21st Century Skills
What are
they?
The
21st century skills are the essential
workforce and employability skills that members of the
business, industry and professional community have identified
as required of their future employees. Check out these skills
and examples to make sure you haven't overlooked those skills
on your resume.
Fundamental
Skills
-
Reading Skills
locating, understanding, and interpreting written information
using written documents such as books, manuals, graphs, and schedules
understanding and interpreting information from the Internet
following written directions -
Speaking Skills:
organizing ideas and communicating them orally
participating and communicating verbally in group discussions and team meetings
giving verbal directions
giving a speech -
Listening Skills:
receiving, interpreting, and understanding verbal messages and nonverbal cues
following spoken directions -
Arithmetic/Mathematics Skills:
doing basic computations
solving practical problems by choosing appropriate mathematical techniques -
Writing Skills:
communicating thoughts and ideas in writing
communicating information and messages in writing
creating documents such as letters, memos, reports, technical manuals
creating text for the Internet
writing directions
-
Creative Thinking:
offering new ideas
creating several solutions to a problem
brainstorming with a team
finding new ways to do things -
Decision Making Skills:
stating goals and objectives
identifying alternatives and considering the risks of each
evaluating and choosing the best alternative
acting on the decision
evaluating the results and consequences of the decision -
Problem Solving Abilities:
recognizing a problem and its causes
creating and implementing a plan of action to solve a problem
evaluating results
-
Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye:
being able to imagine how something might turn out based on symbols, pictures, etc.
interpreting information visually, as in reading blue prints
interpreting computer generated graphics and schematics -
Knowing How to Learn:
using effective learning techniques to get and apply new knowledge and skills
understanding learning styles -
Reasoning:
using logical thinking to discover relationships between things or ideas
discover underlying principles to use in solving problems -
Responsibility:
persevering to meet a goal
finishing work assignments on time
arriving on time with good work attendance
producing work that meets quality standards
assuming a fair share of the work load
-
Self-Esteem:
demonstrating a belief in your own self-worth
expressing a positive view of yourself
understanding and coping with strengths and weaknesses
seeking help if needed
taking pride in speech, appearance, and actions
setting and working toward personal goals -
Integrity/Honesty:
choosing ethical courses of action
being trustworthy
acting within the law
keeping your word -
Self-Management:
assessing yourself accurately
setting and working toward personal goals
doing a self-check on progress toward goals
showing self-control
following policies and procedures without supervision
giving tasks best effort
finishing tasks on time
exceeding basic requirements in work and school situations
taking the initiative
demonstrating appropriate behaviors in a variety of situations
managing stress effectively
WORKPLACE KNOW HOW SKILLS
Resources: Identifying, organizing, planning, and allocating resources
-
Time Management Skills:
selecting/ranking activities by importance, urgency, or due dates
allocating appropriate amount of time for activities
preparing and following schedules -
Money Management Skills:
preparing, understanding and using budgets
making forecasts
keeping records
making adjustments to meet objectives -
Material and Facilities Management
Skills:
determining materials and/or facilities needed
acquiring material and/or facilities
storing materials
allocating and using materials and/or space efficiently -
Human Resources Management Skills:
determining skills needed for a project
assessing skills of others
distributing work
evaluating performance
providing feedback
providing career coaching
Interpersonal: Working well with others
-
Participating as a Team Member:
contributing positively to a group effort on the job
working on a committee for a club or civic organization
playing a team sport
working cooperatively with others on a school project
making a positive contribution to the family -
Teaching Others New Skills:
helping fellow workers to learn on the job
serving as an instructor or trainer in any setting
volunteering as a coach for a sports activity
helping a child with homework
teaching someone the skills used in your hobby -
Serving Customers:
striving to satisfy the expectations of external customers and internal (e.g. managers, workers in other departments that rely on your work, etc.) customers
devising ways to handle customer complaints effectively
conducting customer satisfaction surveys
responding in a timely manner to customer requests -
Exercising Leadership:
communicating ideas to justify a position
persuading and convincing others to follow a course of action
responsibly challenging existing procedures and policies
serving as an officer in a club or civic organization or the chairperson of a committee
managing or supervising workers to achieve certain goals -
Negotiating:
working toward agreements
communicating to justify a position
arriving at a compromise with others at work, in a social setting, or within the family
bargaining to attain an acceptable price for something you purchased
-
Working with Diversity:
working well with men and women from diverse backgrounds on the job
interacting effectively with men and women from diverse backgrounds in settings such as social functions, in clubs, in sports activities, etc.
Information: Acquiring and using information
-
Getting and Evaluating Information:
identifying the need for information
getting information from existing sources or creating it
evaluating the relevance and accuracy of information -
Organizing and Maintaining
Information:
organizing, processing, and maintaining written and/or other forms of information in a systematic way -
Interpreting and Communicating
Information:
analyzing information and communicating it to others using a variety of methods
Systems: Understanding complex inter-relationships
-
Using Computers to Process
Information:
using computers to acquire, organize, analyze, and communicate information -
Understanding Systems:
knowing how social, organizational, and technological systems work
operating effectively with social, organizational, and technological systems -
Monitoring and Correcting
Performance:
distinguishing trends
predicting impacts on system operations
diagnosing deviations in systems' performance
correcting malfunctions
Technology: Working with a variety of technologies
-
Improving or Designing Systems:
suggesting modifications to existing systems
developing new or alternative systems to improve performance -
Selecting Technology:
choosing procedures, tools or equipment including computers and related technologies -
Applying Technology to a Task:
understanding overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment -
Maintaining and Troubleshooting
Equipment:
preventing problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies
identifying problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies
solving problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies
Don't Forget to
Highlight Your
Self-Management Skills on Your
Resume!
Self-Management Skills are those that describe your attitude and work ethic:
Logic
Energy
Creativity
Persistence
Enthusiasm
Adaptability
Resourcefulness
Self-Confidence
Productive Competence
Know yourself -
Know your skills
You
are the product you are
selling !
