Skills are activities that
a person does well. If
you’re a young person, you might think that you don’t have very many
job skills, especially if you have only worked a short time.
By attending school, volunteering, or even having a hobby, you have
most likely learned valuable skills that will help you get and keep a job.
Transferable skills are
those skills that we learn in everyday life and can use when we go to
work. Employers want to hire
people who have these kinds of transferable skills:
The key is
discovering your skills and how you learned them.
Answer the following questions to find out what skills you’re
best at and what they are called in the world-of-work.
Then when you apply for a job, you will be able to translate your
skills into language that employers understand.
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Employers
Call it…
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Ask
Yourself…
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Yes
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No
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How?
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Problem-Solving
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Can you sense a problem before it
actually happens?
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Can you identify a problem and
describe it?
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When you have a problem, do you think
about more than one way to solve it?
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Do
you make a plan to solve your problem(s)?
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Is it
easy for you to solve more than one problem at the same time?
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Can
you decide which problem to solve when you have more than one
problem happening at the same time?
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Adaptability
& Flexibility
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Are
you a team player?
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Is it
easy for you to learn new ways to do things?
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Can
you switch from one project to another easily?
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Do
you follow instructions even when you think there’s a better way
to do something?
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Do
you ask for help when you need it?
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Interpersonal
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Do
you make friends easily?
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Do
you care about how others feel?
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Do
you “really listen” when others are talking?
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Can
you let others know how you honestly feel about something?
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Do
you respect the feelings and opinions of others?
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Communication
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Do
you use words that can be understood by those around you?
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Can
you write a clear description about a problem or situation?
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Do
you listen to others when they talk?
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Do
you take part in group discussions?
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Can
you describe your ideas?
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Can
you talk people into doing something?
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Planning
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Can
you look at a situation and understand the “big picture”?
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Can
you pick out all of the facts and details that make up a situation?
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Do
you usually know how a situation will turn out?
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Can
you identify the resources you have to work with?
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Do
you think about how to solve a problem more than one way?
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Do
you think about getting a project done more than one way?
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Do
you know what you want to accomplish before you start a project?
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Do
you set goals?
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Time
Management
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Do
you get to where you need to be on time?
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Do
you finish your assignments by the due date?
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Can
you work on more than one project at a time?
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Do
you schedule your day so that you can finish everything you need to
get done?
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Do
you work on your assignments in the order of importance?
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Transferable
skills aren’t limited to those listed above.
Here are some other ideas that will help you identify other
skills you might have.
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Financial
Management
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Can
you make your allowance last all week?
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Leadership
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Have
you every organized a group to work on a project?
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Technical/Keyboarding
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Do
you know how to use a computer?
Make a list of the software programs you can use.
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Sales
Skills
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Have
you ever sold things for a fund-raising project?
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