Identifying Skills

If you are in the process of looking for a job it is important to remember that employers want to know what you can do.  They need to know why they should hire you.  Therefore, during a job search you must be able to identify and talk about your skills to a prospective employer.

Everyone has skills.  In fact, everyone has hundreds of skills and each one can be related in some way to one or more occupations.  Many people, however, are not aware of their skills and, when asked in a job interview about their skills and experience, they have little or nothing to say. 

An analysis of your skills should precede any communication with employers.  Perform a thorough skills analysis by listing your jobs, volunteer experience, and hobbies.  Then list the skills you acquired in each of those situations.  You will probably have several pages of information about yourself.  Now, take this process one step further and list the jobs in which you could use one or more of your skills.  Your resume, job applications and job interviews will be more effective when you can identify your skills.

For more information, contact GST Michigan Works! at 800-285-WORKS.