Repackaging Your Skills for New Career Opportunities

Are you thinking about pursuing new job opportunities but aren’t sure where to start? Many people struggle with making the first move because they don’t have a point of reference for their value in the job market. After having worked in the same industry or position for so long, they doubt that they have something to offer another employer. Even if they have a notion that there may be opportunities “out there” they have no idea what those opportunities might be or how to present themselves for those opportunities.   You can probably relate. Maybe you’ve mastered your job, you’re bored and are seeking new challenges or you’re looking for a new job that is a better fit. Or, maybe you don’t see chances for advancement in your current company. Like many other professionals, you’ve probably either had a variety of work experience or been in the same line of work for years.  As you consider new career options you can easily get stuck on the question “what else can I do and who would hire me to do that?” That’s where self-marketing comes into play.   Before you can do any self-marketing effectively, though, you need to have a good foundation of understanding about yourself and the job market.   What Can You Do? The best way to start is to take inventory of your skills: What can you do? What do you enjoy doing? In what instances have you achieved success? It’s useful to reflect on the various situations where you’ve been recognized for a job well done or the situations in which you felt very confident about your performance. Think about all of your activities at work, in the community and while volunteering.   In my career guide, Fast Track Your Career: Three Steps To Finding Work You Love, I include a checklist and questions to identify satisfying skills. Other tools you might use are the Skillscan or the Motivated Skills Card Sort.   Once you’ve generated a list of skills you enjoy using, you can work with that list to come up with related accomplishments.   Problem, Action, Results In the selection process interviewers are looking for examples of past success. For that reason, you have to emphasize results on your resume, cover letter and in the interview. Using accomplishment statements to highlight your actions and the related positive outcomes or to illustrate the use of several skills to accomplish an important task will help you stand out from the crowd.   The PAR approach is an easy framework to use when talking about your accomplishments. When describing your accomplishments state the problem (P), describe the action or actions you took to address the problem (A), and describe the result (R).   Here’s an example of an accomplishment statement: “My sales team increased quarterly revenue by 25% due to my efforts.”   Here’s the same example applying the PAR approach: “ Our quarterly numbers were low. As the marketing manager I was responsible for promoting the product to potential buyers. After conducting analysis on why people bought the product and the quality of their experience, I re-wrote our marketing materials using testimonials and examples from past buyers. Additionally, I added a free product demo to our website so people could test it out risk- free. I made sure my team followed up personally and quickly with all potential buyers who downloaded the demo. As a result of my efforts, sales increased 25%.   You’ll notice in the example that there were several skills involved with accomplishing the desired outcome. The first statement is brief and can be used on a resume. The second version is expanded and can be used in an interview session.   Connecting to Career Options Equally important is finding a place where you can use your best skills in satisfying ways. There are many sources for uncovering those environments. One website I often use is the O*net . You can type in keywords to create a list of career options based on various skills. This website also provides a wealth of information about various jobs including tasks, tools and technology, wage and salary, educational preparation needed, related occupations, and so much more. It’s a very powerful resource.   Self-marketing is the process by which you present your qualifications in such a way as to be attractive to a potential employer. Recruiters and hiring managers expect job seekers to communicate their value in terms of past achievements. They want to know the scope and range of your experience and how it relates to the job you seek. They expect to see this on your resume and cover letter and hear it communicated during interviews and through your networking efforts.   Once you have a better idea of your skills, how they connect to career possibilities and learn how to communicate them to potential employers, you’ll be well on your way to connecting with a satisfying new job.