Skills demonstration and signalling is about making your capabilities visible and credible — so opportunities come to you based on what you can do. It means describing experience in terms of skills, building evidence, and using relationships and proof to stand out. This helps employers see your real capability beyond certificates.
Practices You Can Put into Action
Explore practical ways to make Skills-First part of how you navigate your career, develop your skills and show what you can do.
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You describe your experience in terms of the skills you’ve built — for example leadership or budgeting — rather than just listing past job titles.
Try this:
Lead with the skills you used, not just the role you held.
Give a concrete example of each skill in action.
Match the skills you highlight to what the opportunity needs.
You build a record that proves your skills — such as completed work samples, test results, or a skills passport — that you can show to employers.
Try this:
Collect work samples that demonstrate each key skill.
Keep your Careers & Skills Passport updated as you go.
Use verified evidence where you can — it carries more weight than self-claims.
You build relationships with mentors, colleagues, family and others who can open doors and support you through career decisions — connections often matter as much as skills.
Try this:
Identify people such as your colleagues who know your work, mentors who can advise you, and contacts who can expose you to new opportunities.
Stay connected by sharing updates, asking for advice and taking an interest in what others are working on, rather than reaching out only when you need a job.
Contribute to the relationship by sharing useful information, offering help or connecting others where you can.
You ask people who know your work for a direct recommendation, rather than relying only on an online job application — this matters because automated resumeab-screening systems can filter out good candidates before a human ever sees their application.
Try this:
Reach out directly and explain what you are applying for and why your experience is relevant, then ask if they would be comfortable recommending or referring you.
Give them a short summary of the skills and relevant experience you would like them to highlight, so they can make a specific recommendation rather than a general endorsement.
You make use of shared tools, such as Skills Frameworks and Jobs Transformation Maps, to better understand your skills, career options and changing job opportunities, without needing expert interpretation.
Try this:
Reference the Skills Framework to describe the skills you have in your current job
Use Jobs Transformation Maps to spot which of your skills are in demand and find out how different jobs are being disrupted
You keep your Careers & Skills Passport and career planning documents up to date, so they reflect your latest skills, experience, career goals and next steps.
Try this:
Seek endorsement of your skills from your peers, such as managers, supervisors, and colleagues.
Gather evidence, such as work samples and testimonials, that can illustrate the skills that you have.
Add new skills to your Careers & Skills Passport as you acquire them
At major career transitions, discuss your skills and career plans with your employer or career coach and review whether your actions are improving your career opportunities, skills and earnings.
Try this:
Use transition points to reassess direction, not just replace the same job.
Discuss your options with your supervisor or a career coach and identify possible pathways forward.
Check whether your recent learning and moves are actually opening better opportunities.