Skills Inventory and Assessment

You want to grow or switch your career, but where do you start? Here’s the truth: the first step to career growth is understanding the skills you currently possess which I call skill clarity. That’s where a Skill Audit comes in. Think of it as a career assessment to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. Let me guide you through it step by step 👇 1. Identify Your Current Skills • List all the skills you use in your current role or daily activities. • Include technical skills (e.g., data analysis, coding) and soft skills (e.g., communication, problem-solving). • Think about tasks you excel at or areas where others seek your support. 2. Align Skills with Your Career Goals • Ask yourself: What career path or role am I aiming for? • Research the skills required for that role. Look at job descriptions or LinkedIn profiles of professionals in similar positions. 3. Compare and Analyze the Gaps • Compare your current skill set to the skills needed for your desired role. • Highlight the gaps, these are the skills you need to learn or improve. 4. Take Action • Prioritize 1–2 key skills to focus on first. • Use resources like online courses, mentorship, books, or workshops to learn. • Practice these skills in your current role, through side projects, or volunteer opportunities. 5. Track Your Progress • Regularly update your skill audit to evaluate your progress. • Adjust your learning plan as needed to stay aligned with your career goals. Why this works: A skill audit gives you direction. Instead of guessing your next steps, you’ll have a clear plan for building the skills needed to grow in your career. Take a moment today to reflect on your skills, it’s your first step towards becoming the professional you aspire to be. What’s one skill you’re working on right now? Share in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you👇 #CareerGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #SkillAudit #GenzHR

Skill Assessment: The Game-Changing 4-Day Blueprint Most teams are playing Career Roulette. Not You. No guessing. No assumptions. Just clarity and action. (Note: If you have not DEFINED the Skills to be Assessed, Start there. - check yesterday’s post for guidance.) Here is the 4-Step playbook. To map Your team's capabilities - Fast! 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 1: 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 (Day 1) Don’t overcomplicate it. Speed + Simplicity = Results. Tap into these 3 feedback channels: • Self-Assessment: What do they believe they are great at? • 360 / Peer Review: What do peers see that they don’t? • Leadership Evaluation: What do you see from the top? Tip: Use a simple 1-5 rating system. No overthinking. Example scorecard for each role: - Technical Proficiency - Customer Service Care - Problem-Solving Speed - Collaborative Potential 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 2: 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 - 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (Day 2) Before you collect feedback, lock in these critical details: - Objective: Why are we doing this? - Metrics: What skills are we actually measuring? - Timeline: When will it start and finish? - Analysis: How will we interpret the results? - Next Steps: What will we do with the data? This step prevents confusion and creates alignment. Skipping this step may end up with data overload and no direction. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 3: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (Day 3) Data only works if people are honest. Here’s how you get it: - Anonymize it: People are more honest this way. - Ensure Psychological Safety: No fear of being punished for honesty. - Train Assessors: Consistent evaluation beats biased judgment. With this approach, You will get truth instead of sugar-coated feedback. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 4: 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 & 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 (Day 4) The data is in. Now, take action. Here’s how you do it fast: - Identify Top 3 Skill Strengths & Gaps - Align Skills to Business Goals: Results start here. - Develop an Improvement Plan (more on this tomorrow) This is where good teams become great. You are not just collecting data You are building a team of peak performers. No Team? This blueprint works for personal development too. Which skill is most critical for your team to assess right now? P.S. I just ran this process with a team and found our top development need is Marketing. What is Yours?

If you're still searching by job title, stop. Job titles come and go. But skills? SKILLS are the currency that will get you ahead. The people who are succeeding in this environment are those who: ✅ Communicate their skills quickly and clearly ✅ Connect their skills to a diverse array of functions ✅ Adapt and apply their skills in different environments ✅ Fill their skill gaps strategically to meet current demands Think about it. There are job titles that exist today that didn't exist a year ago. And, there will be job titles a year from now that are completely new. Not only that, but a job at one company may be called something completely different at another company. That's why a focus on skills is the smart move. Aren't sure how to talk about your skills? A good place to start is with a skills audit. Here's how to do it: 1️⃣ Define the focus of the audit  ↳ Are you exploring a career pivot?  ↳ Preparing for a promotion or job search?  ↳ Identifying training needs? 💡Why this works: It keeps you focused on your immediate goal and avoids less relevant skills 2️⃣ Include all skill categories  ↳ Skills we DO (accounting, writing, coding)  ↳ Skills we ARE (traits like patience, initiative)  ↳ Interpersonal skills (communication, conflict resolution) 💡Why this works: It's important to include all types of skills to convey who we are as a professional. 3️⃣ Review your professional history  ↳ Look at your resume  ↳ Consider your achievements  ↳ Review job descriptions and appraisals 💡Why this works: You can identify and recall skills that you may take for granted 4️⃣ Highlight skills that match your target roles  ↳ Reference job postings to find alternate terms  ↳ Identify strengths you to include on resumes and interviews  ↳ Put skills into ChatGPT and ask it to identify any gaps 💡Why this works: Your can use your skills as search terms to identify roles you might not find otherwise, and fill gaps to make you a better candidate 5️⃣ Become fluent in your skill set  ↳ Craft a targeted "Tell Me About Yourself" statement  ↳ Weave your skills into stories you can use in interviews  ↳ Practice & record yourself discussing your skills 💡Why this works: It avoids confusion around job titles that may not translate, and allows you to speak the language of your target industry and role. A skills audit like this will help you enormously when it comes to talking about what you bring to the table, whether you are networking or in an interview. 🎉You've got this and I've got you!🎉 ♻️ Share to help others identify their skills 🔔 Follow Sarah Baker Andrus for more career strategies 📌Need a change? DM me to chat!

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟑: Reflect on your daily tasks as a teacher. 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 As teachers, we often underestimate the breadth and depth of our skill sets. Your daily tasks encompass a wide range of competencies that are highly sought after in various industries. Let’s break down some common teaching tasks and the core competencies they develop: 𝟏. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 Creating lesson plans requires meticulous organization and strategic thinking. You develop the ability to plan, prioritize, and allocate resources efficiently—skills that are essential in project management, event planning, and administrative roles. 𝟐. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧Managing a classroom involves leading a diverse group of students, maintaining discipline, and resolving conflicts. These leadership and conflict resolution skills are crucial in management positions, human resources, and team leadership roles. 𝟑. 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Counseling students to help them overcome academic or personal challenges requires empathy and strong communication skills. These competencies are invaluable in roles such as counseling, social work, customer service, and any position that involves client or employee relations. 𝟒. 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚: 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Adapting to new curricula and educational technologies demonstrates your flexibility and innovative thinking. These traits are highly valued in fast-paced industries like technology, start-ups, and creative fields. 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑: 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑶𝒘𝒏 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 To help you identify and articulate your transferable skills, I’ve created a free Skills Inventory Template. This template will guide you through the process of mapping your daily teaching tasks to core competencies that are applicable in other professions. By the end of this exercise, you’ll have a clear picture of your unique skill set and how it can be leveraged in your career transition. Download the template and start your journey of self-discovery today! https://lnkd.in/ezVWiKJc 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 Once you’ve completed your skills inventory, share your insights in the comments or connect with me to discuss how your teaching experience can pave the way for a successful career transition. #DailyReflection #TransferableSkills #TeacherTransformation #CareerChange #SkillsInventory