Building on our 3 key Self Management Skills of:
Initiative;
Organisation; and
Accountability.
Strong organisational skills are demonstrated by planning your time and your workload effectively. Meeting deadlines will show potential employers that you are good at organisation, which is vital to do well in your career.
As well as ensuring you don’t forget your lunch or turn up late to an important meeting, organisation will make you look more professional and help you get your job done more effectively. Employers really value strong organisational skills, as they know you will be efficient and do the work on time. Being organised also shows how much you care about your job; arriving every day, being on time, and remembering everything you need is really important.
When you use your initiative you do things without being asked, solve problems that others may not have noticed needed solving, and go out of your way to continue learning and growing. You do extra research if required, ask questions, and seek help if you need to. It also means doing things for others. Going out of your way to help people shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond, which will impress employers.
Using your initiative makes you a desirable candidate for jobs and opportunities as you are showing you can think for yourself, as well as proving that you will continue to develop and grow in your role. It allows you to get ahead of the competition and ensure you’re up to date with what’s going on in your career sector.
Holding yourself accountable for the work you do means you will inspire yourself to add extra passion to your working day. It’s not just a job for money – it’s work you care about and want to do your best in. It can result in you doing a better job, and being the kind of candidate employers will want working for them because they know you will be dedicated for all the right reasons.
Work offers lots of fantastic opportunities to organise yourself and make your daily tasks go more smoothly:
Make a list of things to do, and tick them off as you go.
Keep important documents like shared work calendars to hand, so you always know what to do and when.
Keep track of any meetings or calls you may be expected to join.
Building self management skills at work will help you:
Turn up on time to important meetings and bring anything you might need (that counts for job interviews too!)
Take pride in your work and get recognised as someone who really tries and cares.
Do your tasks better because you prepare in advance when you need to.
Seek out opportunities for work experience, training and more.
reach out to a possible mentor to help support and grow your self personally and professionally.
Good self management skills will give you more chances to move forward in your career, too. People can see you as someone who can handle responsibility and puts extra care into what they do, going above and beyond what’s required. An attitude like this can help you get more opportunities, responsibility, training and promotions over time.
How to build and improve self management skills
Self management is about preparing for the future, owning your present and taking care in what you do – as well as learning how you could do better next time. Self management is a really important way to grow as a person, not just in the workplace. Babies are not responsible for anything they do. As we grow, we learn that it’s important to take responsibility for yourself because there won’t always be someone there to hold your hand with every step you take.
Here are some ways to build the three key elements of self management (initiative, organisation and accountability).
Ways to boost your initiative
Start or lead a project – Having an idea and making the effort to follow it through shows great initiative.
Do a course in your spare time – Choosing to develop your skills and knowledge shows employers how motivated and willing you are.
Volunteering – Giving your time to a good cause makes you stand out and can help you to develop a range of skills.
Ways to develop your organisation
Set yourself deadlines for projects – Plan how you will achieve your goal. When do certain tasks need to be done and in what order?
Use your calendar and diary – Use an online calendar and or diary that will help you manage your diary, tasks and important information.
Create a routine – Set a morning routine to make sure you are ready for the day ahead.
Ways to develop accountability
Own the task you’re given – When you are given a task by anyone don’t think of it as a task someone gave you. Say to yourself: “this is my task. The passion I put into this task reflects on me as a person, and I am ready to take pride in what I do.”
Go the extra mile to do things as well as you can – If you have been assigned a task or activity and it is not going well, think about what extra steps you could take to make it better.
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