Transferable Skills (and the ePortfolio)
As the end of your PhD approaches, you will be tasked with gaining employment - hopefully a job where you
can use your mind and what you gained while doing a doctorate... So, what skills do you have, exactly?
In this workshop, you’ll use reflective writing and be introduced to the ePortfolio tool (available on
CareerHub) to evaluate your skills and articulate your competencies
Sometimes it's difficult for PhD students to identify what skills they
have since the academic experience is not necessarily focused on
articulating skill sets. PhD students may struggle, understandably,
to present the transferability of their academic experiences to nonacademic contexts.
Connect
your
learning
Reflect
Evaluate
Learning Objectives:
 Articulate how you have developed transferrable skills
from your postgraduate studies
 Develop reflective writing techniques focused on critical
self-reflection
 Evaluate using the ePortfolio to record your skill
development
Skills
Competencies
Study
Work
Accomplishments
Experiences
Think
A Quick Guide:
Login to Careerhub.victoria.ac.nz.
Click on My
ePortfolio.
Reflect
Record
Enter Experiences.
Reflect
Map Graduate
Attributes/Skills to the Use the provided
relevant sections.
prompts to stimulate
your thinking.
Review
Practice
Victoria University of Wellington | Transferrable Skills (and the ePortfolio)
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Evaluate your skills
Below are some examples of PhD skill sets and ways to describe them. Feel free to jot down notes on the last page
or enter directly into your ePortfolio.
1. Identify your skills: Tick the skills you already have. Then find the evidence: How do you know you can do
this? (e.g conference presentations, teaching experience, managing your thesis journey)
2. Locate opportunities: Star skills you’d like to develop. How can you improve? What will you do and
when?
Analysis &
Problem-Solving
Interpersonal &
Leadership Skills
Identify issues,
causes, and
solutions
Facilitate group
discussions or
conduct
meetings
Comprehend
and synthesise
large amounts of
information
Design, plan and
implement a
study, from idea
to application
Evaluate sources
of information
applicable to an
issue
Effectively
mentor or
develop others
Collaborate on
projects
Form and
defend
independent
conclusions
Research &
Information
Management
Written & Verbal
Communication
Work effectively
under pressure
with limited
supervision to
meet deadlines
Organize and
communicate
ideas effectively
in written and
verbal
presentations to
different
audiences
A confident
quick-learner
Design and
analyze research
using large data
sets
Teach skills or
concepts to
others
Navigate
complex
bureaucratic
environments
Self-Motivated &
Self-Starter
Persistent
Self-directed and
autonomous
Technical ability
(e.g. software
use)
flexible and
adaptable
Write at all
levels — brief
abstract to
book-length
manuscript
Explain complex
concepts in
simple language
Write effective
grant proposals
Articulate your skills
Think of a specific example, and use the STAR model to reveal your skill.
o Situation: describe a situation or problem you have encountered
o Task: describe the task that the situation required or your ideas for resolving it
o Action: describe the action you took, any obstacles you overcame.
o Results: Highlight outcomes achieved
Victoria University of Wellington | Transferrable Skills (and the ePortfolio)
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Critically reflect on your skill development
What have you learned about yourself and your skills through your PhD study?
Communication skills written and verbal
Self-motivated & Selfstarter
Strong Interpersonal
Skills
Analytical and
conceptual skills
Problem Solving Skills
Multicultural Perspective
Energy and enthusiasm
Flexible and Adaptable
"Can Do" Attitude
• Think about the most significant written document/report/presentation which you
had to complete. What was difficult? What was easy? How did you feel about the
result? What would you have done differently?
• Think about the last time that you undertook a project that demanded a lot of
initiative. How did you approach it? What was the outcome?
• What do you do when something needs to be done but no one is there to give you
guidance?
•Consider a time when you built a successful relationship with a difficult person. What
did you do? What was the outcome?
• Being successful in a task/activity often depends upon having good relationships with
others. Think about a time that you were able to accomplish a task because you
had such a relationship with another person. How did this impact your work?
• How do you deal with data from a variety of sources, to identify the key information?
• When presented with several points of view what do you do to ensure you reach the
most appropriate conclusion?
• Discuss a time when your integrity was challenged. How did you handle it?
• When presented with a problem, how do you go about finding a resolution?
• Consider a situation when you successfully adapted to a culturally different
environment. What did you do?
• Consider a time when you made an intentional effort to get to know someone from
another culture. What did you do? What was the outcome?
• What have you done to further your knowledge/understanding about diversity? How
have you demonstrated your learning?
• Consider an example of an important goal that you set yourself in the past. Thinking
about your success in reaching it, how did you approach it?
• Thinking about a difficult task you were required to undertake, what extra effort did
you exert to achieve the goals set and accomplish a task?
• What do you do when priorities change quickly? Thinking about an example of when
this happened, what did you do? What was the outcome?
More Reflective Prompts:
• What have you done outside of formal study to develop your skills?
• How do you record your achievements?
• How do you decide whether a task has gone well or not and what you would do differently next time?
 How could you use these skills in a career?
Use your ePortfolio The ePortfolio on CareerHub provides a digital space where you can store and reflect on
your skill development: https://careerhub.vuw.ac.nz/Portfolio/Default.chpx
For assistance with the ePortfolio, contact [email protected]
Victoria University of Wellington | Transferrable Skills (and the ePortfolio)
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My notes:
Skills
Evidence
Plans
Victoria University of Wellington | Transferrable Skills (and the ePortfolio)
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