Identifying your skills

[Reyed Mia (Apprentice, DIU)]

Identifying your skills

The first phase in managing your career is to gain a better understanding of your own interest and identify what you bring to the table. You want to be able to tell a story of why an employer should hire you, particularly if you think you'll be changing careers. Employers hire because they need your skills, your knowledge, and your qualifications to achieve the organization's goals. If you don't meet their requirements, you won't get hired. Understanding your strengths will allow you to choose the right roles and industries to maximize your career opportunities.

So let's begin with skills. A skill is your ability to do something well. Examples of skills include public speaking, supervising, and analyzing data. The great thing about skills is that you can transfer these abilities to different industries or even different roles. For example, if you enjoy analyzing data, you can perform this at a financial organization or a university setting. Identifying your skills will be most important to those who are new to the job market or those who want to change careers.

In your Career Development Guide, which we provided to all members of lynda.com, we've included a list of common transferable skills. Take a moment to review the list and check off the skills that you possess and want to use on a regular basis. If you're having trouble with this section, then take a moment to answer these questions. In what situations or activities have you done your best work, consider any volunteer work or hobbies, what did you enjoy most about these activities.

We've included some blank roles at the bottom of the handout for you to add any additional skills not listed here. Next, write specific examples of where you've used those skills. Remember, examples can come from any experience, including volunteer or hobbies, not just work. Finally, prioritize the skills that you consider personal strengths, and that you would like to spend most of you work day on. Order the skills with 1 being the most important, 2 being the second, and so forth.

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/managing-your-career/identifying-your-skills