Skills and Interests

As I have been reviewing and working with your resume’s one item that has surfaced is found in regard to skills. Before I go any further, let’s make sure we know the difference between skills, character traits, and abilities. Skill sets Common traits Ability The Foundation Skills, Job Skills All Workers Need The 17 Foundation Skills are those required of all workers in the high-performance workplace of the 21st century. They were developed from several high-level government commission reports. A corporate vice president and director at Motorola, Jim Burge, wrote this, "At my company, Motorola, the only constant is change. Jobs that were once relatively simple now require high-performance work processes and enhanced skills. Today's job skills, identified by Professor Lawrence Jones in Job Skills for the 21st Century, reflect these changing workplace realities and help students, job applicants, and employees anticipate change." There are four groups of Foundation Skills: Basic Skills Thinking Skills People Skills Personal Qualities Know and Strengthen Your Marketable Skills Skills are the currency of the workplace. You will be hired because the employer believes you have skills that will increase its effectiveness. Consequently, · Keep an eye out for job opportunities; be ready to get a new job before you start actively looking. Talk with others in your chosen field about jobs openings. Keep an updated resume and share it with others. Communicate your accomplishments clearly (PAR: Problem, Action, Results): What was the problem you faced? What actions did you take? What observable results were there? Practice in front of a mirror. Your ability to describe your skills and accomplishments is essential to promotions, writing resumes, and succeeding in job interviews. · Learn new skills and build on those you already have. How strong are your Foundation Skills? Take a careful look at them. Strengthen those that are weak. · Know your "motivated skills," those that you enjoy using. Look for ways to strengthen them. · Know what skills your industry needs. Learn skills that are transferable to jobs in other companies. Occupational Interests – Occupational interests are preferences people have for activities that go with different occupations. For example, if you enjoy outdoor environments, manual tasks and natural settings you are probably more suited to being a forest ranger than an office worker. Take a look at the Career Interests Game. Use it to analyze how your skills match your interests. Keep track of your 2 or 3 top interest areas. Do these indicate potential career paths for you that resemble the path you say you are pursuing? Since you have a little better idea of the differences and similarities between skills and abilities versus interests, it’s time to look at potentially matching your skills with occupations. Once you identify your skills and submit the inventory, list the top 5 possibilities for your future. How many of these were identified as having a Bright Outlook? Any Green? Here is a chance to get a little more ready for the tests that you may have already taken. Just go through the process of setting up a profile and chose a couple of additional tests you might want to take (no, really, choose a couple) and then proceed through the Princeton Review Career Planner. There are 24 questions for you to respond to in order to have a interest type and usual style result. What colors are you from the inventory? Are you finding any common ground with the previous survey’s? What are they? If not, what do you think is causing the different results? Myers Briggs – the granddaddy of them all. Over the sixty five plus years since its inception in 1943, the MBTI or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® has evolved and been perfected through continual test research and development of ever more accurate questions. Many, many millions of people have taken the test (actually the Indicator is an inventory or psychological instrument rather than a test - as a test suggests right and wrong answers. All answer choices in the MBTI are equally desired). Go through this abbreviated version of the MBTI and then let me know the results by sending me your four personality type letters. STEPS to Successful Career Planning Values assessment Identifying your personal values is an important part of a successful career plan. In this context, the word "value" refers to how you feel about the work itself and the contribution it makes to society. Most people who pursue work that is congruent with their values feel satisfied and successful in their careers. Work values can be divided into two functional categories. Intrinsic values are those that relate to a specific interest in the activities of the work itself, or to the benefits that the work contributes to society. Extrinsic values relate to the favorable conditions that accompany an occupational choice, such as physical setting, earning potential, and other external features. Most people, in order to feel truly satisfied with their work, must find some personal intrinsic value in it. Before you begin – list 5 important values for yourself My 5 Most Essential Values 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The following is a list of personal values that many people have identified as being important to them in their careers. To begin exploring your own personal work values, rate each value listed with the following scale and add other values you consider essential to your list. 1 - Things I value VERY MUCH 2 - Things I VALUE 3 - Things I DON'T VALUE very much Help Society Do something which contributes to improving the world we live in Help Others Be directly included in helping other people, either individually or in small groups Public Contact Have a lot of day-to-day contact with the public Work with Others Work as a team member toward common goals Work Alone Do projects by myself, with limited contact with others Competition Engage in activities which pit my abilities against others Make Decisions Have the power to decide courses of action and policies Work Under Pressure Work in situations where time pressure is prevalent Influence People Be in a position to influence the attitudes or opinions of other people Knowledge Engage in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding Work Mastery Become an expert in whatever work I do Artistic Creativity Engage in creative artistic expression General Creativity Have the opportunity to create new programs, materials, or organizational structures Aesthetics Participate in studying or appreciating the beauty of things, ideas, etc. Supervision Have a job in which I am directly responsible for the work of others Change and Variety Have work activities which frequently change Precision Work Work in situations where attention to detail and accuracy are very important Stability Have a work routine and job duties that are largely predictable Security Be assured of keeping my job and receiving satisfactory compensation Recognition Be publicly recognized for the high quality of my work Fast Pace Work in circumstances where work must be done rapidly Excitement Experience a high degree of (or frequent) excitement in the course of my work Adventure Have work duties which require frequent risk-taking Financial Gain Have a high likelihood of achieving very great monetary rewards for my work Physical Challenge Do activities that use my physical capabilities Independence Be able to determine the nature of my work without significant direction from others Moral Fulfillment Feel that my work contributes to a set of moral standards which I feel are very important Community Live where I can participate in community affairs Time Freedom Be able to work according to my own schedule