Employment
experts agree that skills identification is essential
to a successful job search. Employers want to
know what it is you can do for them, not just what
you have done for someone else. A knowledge
of your unique skills is needed to successfully complete
an application, write a resume, or answer interview
questions. Skills identification is the first
step toward new employment.
Webster's
New World Dictionary defines a skill as "a great ability
or proficiency, expertness that comes from training,
practice, etc." A more simple definition would
be to say that a skill is something you can do right
now.
Everyone
has skills, hundreds of skills, many of which employers
are looking for in an employee. Yet most people
can only identify a few skills and are generally unable
to describe them to an employer. Employers need
to hear what you can do. If you were looking
to purchase a product that would cost you thousands
of dollars a year for many years, you would also want
to know what it could do. You are not ready
to even begin approaching employers for employment
until you can clearly tell them what you can accomplish.
The more skills you have identified, the easier it
will be to convince a potential employer that you
have what it takes to be successful.
Skills
may be broken into these three categories: Job
Content Skills, Self-Management Skills, and Transferable
Skills.
Job
Content Skills
Job content
skills are those skills specific to a job or occupation.
A secretary is skilled in typing, word processing,
answering telephones, company correspondence, and
filing. An accountant would list accounts receivable,
performing accounts payable, payroll, figuring taxes,
using a 10-key adding machine, and computer accounting
programs. A salesperson would include customer
service, record keeping, order processing, inventory
management, billing, and product displays.
Job content
skills are important to employers for obvious reasons.
These are the specific skills they are looking for
in a candidate to accomplish the duties of the job.
Job skills do not always come from employment.
Along with the skills you used in previous jobs, you
may have developed job skills through education, hobbies,
community activities, and life experiences.
Common activities such as shopping, managing finances,
balancing a bank account, hosting a party and teaching
a child all contain potential job skills.
Self-Management
Skills
Sometimes
called "personality traits," these self-management
skills are the skills you use day-by-day to get along
with others and to survive. They are the skills
that make you unique. Sincerity, reliability,
tactfulness, patience, flexibility, timeliness, or
tolerance are examples of self-management skills.
Employers
look for these skills in candidates as evidence of
how they will "fit" into the organization. How
a person will "fit in" is an important consideration
for employers.
Transferable
Skills
These are
skills that can transfer from one job or occupation
to another. They may either be self-management
or job content skills, and may or may not have been
developed through previous employment. For most
job seekers it is very unlikely that they will find
a job that is identical to their previous employment.
For many
today, that new job will be totally different from
their past experience. Therefore, it is critical
for a successful job seeker to carefully evaluate
how their skills transfer into other opportunities.
It is also important to look for ways to express this
transferability to a prospective employer.
Duties
Many people
have trouble distinguishing between their skills and
duties. Duties are the basic functions of an
activity. Skills are the tools used to accomplish
these functions. Duties or functions are a part
of any organized activity, whether it is employment,
volunteer work, or hobbies. A simple example
is the management of a lemonade stand. The basic
duties of a lemonade stand owner might be to manage
lemonade operations including production, marketing,
distribution and finances. There are many skills
needed to accomplish these functions including; mixing,
measuring, planning, sales, customer service, writing,
cash handling, record keeping, maintenance, timeliness,
dependability, accuracy and motivation. A complete
list of skills would be very long. Writing out
the duties or functions of an activity first can be
a useful way to begin identifying skills. When
presenting your skills to an employer, it is best
to tie them to specific activities in which they were
used. It is not enough to tell the employer
your skills, you need to be prepared to tell where,
when, and how you used those skills.
Writing
Your Skills
Identifying,
listing and describing your skills is not an easy
task. However, it is critical to job search
success and you should plan to invest the time needed.
Listed below is an outline for skill identification
that has been successfully used by many job seekers.
1) List
by title any jobs you have held. Start with
you most recent employment and work backwards.
2) Write
a detailed description of four to five major duties.
3) Think
of all the skills needed to accomplish each duty you
have listed. Write those skills down on a piece
of paper. Remember to look for both job content
and self-management skills. Be sure to include
tools used, machines operated, knowledge applied,
etc.
4) Repeat
the above steps for each activity you anticipate describing
to an employer either on an application, resume or
in an interview. Use this same process for other
work-related activities including hobbies, volunteer
work, and community experience.
5) Once
you have completed this process, you should have a
long list of skills - a list too long to tell an employer.
Go through the list and select those skills that match
your job goal(s). These are the skills you will
use in your job search.
