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Skills Gap Checklist

Employers rarely expect a new graduate to have everything — they expect a plan. This checklist walks through the skill groups that appear most often in graduate job descriptions, lets you tick what you already have, and turns what's missing into concrete next steps.

Core academic
Technical & professional
Interpersonal
Career readiness

Your skill coverage

0%

0 of 13 core skills checked

How it works

  1. Tick every skill you can demonstrate — not just “have heard of”, but have used.
  2. The scoreboard shows how many core skills you've covered.
  3. Unticked items become your personal gap list.
  4. Every gap includes a concrete, realistic next step you can do as a student.
  5. Use the result to steer projects, electives and internships.

Worked example

Worked example

  1. A CS student ticks: programming languages, version control, teamwork, written communication.
  2. Leaves unticked: technical interviews practiced, portfolio projects, networking.

3 clear gaps — each with a next step: run mock interviews, ship one portfolio project, attend one campus career event this month.

Common mistakes

  • Ticking skills you've only read about — interviewers probe depth fast.
  • Ignoring soft skills — communication and teamwork appear in nearly every graduate job ad.
  • Treating the list as exhaustive — it's a starting map of the most common requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Where does this skill list come from?

It's a distilled map of the skill groups that appear most frequently in graduate job descriptions across engineering, business and tech roles. It's guidance, not an official industry standard.

How do I close a gap fastest?

Projects and internships beat courses for demonstrable skills. The suggested next step for each gap is chosen to be doable while studying.

Can I share my checklist result?

Yes — the result summary can be copied as a shareable text snippet (your name and details are never included).

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