⚡ How to Link Skills to Your Experience and Improve Your Proficiency Score – Whoz Knowledge Center

What is the Your Inferred Proficiency?

Your inferred proficiency is a calculated score based on the skill level you declare, plus related skills and verified experience. As a talent, you select a proficiency level for each skill (for example, 4). If you have multiple related skills or supporting experience, your proficiency level may receive a small increase (for example, 4.2).

This decimal score helps distinguish talent profiles that share the same declared level without replacing or contradicting self-assessment.

How can I update my inferred proficiency?

To update your inferred proficiency you can:

Update your declared proficiency in the skills section of your profile. Your inferred proficiency will never be lower than your declared proficiency.
Add experiences with skills. Your inferred proficiency is boosted by the number of years of professional experiences associated with a declared skill. Click a skill to see which experiences contribute to your XPS score—experiences are listed in the skill side panel.
Add related skills. Skills related to the measured skill can also boost your inferred proficiency.

FAQs

Why an inferred proficiency? Does it replace the declared proficiency?

The declared proficiency always remains the user’s official self-assessment. However, declared proficiency alone does not always provide enough precision for staffing, learning, or workforce analytics.

Inferred Proficiency simply provides complementary insight based on demonstrated experience.

For example: Two talent profiles may both declare the maximum level on a skill, but:

One may have applied the skill intensively across many projects
The other may have little or no practical experience

Inferred proficiency introduces nuance by producing a decimal score that can differentiate between these cases, making it easier to compare and rank profiles with similar declared levels.

Why is inferred proficiency a decimal?

Because Inferred Proficiency is calculated from multiple data points, its value is expressed with one decimal (e.g., 4.3, 5.6, 3.6). The decimal value highlights subtle nuances that would not be visible in the rounded declared proficiency scale.

Why can the inferred proficiency be higher than the declared proficiency?

When a declared level is reinforced by strong project experience and high proficiency in related skills, the computed score may exceed the declared scale. This highlights demonstrated mastery, not a change to the declaration.

Example
A consultant declares the maximum proficiency level (e.g., 5/5 on a 5-level scale) in Agile Methodologies.
They demonstrate extensive experience and strong levels in Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe.
→ Inferred Proficiency: 5.6

Note: inferred proficiency can exceed the maximum of your configured scale (whether 4, 5, or 6) when experience and related skills strongly reinforce demonstrated mastery.

Note: inferred proficiency can exceed the maximum of your configured scale (whether 4, 5, or 6) when experience and related skills strongly reinforce demonstrated mastery."

This does not modify the declared proficiency, it simply highlights a demonstrated and reinforced level of mastery.

Can the inferred proficiency be lower than the declared proficiency?

No. The inferred proficiency is floored by the declared proficiency, so it will never be lower than what the talent has declared.

Does inferred proficiency consider all my profiles?

Yes. Inferred proficiency takes into account all of a talent's profiles, not just the main profile. This ensures that the calculation reflects the full breadth of experience and skills across your entire professional history.

This unified approach means that:

All skills are indexed consistently — Whether you're viewing the talent profile, using the Casting Engine, or analyzing data in the Performance Center
XPS is calculated across profiles — Your experience-based seniority score reflects your complete professional journey
Skills Matrix is enriched — The Skills Matrix in Analytics displays all unified and inferred skills from across your profiles

💡 What this means for you
Your inferred proficiency benefits from the complete picture of your expertise. If you've worked on Python projects in multiple roles or profiles, all of that experience contributes to a single, comprehensive inferred proficiency score for Python.

Can inferred proficiency decrease over time?

Yes. As experience becomes less recent or related skills evolve, the inferred score may vary to reflect the most up-to-date expertise.

Will external stakeholders see this score?

Visibility is managed by your organization’s Whoz settings. Some implementations share it with managers and staffing teams; others keep it private to talent. Note that exported resumes always have the declared proficiency, never the inferred.

Does inferred proficiency predict future potential?

Not directly. It reflects demonstrated mastery today based on evidence and related skills. Potential and aspirations are managed in other parts of the profile.

Why does this matter for staffing and talent development?

Two people declaring the maximum proficiency level may have very different backgrounds. Inferred Proficiency helps distinguish profiles and identify the best fit for assignments, learning paths, and workforce planning.

What Inferred Proficiency does (and does not do)

Inferred Proficiency complements declared proficiency by providing nuance based on evidence. It does not replace, judge, or override self-assessment.

Declared proficiency always remains the reference chosen by the talent. Inferred Proficiency is an additional perspective that supports smarter decisions.