Organisation is the ability to be systematic and efficient. Strong organisational skills are demonstrated by planning your time and your workload effectively. An ability to meet deadlines will provide recruiters with the evidence that you possess good organisational skills. Organisational skills are vital to be effective and efficient in the modern workplace.
Activities where you could develop organisational skills
The following activities, which may be undertaken as part of or alongside your studies, can be good ways to develop your organisational skills:
You could volunteer for a position of responsibility such as student Representative within your academic department.
- PASS Leader Voluntary role facilitating groups of lower year students on specific study related topics and strategies. Some students may have the opportunity to take on co-ordinator roles after a year as a Leader.
- Peer Mentor Develop organisation skills while supporting others through their studies and wider university life.
- Student Societies Getting onto the committee of a society, or starting one up yourself, can give you the opportunity to organise events and activities.
- Enactus Opportunity to work in a team to work on a worthwhile project which makes an impact on the community.
- Volunteering Gives you the chance to develop a range of skills while giving something back to the community.
- Work Experience Develop a range of skills and build up your experience in the workplace while still at university.
- Work Shadowing Short-term activity, a day or two, to gain an insight into a particular role or industry. Use your organisation skills to arrange or make the most of the experience.
How is organisation assessed in recruitment?
Some examples of application form and interview questions which are designed to test organisation skills:
- Give an example of when you had to organise a piece of work, project or event.
- Even the most organised individuals may find that they overlook some of the activities required in planning new activities / initiatives. Tell us about a time when this happened to you.
- What is the key to effective organisation skills?
- Tell me about a social event that you have organised, what lessons did you learn?
If you are unsure how to structure an answer for either application or interview questions, visit the application and interviews section of our website and find out about the CAR (context, action, result) and STAR (situation, task, action, result) models. Our recommendations are based on feedback from employers.
