Do I need previous experience? 

There are two types of skills which employers want:

Professional or technical skills – specific skills required by your career field, acquired through study and or previous employment history.

Employability skills – transferable skills which are common to all work roles and workplaces, acquired through study and career-related work experience, but also through a range of work and other life experiences e.g. , extra-curricular activities, travel

There are a number of reasons you may want to assess your skills:

• to check the state of your general employability skills – these are often appear in selection criteria for positions
• to assess your skills, both technical and employability – for a particular role or position
• to assess your complete skills set – to determine employment possibilities given your particular skill mix

How do I improve my skills?

• Study and Training – make the most of opportunities within your studies to develop employability skills e.g. through group project work, presentations and other activities.
• Work experience – such as volunteering and paid work – valuable for developing employability skills, and for professional skills when career related.
• Targeted skills training – either formally through doing accredited certificates and or diplomas, or through short courses

 

Assessing skills for a particular role or job

When you have a specific job in mind, assessing your skills in relation to what is required can give you a realistic insight into your employability, and most importantly, a chance to identify areas which you can work on.

The first step is to be clear about the key skills (and areas of knowledge) required for the role. Some ways of doing this include:

• review advertised positions to see what skills and knowledge are sought; these are usually outlined in the job advertisement, but a position description with more detail may also be provided
• ask people in positions you seek, employers or recruiters about what is required or valued

A simple framework is all that is required to organise your thinking and plans to work towards enhancing your skills and knowledge where needed.

 

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills, also known as “portable skills,” are qualities that can be transferred from one job to another.

• Do you a driver’s licence and a good track record? How about a delivery job helping out some of the local hospitality businesses who have been restricted to provide take-away only.
• Do you have experience working in the beauty industry? You no doubt have excellent customer service skills and attention to detail which would be viewed favourable in any customer service role.
• Have you been working in a pub, club or café and part of that role was to help set-up, pack-up and clean? Did you know cleaners are in high demand at the moment?
• Hospitality and Retail workers have a whole range of qualities including good listening skills, customer service, teamwork, adaptability, multitasking…the list goes on

So as your job searching, have a think about what qualities you could bring to these workplaces. Even though you might not tick all of the boxes, there are certain things that can be trained on the job.

 

Speak to your Jobs / Youth Advisor if you need help developing your skills further.