Skills and Experience Inventory

Who this is for

Everything you can do, with the proof beside it. One table lists each skill, where you used it, the example that shows it and your level in your own words; the other lists every role you have held, when, and what you achieved in it.

People writing a CV, an application form or a personal statement, preparing for an interview or an appraisal, or changing career and trying to see what carries across.

What this helps you track

• Every skill you have, named, with the place you used it
• The evidence for each one — a specific example, not a claim
• Your own view of your level, in words rather than a rating scale
• Every role, employer and date, as an application form will ask for them
• What you achieved in each role, written down before it is forgotten

How to use it

1. Write your name, the date and what you are building the inventory for at the top.
2. List your skills one per row: the practical, the technical and the personal. For each, write where you used it and one example that shows it.
3. Describe your level in your own words — used daily, used once, taught others, still learning — rather than a number.
4. In the second table, list every role with the employer and the dates, and what you achieved there in a line or two.
5. When you next write a CV or fill in an application, copy from this sheet rather than starting from a blank page.
6. Add to it as things happen; the browser version saves in your own browser and prints when you need it.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How do I describe my level?

In whatever words are true: daily use, occasional, once, confident, rusty, taught it to others. There is no scale on the sheet because the words carry more than a number would.

What if I have a lot of roles?

The roles table continues on the second page, and the browser version adds rows as you need them. Older or shorter roles can share a row if the dates are clear.

Is this a CV?

No. It is the raw material for one. A CV chooses and orders; this sheet holds everything so that the choosing is done from a full list.

Should I include things from outside work?

Yes, where they show a skill — volunteering, a club you ran, something you built or organised. Where you used it is a column, and it does not have to be a job.