Reflecting on and recording your Skills for Success

Reflection – thinking about what happened, analysing the situation, and using this to inform the present and future – is what turns experience into learning.  Taking time to think about what you're doing, what you're gaining from it, and where you'd like to develop further helps you to:

• notice development you might otherwise overlook
• get more from the experiences you're already having
• make better choices about where to direct your energy
• build your ability to talk confidently about your skills – in applications, interviews, and conversations with tutors or employers

The more you practise reflection, the clearer your picture of your own strengths and development becomes, and the better placed you'll be to articulate what you bring to any situation.

There's no single right way to reflect.  Some people find it helpful to keep brief notes after significant experiences; others prefer more structured approaches or dedicated time to review their progress.  The important thing is finding something that works for you and doing it consistently.  In the moment, it may seem like it does not matter, but keeping even a brief record of your skills development is an invaluable tool when you need to make decisions like what course to study, or what field you want to work in, as well as helping you with evidencing your skills.

The Reflection Toolkit offers practical models, tools and guidance to help you get started or go deeper, whatever your prior experience of reflection. 

Keeping even a brief record as you go is much easier than trying to reconstruct your learning later.  A few lines after a challenging seminar, a group project, or a new experience outside your studies can add up to something genuinely useful over time. 

The questions below can be used to reflect on any of the ten Skills for Success.  You don't need to work through all of them at once – pick the questions most relevant to where you are right now with the skill you're focusing on.

• What achievements are you proud of?
• What skills did you demonstrate when you in these? 

• Where in your life do you use this skill – in your studies, work, volunteering, or elsewhere?
• What are you already confident in within this skill area?
• How do you know you are skilled at this?  What experiences give you evidence of this?
• Where do you feel less confident, or would like to develop further? 
• What experiences have contributed to developing this skill so far?
• When you see people who are good at this skill, what behaviours do they exhibit that you could learn from?

• What opportunities or actions could help you develop this skill further?
• How does this skill connect to or support other skills you are developing? 
• What would it look like in practice to use this skill well in different situations – for example in your studies, in a workplace, or in a community or social setting?
• How might developing this skill benefit your future – in your career, further study, or personal life?