Ask yourself these questions to guide your reflection and make the most of your experience
1. Skills and knowledge gained: What new skills or knowledge did you acquire? Were there any specific tools, technologies or methodologies that you learned? How might they be useful in your future career?
2. Challenges and problem-solving: What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them? Were there any areas where you wished you had more experience or training? How will you try to address this gap?
3. Personal and professional growth: How has this experience helped you grow personally and professionally? Did the experience enhance your confidence in your abilities? How did you get outside your comfort zone?
4. Strengths and areas for improvement: What strengths did you discover or develop? Were there any skills or areas you realized need further development? How did you receive feedback?
5. Networking and professional relationships: How did you build relationships with your peers, colleagues, mentor or supervisors? Were there any individuals you met who could be valuable contacts for your future? How do you plan to maintain the professional connections you made?
6. Aligning goals: Did the experience help clarify your career, academic or personal goals? If so, how? What kind of roles or responsibilities do you want to focus on as you engage in future experiences?
7. Applying academic learning: How did the skills or knowledge from your academic studies apply to your work? Were there any gaps between what you learned in school and the demands of the experience?
As you reflect on your experiential learning journey, you gain valuable insights and recognize areas for growth. This provides a strong foundation for identifying future goals and opportunities. The next part of the process involves translating these insights into a clear and actionable plan. By doing so, you can continue to build on your experience and move forward with purpose and direction.
Need support?
Book an experience building appointment with our certified experiential learning team to get the support that you need. Visit OSCARplus, under Student Success Centre > Appointments > Employment and Experiential Learning.