7 Steps to Enhancing Your Skills

8/6/2019 7 Steps to Enhancing Your Skills

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www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

7 STEPS TO

ENHANCING YOUR

SKILLS

Rebecca Gordon

A Personal Branding

Workbook for Jobseekers
http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/


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DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES:

The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate withwhich conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions.

The report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in thisreport, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are noguarantees of income made. Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their individual circumstances toact accordingly.

The author claims no responsibility for your actions or lack of actions. As the author does not know you or anything aboutyou, your level of commitment to success, you are entirely responsible for your actions, the outcomes, your experiences andyour reality.

If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. Thisreport is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws which governbusiness transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whetherliving or dead is purely coincidental.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Know Who You Are - page 5

Shower-thought Your Skills List - page 7

Evidence Your Skills List - page 9

Know Whats Important To You - page 11

Set Your Benchmark - page 13

Change The Picture Frame - page 16

Keep Extending Yourself - page 18

Satellite Life Coaching Philosophy - page 19

References - page 20


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IN THE (URGENT) QUEST TO GET A JOB,YOU MAY BE MISSING VITAL ELEMENTSIN THE MARKETING OF YOURSELF.WHAT MIGHT THESE BE?

1. KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Labour market data statistics published in the UK in February 2011 reveal interestinginformation on the current unemployment trend. In the last quarter, the total number ofunemployed was 29.12 million. The number of unemployed count of JSA claimants rose by2,400 to 1.46 million. It was also revealed that in the three months to January 2011, jobvacancies rose by 40,000 on the previous quarter. What might this tell us? Evidently, there isa high level of unemployment, jobs are being lost, yet vacancies are being created.

As austerity measures take effect many people are bracing themselves for job cuts asfunding restrictions take hold. With thousands of council jobs still to be axed, it is inevitable

that the unemployment rate will climb. The picture is indeed gloomy, somewhat confusingand worrying. One thing that no-one can be certain of is how quickly or how many new jobswill be created.

If you are affected by redundancy, unemployment or job changes, the most important thingon your mind right now may be how all of this will impact upon you on a personal level. Nomatter what, it is important that you remain motivated and project yourself with confidence tostand out uniquely and be the person who gets that job.

Many Clients I speak to tell me that they will consider any job. When I reflect this statementback to them and seek clarification on what any job is, there is thoughtful backtracking dueto a profound realization that any job just wont do.

When we carry out work that is meaningful and purposeful, there is a sense of satisfactionthat motivates us to immerse ourselves fully into the role. We want to do so well, that wecondition ourselves to be prepared to go the extra mile and put our all into achieving a highstandard and quality of work. This scenario can result in happiness and well-being at work,especially if other factors that are important to us are met.

With the increasing amount of time and energy we put into fulfilling a job, role, work, functionor career, it can easily happen that the persona and machinery of the organi sation swallows


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us up. By this, I mean that it can become all too easy to lose sight of the essential strengths,skills and qualities that define who we are and which got us the position in the first place.

Suddenly, when faced with unemployment, the threat of redundancy or some sort of jobchange, we become placed in the position of needing to examine who we are and exactly

what it is that we can do. This involves taking a long, honest and critical look at our skills-setand the characteristics and qualities we possess. We then have to consider what specificand required skills we have that match the needs of a potential new employer. I would addthat it is also important to examine the particular things that we seek in a job or career thatcontributes to our happiness in an activity that we are likely to spend the majority of ourwaking time being involved in.

If you are unemployed or thinking about changing jobs, you may be uncertain of how todetermine the role that is right for you. You may be unsure how to demonstrate that yourskills match a new role that seems attractive.

In the marketing of yourself, it is vital that you take the time to dig deep within to uncover allthe things that are important to you for which you expect to receive a financial remuneration.When you consider that many people spend a lot of money on a particular brand of clothingbecause of the quality that is associated with the name, consideration should also be givento the quality of self that is projected in a CV or application. In the marketing of yourself, you are the brand. Having a firm foundation of self means that you know the brand inside andout, just as you may live and breathe the brand of an organisation that you proud to work for.

Having surety of self with enhance your confidence from the time you complete yourapplication and send off your CV right through to the interview stage. Analysis, awarenessand acknowledgment of your brand will enable you to perform with confidence and increaseyour chances of a positive outcome in your job search. Taking the time to learn more andknow more about the brand that is you is essential.

Seek to claim ownership of the unique and special abilities that an employer needs to knowthat you possess. When you make the decision to market yourself as a brand, you will widenyour perspective and enhance the possibilities of gaining employment.

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking. H. Jackson Brown, Jr.


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2. SHOWER-THOUGHT YOUR SKILLS LIST

Your CV is the road map of your working life. It tells a prospective employer many thingsabout your skills set. Too often, I have seen CVs that merely list job titles and do not giveany information about the competencies and expertise that the candidate has. On the otherhand, I have seen CVs that contain so much detailed and technical language that thecandidates range of transferable skills cannot easily be identified. Emplo yers do not havetime to pick out the things that matter, therefore, you have to make the important things clearand evident.

This exercise will help you to define your capabilities and the traits and attributes that areimportant when promoting your brand:

Exercise:

Get a blank piece of paper, turn it landscape and create two columns. Make the leftcolumn wide enough to write in your current or most recent job title and label this A.Make the second column as wide as possible and write the title SKILLS.

1. Imagine yourself in your present or most recent job and shower-thought theactivities carried out by you in this role. To do this, take a typical day and notethe things that you did from the start until the end of the day. Reflect onanother day in the week. What else did you do that you can add to the list? Dothis for another day, and another.

2. Write down all the scheduled tasks that you had to carry out on a monthlybasis. What was special about the tasks? What were your responsibilities?

3. In appraisal meetings, what constructive feedback did you get from yoursenior? If you have not already done so, add these to your list now.

4. Number each activity on the list in the SKILLS column.

When carrying out this task, do not ignore what you think is the obvious as everything isrelevant. The important thing is to take this crucial information out of your head and ontopaper. Instead of creating a list, make a mind-map and use different colour lines for each jobrole. However you choose to do this exercise, the empowering action of writing will help youto name and claim your skills and experiences rather than burying these as inconsequentialtasks.


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Here is a brief example of a shower-thought Skills List:

Job Title: Skills:

A.Team

Manager

1. Used MIS & TCS to record bonuses, overtime and schedule adherence.2. Analysed data relating to operational measures.

3. Conducted sit-in observations and remote observations.

4. Organised and ran team meetings, cascading information in a timely manner.

5. Carried out performance management, absence management.

6. Monitored statistical performance.

Regardless of your role, by taking the time to creatively shower-thought the activities youperformed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis you will identify the talents and expertise thatyou applied within your job function.

Now shower-thought each job that you have ever had that was paid or voluntary. Label eachB, C, D, etc and write your list of skills. Take your time and do not rush the process; let yourthoughts flow freely and write down everything that comes to mind.

When you feel that you have exhaustedthe list, ask yourself What else did I

do? What else? Hours or days later,you may recall something important. Ifthis happens, stop what you are doingand write this down straight away.

Congratulations! You have now createda comprehensive list in which you havespecifically named and claimed yourskills. What surprises are there? Whatskills do you recognise that you didwere not previously aware of?

It is important to remain motivated andconfident in your job search activities. Read your Skills List every day to help you remainpositive and focused.

Our work is the presentation of our capabilities. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


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Again, do this for each paid or voluntary role you have had.

Treat this as an ongoing personal development task that is done periodically during yourworking life in which you add to or modify your skills list as your competencies, expertise andexperiences increase.

As your life is unique, remember to include the skills that spring forward from your character

and personality. For example, you may be a keen people developer and have providedopportunities for others to gain experience; you may be the person who people come to foradvice or to share their concerns and therefore have effective listening skills.

To expand on this task, think about some of the things that you do in your spare time.

What do you do very well?

What things do you do that make a difference?

Reflecting on these questions as you identify and evidence your skills may bring up newawareness. They are also valuable for generating ideas if you do not have a lot of practicalwork experience.

Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence isthe key to unlocking our potential.

Liane Cardes


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4. KNOW WHATS IMPORTAN T TO YOU

If you are happy to do any job, then skip this section.

I believe that it is important to assess the worth for whatever you do . Think of the worth asthe appeal, the significance, the thing that attracts you or the value that you give andreceive. This touches onto the realms of life purpose, which is a whole other eBook. Yet, itis true to say that if you give your time, effort and energy in a daily function called work , it isworthwhile for you to have conscious awareness of what is important to you in doing this.

When you are not in a job, worth is crucial as we feel the need to do something worthwhilethat helps to define who we are. If already in a job, worth comes into play as the factors thatcontribute to a feeling of usefulness and meaning. Have you ever felt a sense ofsatisfaction , commitment or a strong feeling of contribution to teamwork ? Similarly, youmay feel a lack of reward , recognition or support . The highlighted words are examples ofimportant merits that may be motivators in a job. To identify our merits and to align them withour skills leads to an improved ability to attract and identify the role that will enable us topositively demonstrate our abilities.

So, what is it that is important for you to know that you get from a job? What are youseeking ? List all of your essential or significant wants and needs in a job or career. For


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example, you may feel that money, job satisfaction, making a contribution, recognition orsupport are some of the things that motivate you to enjoy work.

Create an extensive list by writing down what comes to you. List these in the first column.For each, consider what makes this important to me? To get the best from this exercise,

you may wish to complete it on a separate piece of paper:

Wants and needs: Was not met: Eg., recognition support

Now, list of all of the things that you feel you did not receive in your last job. Put these in thesecond column. Take this further by noting how you would feel if each merit you listed in thesecond column was met.

Your immediate wants and needs are your conscious motivators in a job or career. What youidentified as unmet are principles that are important to you in a job, role, work or career thatyou may not be immediately aware of. Look at your list of values and choose five that standout to you. Write these down separately.

Carrying out extended work with a Life Coach on this activity can help to raise awareness of

your main values and what these mean in relation to the work that you do or want to do. Thisis helpful for recognising your unconscious motivators. It is also helpful for finding out howyou can use these to your advantage in your job search or career transition.

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind. - Unknown


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5. SET YOUR BENCHMARK

In the previous exercise, you will have identified a list of standards that motivate you andwhich you can include in a supporting statement or profile of your personal attributes. Toillustrate, using the merit descriptors commitment , contribution , teamwork , reward ,recognition or support , I have created the following values in action statement:

I am committed to achieving a high quality and standard of performance. Oneway in which I have done this is by recognising and rewarding staff for their achievements. By supporting team members through providing regular access totraining and fostering a spirit of teamwork , the performance levels within my teamwas greatly enhanced .

Also, think of these merits as your benchmark of standards the principles that you set foryourself and from which you gain self-worth in anything that you do.

The following activity will help you to transfer your values into meaningful statements thatrelate to how you work. For each value that you listed earlier, create a statement thatexplains how the value serves you at your best.

Here is an example:

How does X Value serve me at my best?Value Statement

Autonomy

I am able to work independently and use my initiative to resolve problems.

Being a self-motivator, I initiate projects, take responsibility for these and seethem through to completion.

I am able to work unsupervised and ensure that I provide feedback to seniorsin a timely manner.

An example of this is ...


Commitment

I am fully committed to and take responsibility for my ContinuousProfessional Development.

I actively seek to develop my knowledge of current educationaldevelopments.

I am fully committed to work towards achieving organisational objectives. An example of this is...


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On a piece of paper, carry out this task for each of the five values that you selected. Whenyou complete an application form, or tailor your CV to a specific industry or job, look at therequirements of the job specification and think about how your values match and can beapplied to these. To help you do this, create another statement of evidence by completingthe sentence: An example of thi s is .


An example of this is...

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement









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How will you use what you know about the standards and merits of working that youoperate from?

How can this awareness serve you best in your job search activities?

You don't get paid for the hour.You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.

Jim Rohn


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6. CHANGE THE PICTURE FRAME

Now that you have taken a fresh look at your wants and needs in a job role or career, it islikely that the analysis of your skills is tremendously more than your initial perception andawareness. You may also have greater clarity of what is important to you in a job or career.This may in turn result in the need to alter your job search methodology. With Clients I workwith, I refer to this as changing your picture frame.

In the re-branding of yourself the existing picture frame that you have carried for so long isoutgrown and outdated. Your new clearly defined and developed image no longer fits theframe that you had adapted yourself to and so snugly fit. Now, you have the freedom todesign and fashion the picture frame of your choice that better suits your current enhancedskills.

A Client I coached expressed that having confidence in his application was due to knowingthat he had a good range of skills, that his CV was positive and highlighted the keysuccesses for specific roles that matched what employers are looking for.

As a result of greater awareness from going through a skills and values analysis and with thehelp of coaching, he created a mind-map of an average of 8 job titles that matched his skillsacross three industries. This resulted in him having 24 different job titles to search forvacancies in.

As well as using his own industry as a starting point, he recognised that he had transferable

skills that he could apply to other industries. With this knowledge, he was able to massivelyexpand his existing picture frame and create a couple of new ones.

You too can do this. You can select the colour, the shape, the style, the dimensions, thedepth, the contours, the texture and the size of the frame to transpose your skills onto. Byidentifying, mixing, emphasizing, and adapting your skills to match a role that you may nothave considered before, or to fill the criteria of the next role up, you can shape the pictureframe, rather than feel the need to fit into a rigidly defined structure.


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Here is the step-by-step guide to Changing Your Picture Frame:

1. Look at your Skills List and Evidence Criteria. Identify the themes that standout for you. For example this may be management. Shower-thought all the jobtitles and related activities that stem from the themes. Such as, managingpeople, managing operations, Customer Service, People Development, etc.Write these down.

2. Think about the specific industries that you have an interest in or have alwayswanted to work in. What comes to mind? For example, IT, Customer Services,Education, Third Sector, Blue Chip companies, Engineering, etc. Write thesedown.

3. Choose one of the industries. Read your themes. What job titles come to

mind? For example, Customer Relationship Management, OperationsManagement, Team Manager, Team Leader, Customer Services Supervisor,etc. Carry out an extensive shower thought. When you have exhausted the list,ask yourself, what other ideas do I have? Do this for each industry you havenoted. It may be helpful to do an internet search for different job titles. Tryhttp://www.1job.co.uk/job_titles.php or http://www.jobtitles.org/ to see a rangeof job titles.

4. Then answer this question: Where are such jobs advertised? For example,specialist markets, general recruitment agencies, specialist recruitmentagencies, newspapers, industry publication, company websites.

5. Actively seek out vacancies for the roles you have identified. What can you dothat you have not tried before to seek out these roles? What else?

You may have a comprehensive list of job titles. This is great as you have a range oftransferable skills that can be utilised in different roles. If you have identified specific roles,this too is great, as you have developed expertise in a particular area in which you can

market yourself. When you carry out this exercise, know that there are no wrong answers.The right answers are whatever is right for you.

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapesbut in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust
http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.1job.co.uk/job_titles.phphttp://www.1job.co.uk/job_titles.phphttp://www.jobtitles.org/http://www.jobtitles.org/http://www.jobtitles.org/http://www.1job.co.uk/job_titles.phphttp://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/


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7.KEEP EXTENDING YOURSELF

What next? You have upgraded your skills-set, converted these skills to selling points andaligned yourself closer to what you want to do. Now you have a wider appreciation of the jobtitles, roles or industries that you can consider researching vacancies in and you have armedyourself with more confidence and motivation than before.

The next step is probably the most important. The motivational speaker, Brian Tracy asserts:

THE SINGLE MOST IMP ORTANT QUALITY OF SUCCESS IS SELF-DISCIPLINE. SELF-DISCIPLINE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE THE ABILITY, WITHIN YOURSELF, BASED ON

YOUR STRENGTH OF CHARACTER AND WILLPOWER, TO DO WHAT YOU SHOULD DO,WHEN YOU SHOULD DO IT, WHETHER YOU FEEL LIKE IT OR NOT.

What can you do to keep extending yourself? What agenda will you set in which youimplement a structured daily job search routine? The actions that you carry out regularlybecome habits, therefore, with an enhanced skill-set, you can now create structured actionsteps that become habits that accelerate you to success. For example, some of the actionsteps that you may decide to build into your daily or weekly routine could be:

Review your skills list, evidence criteria, statements and values on a daily basis

Source jobs from the newspapers and internet three times a week

Re-model your CV to tailor specific industries

Research new and specialist recruitment agencies and register with them

Make a number of speculative applications each month

Tell friends and family the types of jobs and industries you are seeking work in.

By setting daily, weekly and monthly challenges,you will remain motivated and on target forsuccess and identify the opportunities that are

presented.

Importantly, your success can only be heightenedby the application of action. Having the support ofa Career Confidence Coach who can help you toremain committed and be accountable for youractions or non-actions, may be just what you needto help you extend yourself to the next level to bethe person who gets that job.


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Thank you for taking the time to read this e-Book. I would like tomake the next e-Book even more relevant and beneficial to you,therefore, I would appreciate if you could please give me some

feedback and thoughts on this e-Book by visiting the testimonialspage at www.satellitelifecoaching.com .

As a thank you, once you have done this, please email me toarrange for a no obligation Career Confidence Coaching session.

www.satellitelifecoaching.com

[email protected] +44 (0) 7833 461 773

PHILOSOPHY:

1. LIFE IS A QUEST THAT INVITES US TO LEARN AND GROW FROM OURADVENTURES.

2. THROUGH UNLEASHING THE INNER CORE OF OURSELVES, WE RESPECT,HONOUR AND SERVE OUR HIGHER PURPOSE.

3. AS A RESULT OF PURPOSEFUL LIVING, WE ATTRACT OPPORTUNITIES THATARE IN HARMONY WITH WHO WE TRULY ARE.

4. THE QUESTIONS WE ASK ARE THE ANSWERS WE GET.
http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/


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REFERENCES

Unemployment by Constituency, February 2011, RESEARCH PAPER 11/19http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/rp2011/RP11-019.pdf Accessed 19 th February 2011

http://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-views/2011/01/19/uk-unemployment-rises-again Accessed 20 th February 2011

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/ Accessed 20 th February 2011
http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/rp2011/RP11-019.pdfhttp://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/rp2011/RP11-019.pdfhttp://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-views/2011/01/19/uk-unemployment-rises-againhttp://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-views/2011/01/19/uk-unemployment-rises-againhttp://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/http://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-views/2011/01/19/uk-unemployment-rises-againhttp://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/rp2011/RP11-019.pdfhttp://www.satellitelifecoaching.com/

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