Fillable Skills Inventory Template

Understanding a Skills Inventory Template

A skills inventory template is essentially a form that profiles an employee’s skills, qualifications, and experiences. To put it simply, it represents a comprehensive record of an employee's capabilities, making it easier for the organization to allocate tasks, identify talent gaps, and plan for future needs. It differs from a resume in that it is more detailed and focuses solely on skills, often including both hard and soft skills.

Importance of skills inventory checklist

The importance of a skills inventory checklist form cannot be overlooked, as it allows you to keep track of the varied skillsets present in your organization. It clarifies the strengths and areas of improvement for each individual, thus helping in efficient task allocation. This holistic perspective lets companies make informed decisions about hiring, promotions, and training requirements. Additionally, it aids managers in identifying potential leaders and teams that can drive the company toward its goals. 

How to Fill Out Skill Inventory Template

Understanding how to fill out the skills inventory form adequately can, in fact, be a skill in itself. Here are key necessary steps to consider:

1. Start by entering your Name and the current Date at the top fields of the form.
2. Note the rules for filling it out: you must rate the skills in each category you would like to use most often based on your level of competency and interest, ranging from 4 (most competent/interested) to 1 (least competent/interested).
3. In the 'Critical Thinking' subsection, rate skills such as interpreting facts, reflecting, questioning, synthesizing, identifying patterns and drawing conclusions.
4. Move on to 'Leadership' skills, and rate your competence in strategic planning, decision-making, persuading, managing, motivating others, and forward-thinking.
5. Rate your proficiency in 'Teamwork' skills, including adaptability, interpersonal skills, cooperating, resolving conflict, open-mindedness, and collaboration.
6. In the 'Oral Communication' subsection, rate your skills in active listening, presenting, performing, expressing ideas, speaking clearly, and thoughtfulness.
7. Assess your 'Written Communication' skills next, and rate your ability in reading, editing, writing, explaining, reporting, and summarizing.
8. Evaluate yourself for 'Global/Intercultural Fluency' skills, including sensitivity, inclusiveness, understanding, global awareness, curiosity, and empathy.
9. Continue with 'Digital Technology' box and specify how proficient you are in software proficiency, repairing, operating, testing, troubleshooting, and information security.
10. Review 'Professionalism/Work Ethic' skills like integrity, flexibility, authenticity, punctuality, time management, and organization.
11. Proceed to 'Career Management' and rate yourself in self-awareness, goal-orientation, resilience, self-advocacy, initiative, and relationship-building.
12. Quantify your analytical abilities in the 'Analytical/Quantitative' section, consisting of being detail-oriented, analyzing, budgeting, calculating, forecasting, and researching.
13. Under 'Additional Skills', list other important skills not represented above.
14. Review your results in 'My top 5 Skill Categories' and 'My top 20 Individual Skills' sections.
15. Identify areas that require growth and development in 'My Top Skills to Develop' section.
16. Summarize your findings in the 'Summary' section, and review your completed form before submission. Refine any areas as you deem necessary.
17. Upon completion, you can download the form in different formats, share it via email, or save it on the PDFliner database.

When to use the skills inventory checklist template

There are ideal occasions when you can effectively deploy the skills inventory checklist template. These may include when you are:

• Preparing for a job interview: To highlight relevant skills and experiences.
• Planning a career shift: To recognize transferable skills and identify development areas.
• Conducting performance reviews: To assess skills gained and identify improvement areas.
• Planning training programs:  To identify skills gaps and target areas employees must improve.
• Crafting a resume: To look beyond conventional qualifications and exhibit a wide variety of skills.