Finding Your “Hidden” Job Skills

Adapted from the Marketing Your 'Hidden' Job Skills article by Robert Half International Inc. posted on the Career Builder website: http://msn.careerbuilder.com

Like millions of job seekers, many UC Berkeley employees wrestle with the same doubts: they're unsure if they are skilled or experienced enough to land that “perfect” job listed on the http://jobs.berkeley.edu. If you are among this group, the good news is you likely have more to offer than you think! In fact, you may have dozens of "hidden" skills that would help you to land that job. The trick is to identify them.

The first step is to distinguish your duties from your skills. Duties are the activities you perform on the job: generating reports, coordinating a national advertising campaign, providing desktop support. Skills are the tools and techniques you use to accomplish these tasks: knowledge of certain software, communication abilities, leadership.

For example, if you've worked as an administrative assistant, you may have arranged meetings, drafted correspondence and answered the phone. As a result, you likely developed strong planning skills to ensure meetings went smoothly, strong communication abilities to accurately convey your manager's messages to staff. Moreover, you also developed solid customer service skills to successfully interact with employees within your department or unit, with employees from other departments, and external vendors. And that says nothing of your technical skills, such as typing speed, research abilities, and knowledge of Microsoft Office. The list goes on.

Before compiling your résumé, write down all of your previous duties. Then list the skills and abilities that were necessary to accomplish each task. Don't limit yourself to full-time jobs. Also include part-time work, volunteer positions and even your hobbies. Perhaps you served as the president of your neighborhood association, thereby developing leadership skills, negotiation abilities, and knowledge of budgeting processes. Chances are you'll uncover a number of talents you hadn't considered.

No matter how much or how little work experience you possess, you likely have a number of skills that will impress hiring managers. Before launching your next job search, take some time to uncover your hidden talents. Doing so will make you a more attractive candidate and increase your chance of success.     

 

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Bonus Tip: Use the Individual Development Plan form (IDP) to map your career.