Читать книгу How to Get a Job In a Recession: A Comprehensive Guide to Job Hunting In the 21st Century - Denise M.D. Taylor - Страница 23

Firstly, what do you do well? What are the top skills you have? What are the tasks that you are praised for achieving, and what are you qualified to do? It’s not just about what you have done in your last job; skills can include things you do outside of your main paid work such as a hobby or interest. That’s what led Bruno to follow his dream of becoming a golf pro.

Skills are the things we have learned to do. We gain skills through both paid and unpaid activities. As you think about your skills, don’t just think about the work you do in your day job. You may have gained relevant skills via hobbies (organised a wedding, or a group holiday) or perhaps voluntary work (leader of the Brownies). Perhaps you have entrepreneurial skills and have been selling things online or via market stalls.

Samira said: “My top skills are paying attention to detail, being quick and accurate with numbers and being organised. I’ve got good listening skills and I’m the sort of person that others confide in, I’m creative and like developing new solutions.”

Activity: Make a note of your top skills, if you need help, download the skills exercise from the website.

Some of these skills you will want to keep on using, but there will be many that you don’t enjoy, so cross them out! With the ones that remain, make sure you are specific.

For example, which are better, your written or verbal communication skills? Are your verbal skills better in one-to-one situations or in large groups? Providing an example of this skill will be very useful for revising your CV and at interview.

Organisation: I can organise people, information and events. For example, I planned a conference entertainment programme, negotiated with suppliers and produced publicity materials. (This can then lead to a separate heading of ‘Communication’.)

Identifying your skills reveals all you can do, and editing them determines which truly interest you. Doing this not only keeps you from focusing solely on using the skills you have, but shows you which skills you truly enjoy using.

Action: Provide specific examples of your top skills.