Self-Management

While there are many lists of these 'employability' skills, at Oxford we focus on the key eight skills – based on the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s report, Future Fit.

This page focuses on Self-Management. To read more about the other seven employability skills, click on the links below.


Recruiters will want evidence that you can manage your own time, are flexible, resilient, and can improve yourself based on feedback. These are qualities that are developed over time; there are not really short-term 'quick fixes' in this area, as self-management skills are gained through longer-term activities. Ways to develop your self-management abilities include:

  • Doing any extra-curricular activities or part-time work in addition to your degree. This will signal to employers that you can balance various responsibilities and workloads. 
  • Up-skilling yourself. Why not take a course at the Oxford Language Centre, or complete an online training programme, for example, a free MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) or use Molly: Oxford’s IT Learning Centre for free access to courses on LinkedIn Learning; see our briefing Online and self-directed skills development for ideas.
  • Setting yourself personal goals that require commitment to complete, such as Couch to 5K, making a craft project, writing a regular blog or contributing to a coding project.
  • Use Oxford’s IDEA Engaging with Entrepreneurship Programme, hosted on Inkpath, to login and attend skill-building activities and build a permanent record of your training activities during your time at the University.

  • Participating in an organised charity challenge, such as the RAG jailbreak or Race for Life.
  • Demonstrating your sticking power by getting involved in a long-term volunteering project.
  • Developing your interests and knowledge by undertaking a summer research project or an internship.

Want to develop your self-management skills? 

Click on the 'CareerConnect EVENTS'  tab below to see upcoming events from the Careers Service where you can build on this skill.

CareerConnect EVENTS
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