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ePerspective |
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Develop Your Skills Profile |
1.
Select what you consider an "ideal job"
announcement from any of the online job boards,
or if you are employed, refer to your existing job description.
2. Referring to the
Skills Pre-Assessment
Worksheet, complete the worksheet
based on the information you are able to obtain from your "ideal
job" announcement or existing job description. The worksheet is provided as a Microsoft
Word document; this enables you to fill in the worksheet
directly from your word processor.
3. Refer to the eGlossary
on this site to complete the Job Title or
Occupation, Profession, Industry, and Stage in Work
sections of the skills
worksheet.
4. Refer to your "ideal job" announcement
to identify the criticality and your self-assessed proficiency level
for each of the applicable foundation
skills and competencies listed on the worksheet.
5. Refer to the chart below for
extended definitions of the skills, which are excerpts from
from the Department of Labor's (1999)
500+-page
Skills and Tasks for Jobs: A SCANS Report for America 2000.
Washington, D.C.: The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Skills
(SCANS).
(NOTE: There will be a discussion
forum where you can post your worksheets and discuss this process
with others.)
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Basic Literacy
Skills |
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F1 |
Reading |
Locates,
understands, and interprets written information in prose and
documents-including manuals, graphs, and schedules-to perform
tasks; learns from text by determining the main idea or
essential message; identifies relevant details, facts, and
specifications; infers or locates the meaning of unknown or
technical vocabulary; and judges the accuracy, appropriateness,
style, and plausibility of reports, proposals, or theories of
other writers. |
|
F2 |
Writing |
Communicates
thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing; records
information completely and accurately; composes and creates
documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports,
proposals, graphs, flow-charts; uses language, style,
organization, and format appropriate to the subject matter,
purpose, and audience; includes supporting documentation and
attends to level of detail; and checks, edits, and revises for
correct information, appropriate emphasis, form, grammar,
spelling, and punctuation. |
|
F3 |
Arithmetic |
Performs basic
computations; uses basic numerical concepts such as whole
numbers and percentages in practical situations; makes
reasonable estimates of arithmetic results without a calculator;
and uses tables, graphs, diagrams, and charts to obtain or
convey quantitative information. |
|
F4 |
Mathematics |
Approaches
practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of
mathematical techniques; uses quantitative data to construct
logical explanations for real world situations; expresses
mathematical ideas and concepts orally and in writing; and
understands the role of chance in the occurrence and prediction
of events. [This skill definition is not yet completely
developed. |
|
F5 |
Listening |
Receives, attends
to, interprets, and responds to verbal messages and other cues
such as body language in ways that are appropriate to the
purpose; for example, to comprehend, to learn, to critically
evaluate, to appreciate, or to support the speaker. |
|
F6 |
Speaking |
Organizes ideas
and communicates oral messages appropriate to listeners and
situations; participates in conversation, discussion, and group
presentations; selects an appropriate medium for conveying a
message; uses verbal language and other cues such as body
language appropriate in style, tone, and level of complexity to
the audience and the occasion; speaks clearly and communicates a
message; understands and responds to listener feedback; and asks
questions when needed. |
|
Thinking Skills |
|
F7 |
Creative Thinking |
Uses imagination
freely, combines ideas or information in new ways, makes
connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, and reshapes
goals in ways that reveal new possibilities. |
|
F8 |
Decision Making |
Specifies goals
and constraints, generates alternatives, considers risks, and
evaluates and chooses best alternative. |
|
F9 |
Problem Solving |
Recognizes that a
problem exists (i.e., there is a discrepancy between what is and
what should or could be); identifies possible reasons for the
discrepancy; devises and implements a plan of action to resolve
it; evaluates and monitors progress; and revises plan as
indicated by findings. |
|
F10 |
Seeing Things in the Minds Eye |
Organizes and
processes symbols, pictures, graphs, objects or other
information; for example, sees a building from a blueprint, a
system's operation from schematics, the flow of work activities
from narrative descriptions, or the taste of food from reading a
recipe. |
|
F11 |
Knowing How to Learn |
Recognizes and can
use learning techniques to apply and adapt new knowledge and
skills in both familiar and changing situations and is aware of
teaming tools such as personal teaming styles (visual, aural,
etc.), formal learning strategies (note taking or clustering
items that share some characteristics), and informal teaming
strategies (awareness of unidentified false assumptions that may
lead to faulty conclusions). [This skill definition is not yet
completely developed. |
|
F12 |
Reasoning |
Discovers a rule
or principle underlying the relationship between two or more
objects and applies it in solving a problem; uses logic to draw
conclusions from available information; extracts rules or
principles from a set of objects or written text; applies rules
and principles to a new situation or determines which
conclusions are correct when given a set of facts and a set of
conclusions. |
|
Personal
Qualities |
|
F13 |
Responsibility |
Exerts a high
level of effort and perseverance toward goal attainment; works
hard to become excellent at doing tasks by setting high
standards, paying attention to details, working well and
displaying a high level of concentration even when assigned an
unpleasant task; and displays high standards of attendance,
punctuality, enthusiasm, vitality, and optimism in approaching
and completing tasks. |
|
F14 |
Self-Esteem |
Believes in own
self-worth and maintains a positive view of self; demonstrates
knowledge of own skills and abilities; is aware of impact on
others; and knows own emotional capacity and needs and how to
address them. |
|
F15 |
Social |
Demonstrates
understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy and
politeness in new and on-going group settings; asserts self in
familiar and unfamiliar social situations; relates well to
others; responds appropriately as the situation requires; and
takes an interest in what others say and do. |
|
F16 |
Self-Management |
Assesses own
knowledge, skis, and abilities accurately; sets well-defined and
realistic personal goals; monitors progress toward goal
attainment and motivates self through goal achievement; exhibits
self-control and responds to feedback unemotionally and
non-defensively; and is a "self-starter." |
|
F17 |
Integrity and Honesty |
Can be trusted;
recognizes when faced with making a decision or exhibiting
behavior that may break with commonly-held personal or societal
values; understands the impact of violating these beliefs and
codes on an organization, self, and others; and chooses an
ethical course of action. |
|
Resources |
|
C1 |
Allocates Time |
Selects relevant,
goal-related activities, ranks them in order of importance,
allocates time to activities, and understands, prepares, and
follows schedules. Competent performance in allocating time
includes properly identifying tasks to be completed; ranking
tasks in order of importance; developing and following an
effective, workable schedule based on accurate estimates of such
things as importance of tasks, time to complete tasks, time
available for completion, and task deadlines; avoiding wasting
time; and accurately evaluating and adjusting a schedule. |
|
C2 |
Allocates Money |
Uses or prepares
budgets, including making cost and revenue forecasts, keeps
detailed records to track budget performance, and makes
appropriate adjustments. Competent performance in allocating
money includes accurately preparing and using a budget according
to a consistent and orderly accounting method; accurately
calculating future budgetary needs based on projected costs and
revenues; accurately tracking the extent to which actual costs
and revenues differ from the estimated budget, and taking
appropriate and effective actions. |
|
C3 |
Allocates Material and Facility
Resources |
Acquires, stores,
and distributes materials, supplies, parts, equipment, space, or
final products in order to make the best use of them. Competent
performance in allocating material and facility resources
includes carefully planning the steps involved in the
acquisition, storage, and distribution of resources; safely and
efficiently acquiring, transporting or storing them; maintaining
them in good condition; and distributing them to the end user. |
|
C4 |
Allocates Human Resources |
Assesses knowledge
and skills and distributes work accordingly, evaluates
performance and provides feedback. Competent performance in
allocating human resources includes accurately assessing
people's knowledge, skills, abilities, and potential;
identifying present and future workload; making effective
matches between individual talents and workload; and actively
monitoring performance and providing feedback. |
|
Information |
|
C5 |
Acquires and Evaluates Information |
Identifies need
for data, obtains them from existing sources or creates them,
and evaluates their relevance and accuracy. Competently
performing the tasks of acquiring data and evaluating
information includes posing analytic questions to determine
specific information needs; selecting possible information and
evaluating its appropriateness; and determining when new
information must be created. |
|
C6 |
Organizes and Maintains
Information |
Organizes,
processes, and maintains written or computerized records and
other forms of information in a systematic fashion. Competently
performing the tasks of organizing and maintaining information
includes understanding and organizing information from computer,
visual, oral and physical sources in readily accessible formats,
such as computerized data bases, spreadsheets, microfiche, video
disks, paper files, etc.; when necessary, transforming data into
different formats in order to organize them by the application
of various methods such as sorting, classifying, or more formal
methods. |
| C7 |
Interprets and Communicates
Information |
Selects and
analyzes information and communicates the results to others
using oral, written, graphic, pictorial, or multi-media methods.
Competently performing the tasks of communicating and
interpreting information to others includes determining
information to be communicated; identifying the best methods to
present information (e.g., overheads, handouts); if necessary,
converting to desired format and conveying information to others
through a variety of means including oral presentation, written
communication, etc. |
| C8 |
Uses Computers to Process
Information |
Employs computers
to acquire, organize, analyze, and communicate information.
Competently using computers to process information includes
entering, modifying, retrieving, storing, and verifying data and
other information; choosing format for display (e.g., line
graphs, bar graphs, tables, pie charts, narrative); and ensuring
the accurate conversion of information into the chosen format. |
|
Interpersonal |
|
C9 |
Participates as a Member of a Team |
Works
cooperatively with others and contributes to group with ideas,
suggestions, and effort. Demonstrating competence in
participating as a member of a team includes doing own share of
tasks necessary to complete a project; encouraging team members
by listening and responding appropriately to their
contributions; building on individual team members' strengths;
resolving differences for the benefit of the team; taking
personal responsibility for accomplishing goals; and responsibly
challenging existing procedures, policies, or authorities. |
|
C10 |
Teachers Others |
Helps others
learn. Demonstrating competence in teaching others includes
helping others to apply related concepts and theories to tasks
through coaching or other means; identifying training needs;
conveying job information to allow others to see its
applicability and relevance to tasks; and assessing performance
and providing constructive feedback/reinforcement. |
|
C11 |
Serves Clients and Customers |
Works and
communicates with clients and customers to satisfy their
expectations. Demonstrating competence in serving clients and
customers includes actively listening to customers to avoid
misunderstandings and identifying needs; communicating in a
positive manner especially when handling complaints or conflict;
efficiently obtaining additional resources to satisfy client
needs. |
|
C12 |
Exercises Leadership |
Communicates
thoughts, feelings, and ideas to justify a position, encourages,
persuades, convinces, or otherwise motivates an individual or
groups, including responsibly challenging existing procedures,
policies, or authority. Demonstrating competence in exercising
leadership includes making positive use of the rules/values
followed by others; justifying a position logically and
appropriately; establishing credibility through competence and
integrity; and taking minority viewpoints into consideration. |
|
C13 |
Negotiates to Arrive at a Decision |
Works toward an
agreement that may involve exchanging specific resources or
resolving divergent interests. Demonstrating competence in
negotiating to arrive at a decision involves researching
opposition and the history of the conflict; setting realistic
and attainable goals; presenting facts and arguments; listening
to and reflecting on what has been said; clarifying problems and
resolving conflicts; adjusting quickly to new facts/ideas;
proposing and examining possible options; and making reasonable
compromises. |
|
C14 |
Works with Cultural Diversity |
Works well with
men and women and with a variety of ethnic, social, or
educational backgrounds. Demonstrating competence in working
with cultural diversity involves understanding one's own culture
and those of others and how they differ; respecting the rights
of others while helping them make cultural adjustments where
necessary; basing impressions on individual performance, not on
stereotypes; and understanding concerns of members of other
ethnic and gender groups. |
|
Systems |
|
C15 |
Understands Systems |
Knows how social,
organizational, and technological systems work and operates
effectively within them. Demonstrating competence in
understanding systems involves knowing how a system's structures
relate to goals; responding to the demands of the
system/organization; knowing the right people to ask for
information and where to get resources; and functioning within
the formal and informal codes of the social/organizational
system. |
|
C16 |
Monitors and Corrects Performance |
Distinguishes
trends, predicts impact of actions on system operations,
diagnoses deviations in the function of a system/organization,
and takes necessary action to correct performance. Demonstrating
competence in monitoring and correcting performance includes
identifying trends and gathering needed information about how
the system is intended to function; detecting deviations from
system's intended purpose; troubleshooting the system; and
making changes to the system to rectify system functioning and
to ensure quality of product. |
|
C17 |
Improves and Designs Systems |
Makes suggestions
to modify existing systems to improve products or services and
develops new or alterative systems. Demonstrating competence in
improving or designing systems involves making suggestions for
improving the functioning of the system/organization;
recommending alterative system designs based on relevant
feedback; and responsibly challenging the status quo to benefit
the larger system. |
|
Technology |
|
C18 |
Selects Technology |
Judges which set
of procedures, tools, or machines, including computers and their
programs, will produce the desired results. Demonstrating
competence in selecting technology includes determining desired
outcomes and applicable constraints; visualizing the necessary
methods and applicable technology; evaluating specifications;
and judging which machine or tool will produce the desired
results. |
|
C19 |
Applies Technology to Task |
Understands the
overall intent and the proper procedures for setting up and
operating machines, including computers and their programming
systems. Demonstrating competence in how to apply technology to
task includes understanding how different parts of machines
interact and how machines interact with broader production
systems; on occasion installing machines including computers;
setting up machines or systems of machines efficiently to get
desired results; accurately interpreting machine output; and
detecting errors from program output. |
|
C20 |
Maintains and Troubleshoots
Technology |
Prevents,
identifies, or solves problems in machines, computers, and other
technologies. Demonstrating competence in maintaining and
troubleshooting technology includes identifying, understanding,
and performing routine preventative maintenance and service on
technology; detecting more serious problems; generating workable
solutions to correct deviations; and recognizing when to get
additional help. |
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