via Chat
• Polls, Optional Breakout Room
• Short activities for personal reflection (you will need a pen and paper, or
an open document where you can create a mind map)
A Plan for Our Time Together
1. Learn about strategies for identifying
your skills (direct and transferable).
2. Create a plan to develop additional
skills
3. Learn about common skills valued
by employers and understand the
ways in which your skills
are communicated for career
success
Up Next: Defining Skills
Defining Skills
What skills do you want to use in your future career?
Up Next: Why do we Need to Communicate our Skills
Why do we Need to
Communicate our Skills?
Thinking in skills is the
language of work
• Resumes & Cover Letters
• Interviewing
• Networking
Up Next: The Importance of Knowing Your Skills
The Importance of Knowing your Skills
Up Next: Identifying your Skills
Identifying Your Skills
Sangsoo is a 4th year human biology
student who is balancing a busy
academic schedule with extra-curricular
activities and part-time work. For the
past two years, they have been working
as a part-time tutor for secondary
students in their local community. They
are also the secretary for their student
council and a peer mentor for
incoming students.
What skills has this student developed
during their time at U of T?
Up Next: Mapping Your Experience & Skills
Mapping Your Experiences & Skills
Skills Stories
Up Next: What Skills Do Employers Want?
What Skills Do Employers Want?
What are the skills that you
think employers are
looking for?
What is one skill from your
skills map that you think is
valued by employers?
Up Next: Skills Employers Want – The Facts!
Skills Employers Want – The Facts!
“Technological advances are enabling the automation of repetitive
tasks and processes, allowing workers to focus more on creativity,
human experience and innovation. At the same time, technology is
changing the way we execute our work, generally augmenting our
human capabilities and enabling us to complete tasks faster.”
- Deloitte & Liberty Global’s Future of Work Report, 2021, p.8
What does this mean?
• Increased need for human skills (creativity, innovation, etc.) and
digital literacy
• Constant shifts in the needs for technical skills, which become
quickly obsolete as new technology is created
Up Next: What Experiences Do New Hires Have?
What experience do new hires have?
• Employers most often said that typical entry-level employees had a combination of work-
integrated learning, industry experience, and non-industry experience “Non-industry
experience” includes experiences such as customer service jobs or leadership positions (for
example, at a summer camp) that can foster human skills.
https://thebusinesscouncil.ca/app/uploads/2020/08/2020-BCC-Skills-Survey-Report_Final.pdf
Up Next: What Skills are Needed?
What Skills are Needed?
➢ Career Navigator
➢ https://careernavigator.studentlife.utoronto.ca/
➢ Career Cruiser
➢ On CLNx, under ‘Resources’
➢Industry reports / Labor Market information
➢ i.e. Jobbank, Glassdoor, Company information
➢Review profiles of industry professionals
➢ 10 Thousand Coffees (U of T hub), LinkedIn
➢Analyse job advertisements
➢ (LinkedIn skills)
➢Attend online industry / professional events
➢Join professional associations
Up Next: Ways to Develop Skills
Ways to Develop Skills
✓ Attend virtual events ✓ Engage in a passion project
✓ e.g. Adobe summit, Salesforce ✓ Earn a new Certification
Connections
✓ (LinkedIn Learning)
✓ Take a free digital course
✓ Coursera,
✓ Attend online webinars
edX, LinkedIn Learning, ✓ Build your online presence /
Pluralsight, MoMA, Git Hub social media
Learning Lab, MasterClass,
The Great Courses, ✓ Volunteer
Mango Languages, ✓ U of T Clubs
Toronto Public Library)
✓ E-Books ✓ U of T Continuing Studies
✓ CLNx – go to
resources (Careers in ...) Up Next: Co-Curricular Record
Co-Curricular Record
What is the CCR?
• The Co-Curricular Record (CCR) is designed to help students search
and track experiences beyond the classroom, link those experiences to skills
and have those opportunities recognized on an official institutional document.
Why is it important?
• Personal value: find balance, meet friends
• Educational value: apply and experiment with learning, connection increases your
chances of successful degree completion
• Career value: learn and demonstrate employable skills, have a tool to assist with
communicating these skills, explore your interests and discover new passions,
connect with references and potential employers
How does it work?
• Search a centralized database
• Develop competencies linked to specific opportunities
• Record these competencies on an official institutional document
Up Next: Skills Development Plan
Skills Development Plan
Skills I want to Why is this skill What How will I know When is my
develop important? resources/support that I achieved my deadline?
will I use? goal
Public Speaking I want to be a U of T Public I will feel December 2022
teacher and I need Speaking Club, more comfortable
to be Public Speaking
more comfortable & Presentation
and confident Skills course,
speaking in front of Continuing Studies
groups.
Up Next: Communicating your skills
Skills & Careers
• Resumes & Cover Letters
• Interviewing
• Networking
Up Next: Resume and Cover Letter
Resume and Cover Letter
• Communicated through text, email and in-person with a team of 20 student
staff to effectively plan a career fair for 500 student participants.
• Researched effective pedagogy from a variety of peer-reviewed academic
journals to plan a proposal.
• Liaised with stakeholders to coordinate project planning, resulting in savings of
$5,000.00 on the project.
Up Next: Interviewing
Interviewing
“Tell me about a time when
you used your
research skills to assist
with a project.”
“If you had a conflict with a
co-worker, how would you
handle it?”
Up Next: Networking
Networking
Brief introduction:
• What you’re doing now
• One goal (building on skills and/or
experience)
• What you would like to learn from a
conversation
Remember to keep networking
curiosity and learning driven!
Focus on building relationships!
Up Next: Key Messages
Key
Messages
Up Next: Future Actions
Future Actions
• Take time to reflect on and identify your skills by
considering your education and experience
• Build a skills plan and seek out opportunities to develop
new skills, or improve existing skills
• Learn about skills that are valued in your industry to better
focus your skill development plan
• Practice how to articulate your skills across a variety of
formats, including resumes, interviews, and networking
Up Next: Thank You - Q&A
Thank You – Q & A
To ask a question: Before you leave:
✓Unmute ✓In the chat, share:
✓Turn on your video if you ✓What has been your
like key take-away from
today’s session?
✓Use the chat
• Find answers to Frequently Asked
Questions regarding Student Life
Student Life programs and services during
COVID-19
Online • Find answers to frequently asked
questions about coping with stress,
residence, help for international
students and safety abroad from
the Office of the Vice Provost,
Students.
CLNx.utoronto.ca
• U of T My SSP: Call 1-844-451-9700 or 001-416-380-
6578 (outside North America) or download the app at
the Apple App Store or Google Play. Immediate
counselling support is available in 35 languages and
ongoing support in 146 languages.
Be Well • Good2Talk Student Helpline: Call 1-866-925-5454.
Professional counseling, information and referrals
student helpline for mental health, substance use
disorder, and well-being.
• Anishnawbe Health Toronto Mental Health Crisis
Line: Call 416-360-0486
CLNx.utoronto.ca
Seeking Mental Health Support at the University of Toronto
Navi & Mental Health Resource Hub
Navi & Mental Health Resource Hub
© 2022, Career Exploration & Education, University of Toronto. This work is made available under
a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND
4.0) License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Users can only copy and redistribute
the material in any medium or format in unadapted form for non-commercial purposes with attribution.
