Professional Skills Assessment
Objective: To have students assess a wide variety of professional skills related to the 21st century professional.
Directions: For each of the professional skills numbered below, select one of the descriptions underneath it and then provide a specific example as to how you have demonstrated it in the past. If you do not have a specific example, circle that specific professional skill.
1. Being flexible while managing multiple tasks
a. Demonstrates an ability to achieve desired results
b. Delivers reliable and sustained results while effectively dealing with issues as they arise during the process
c. Delegates to improve organizational effectiveness
2. Collaborating with others or working as a team member
a. Inspires cooperation and confidence
b. Promotes cooperative behavior and team efforts
c. Gives careful consideration to tactical alternatives
d. Recognizes value of others, regardless of position or experience
3. Communicating by listening, writing, or speaking
a. Makes effective and proper use of communication platforms and devices
b. Is able to communicate complex information into user-friendly terms
c. Encourages honest feedback
d. Schedules meetings only when absolutely necessary
4. Completing assignments independently
a. Meets responsibilities promptly
b. Achieves results when confronted with major responsibilities and limited resources
c. Comfortable asking questions to ensure deliverable is completed as designed
5. Connecting choices and actions to ethical decisions
a. Maintains high personal integrity
b. Adheres to ethical principles that reflect the highest standards of organizational and individual behavior
c. Is regarded as highly trustful, sincere, and honest
6. Demonstrating innovative or creative ideas
a. Follows a variety of approaches in activities and techniques
b. Challenges conventional practices
c. Thinks differently by relying on a disparate set of resources
7. Engaging with others at work and the community
a. Recognizes the value of others within the community on a regular basis
b. Supports others through training, identification of new resources, or forging connections across departments
c. Offers a pleasant personality and is someone people want to be around
8. Getting along with others
a. Encourages the full participation of all team members
b. Excels in appointing people with complementary skills for maximum team effort
c. Makes sure that personal differences do not impact professional environment
9. Learning about new technological developments
a. Seeks out new technological platforms and devices to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency
b. Helps others overcome issues with new technology
c. Studies how competitors are leveraging technology
10. Locating, organizing and evaluating information
a. Demonstrates a tremendous knowledge of information sources
b. Draws on a variety of resources to achieve results
c. Seeks out new information sources to help spark creative ideas and new ways of thinking
11. Managing and leading others
a. Projects self-confidence, authority, and enthusiasm
b. Is an inspirational leader
c. Exerts a positive influence on the organizational culture
d. Understands the difference between management and leadership and works hard at development both skill sets
12. Organizing and executing a plan of action
a. Effectively puts plans into action
b. Anticipates emerging opportunities
c. Schedules updates to ensure plan continues forward
13. Thinking critically and analytically to solve problems
a. Promotes an environment conducive to creativity
b. Welcomes ideas, even those they are contradictory, from others
c. Recognizes the power of information
14. Understanding global issues and their implications
a. Recognizes the key global trends impacting the organization
b. Works to help others understand the implications of global issues
15. Working with numbers and analyzing data
a. Demonstrates a strong power of data analysis
b. Discusses data integrity and its importance within a study
c. Understands how data can help provide insight into key issues
Next Steps
1. Which two or three professional development skills can you rely on during the next month?
2. Which two or three professional development skills would you like to practice more often during the next month?