Knowing Your Skills

Success2When you are faced with the challenge of finding a job – do you know what skills you have that employers will find of value?  Whether you are looking for your first job or a second career – it is important to know your strengths and abilities.

Last year I was faced with these same challenges after being laid off after nearly 21 years at the same company.  I spent time thinking about what I wanted to do and how I could apply my skills with another employer.  For example, I reviewed my personality traits, people skills and job related skills.  I researched area companies to determine where I may fit best.  This type of soul searching is never easy, but there are many resources available for help.

Following are some links to tools and sources that you may find beneficial:

  1. Read the book What Color is Your Parachute for inspiration and tips on finding the right fit
  2. A free tool from CareerOneStop that will create a list of your skills and match them to job types that use those skills: http://www.careerinfonet.org/skills/default.aspx
  3. A quick test to review your skills from MindTools.com: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/get-started.htm
  4. Determine your top strengths by reading the book StrengthsFinder 2.0

In addition to these, there are many community resources you can turn to for assistance.  In the Summit County area, visit Ohio Means Jobs Center (The Job Center) and in Portage, Medina, Ashland and Richland Counties view a list of resources at http://goodwillakron.org/programs-employment/community-resources.

Finding the right fit will take some time, but knowing yourself – what you want to do and your skills – will help guide you on that journey.

 

Jennifer Bako