Why You Need To Conduct A Personal Skills Audit

Happy New Year and welcome to A Curious Adventure's first blog post of 2025! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and are now eagerly looking forward to the year ahead. What exciting plans do you have in store, or are you, like many of us, still pondering the challenges and changes you aim to tackle?

Over the holidays, I enjoyed the opportunity to unwind on long walks with friends and family. During one of these walks, the conversation turned to our aspirations for the new year. Travel plans, fitness goals, achieving better work-life balance, and career transitions were recurring themes. But it was the topic of career transitions that particularly caught my interest and inspired this post.

What stood out most during that conversation was hearing a friend, someone in a senior role at a global consulting firm, admit to feeling 'stuck.' Despite his impressive career, he wasn’t sure where to begin when it came to planning the next chapter of his journey. It was a reminder that even the most accomplished professionals can face uncertainty when navigating change.

Over the last couple of days, it has dawned on me that similar conversations are likely unfolding on walks all around the world.

Rediscovering Your Value: The Power of Reflecting on Your Skills and Experiences

It’s a curious thing, but once we hit our stride in our mid-30s, we often find ourselves diving headfirst into the projects and challenges we’ve been assigned or sometimes volunteered for. We work hard and for the most part, we deliver results and seamlessly move from one role or assignment to the next. For some, this progression is part of an organisational “talent succession plan”; for others, it’s a series of decisions that feel more post-rationalised than purposefully planned. Along the way, though, we rarely pause to reflect on the skills, knowledge, and wisdom we’ve gained.

In today’s fast-paced professional world, carving out time for a personal skills audit isn’t just beneficia, it’s essential. It’s an opportunity to step back, recognise the expertise we’ve cultivated, and identify the unique value we bring to the table. Yet, as my recent conversation over Christmas reminded me, many of us have lost sight of the skills we’ve developed along the way. And perhaps more importantly, we’re unsure where to start when it comes to truly understanding and articulating those skills.

How to Conduct a Personal Career Skills Audit

Taking time to reflect on your skills and experiences is an essential part of professional growth. A personal career skills audit helps you identify your strengths, uncover areas for improvement, and align your capabilities with your career goals. Below I’ve laid out a few tried-and-tested methods that I’ve used over the years:

Competency Matrix

A competency matrix is a simple yet effective tool for mapping your skills against the core competencies required in your industry or role. Start by creating a list of essential skills or attributes—these might include technical skills, leadership abilities, or interpersonal qualities. Then, rate your proficiency in each area on a scale (e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert).

Example: If communication is a key competency, think about your ability to present, influence, or lead discussions. Are there areas where you excel, or could certain aspects be developed further?
This process gives you a visual representation of your strengths and areas for growth, helping you identify where to focus your development efforts.

Personal Skills Audit

A personal skills audit is a more reflective approach. Take time to think about what you’ve achieved over the past year. Ask yourself:

• What new skills or knowledge have I acquired?

• What challenges have I overcome, and how?

• What feedback have I received from colleagues, clients, or managers?
  Write down your responses to create a record of your progress. This approach not only boosts self-awareness but also highlights achievements you may have overlooked.

STAR Approach

The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method helps you drill down into specific accomplishments. It’s particularly useful for articulating your value during interviews or appraisals.

• Situation: Briefly describe the context or challenge you faced.

• Task: Explain your specific responsibility in that situation.

• Action: Detail the steps you took to address the challenge or complete the task.

• Result: Share the outcome, focusing on the impact or value you delivered.

Example: I led a cross-departmental team (Situation) to reduce project delays (Task). I introduced a new project-tracking system and weekly status meetings (Action), which resulted in a 20% improvement in on-time delivery (Result).

SWOT Analysis

A personal SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) can add depth to your audit.

• Strengths: What do you do well? What sets you apart from others?

• Weaknesses: Are there areas where you feel less confident or experienced?

• Opportunities: What trends or changes in your industry could you take advantage of?

• Threats: Are there external factors or challenges that might impact your career progression?

This structured approach helps you take a strategic view of your career and prepares you to address potential obstacles. For a more dd

Bringing It All Together

Once you’ve completed these exercises (you don’t need to do them all), take a step back and look for patterns. What skills keep coming up as your strengths? Where do you see recurring gaps or opportunities? Use this insight to set clear, actionable goals for the year ahead, whether that’s pursuing training, seeking new challenges, or preparing for the next career move.

A personal career skills audit isn’t just about reflection, it’s about taking charge of your professional journey with clarity and confidence.

An alternative approach

Alternatively, if the idea of carrying out a personal audit fills you with dread, then consider this as an alternative approach. The C-Me “High Performance Report” will provide you with custom detailed analysis of your preferred ways of doing things, specifically: strengths, areas for development, blind spots, communication preferences, value to the team, attitude towards commitment, role preference and handling setbacks.

If you’d like to find out more about the C-Me report or would like tailored support in developing your personal audit get in touch today.