A skill is defined as the ability to do something well. In order to ‘own’ your skill set, you must define what skills are subjective and objective through analysis of experience, comments from peers and mentors and completing personal assessments.
To grow within a business or be confident moving industries, it is important identify the areas within your professional career you have excelled, and what skills you used to accomplish such achievements.
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Finding out if a candidate is the right fit for the role is the end goal of any hiring process. During the recruitment process, potential employers want to know what you can do for them. In order words, what skills can you use to solve their problems?
Just because you fit under a certain job title, does not mean you can’t apply that skill set to another career path or industry. That is why it is important to own your skill set, so you can explain to recruiters why you are a good fit for this new role, and how you can adapt and recontextualise your previous experience and skills into a new workplace.
Struggling to pinpoint your skills? Start here:
• Ask people and peers you’ve worked with for a list of the skills they identify you with most
• Take assessments or online tests that can help identify your skills through a series of critical thinking questions
“We should journal our career achievements to remind ourselves of what we’ve accomplished… also, upon reflection, particularly with friends, family or career practitioners, when explaining our achievements we begin to understand what skills we had to demonstrate in order to achieve our accomplishments.” Wrote career coach, Anil Ram.
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A PXT Select Assessment reveals an individuals skills and behaviours. It tests your thinking style, behavioural traits and interests to determine how well you will fit fit into a certain role.
PXT includes 6-broad categories which were derived from the Department of Labor’s occupational interests. This section of the report essentially asks what does a candidate get excited about?
- Enterprising – Enjoys leadership, presenting ideas, and persuading others
- Financial/Administrative – Enjoys working with numbers and organising information
- People Service – Enjoyment of collaboration, compromise, and helping others
- Technical – Enjoys learning technical material, interpreting complex information, and solving problems
- Mechanical – Enjoys building and repairing things, working with hands and using machinery and tools
- Creative – Enjoyment of imaginative and artistic activities
An individuals verbal and communication skills are also tested by the way they answer questions.
Once you have solidified your skill set, figure out where they can be implemented and found useful;
- Start by what you like doing to identify jobs, employers, and industries of interest.
- Speak with insiders to understand what are the main skills required for each option. Also, check job descriptions, employer websites, and industry publications for further information.
- Prioritise options that you are interested and skilled in.
Identifying and owning your skill set can be achieved through a variety of methods, however, regardless of how you do it, this important step will open up potential career opportunities as well as aiding to your overall career planning.
