It’s sounds really easy to point out the importance of acquiring skills throughout your career but why do so many of us lose sight of this important aspect at some point in careers?
I’ve had many periods in my career where thinking about the skills I was working on was furthest from my mind. Why? When the logic of this makes so much sense? There are many reasons:
- I was too busy doing the day job
- I was having too much fun or too depressed to care
- I thought my employer would simply take care of it for me
- I assumed just by doing the job I would naturally gain skiils
I could carry on the list above but you get the gist! Besides, I now value skill acquisition so much, it’s difficult to cast my mind back to these days and think about the ‘old me’.
In the last 2 years, I’ve worked as a six figure Finance Director, an interim CEO and Senior Fundraiser for a charity, and a change consultant. I moved into recruitment and I’m also a Trustee of a charity.
The fact is, I didn’t just get to do these roles on a whim, I have 20 years business and finance experience under my belt, but I could have easily stayed in a pure finance role rather than branch out. I’m able to try new things because I worked out the skills in finance and how to transfer them to other areas, organisations and industries.
I’ve put on my learner hat (often feeling like a fool!) and got curious about things that interest me.
I’ve learned to be able to understand my skills (even the new ones I’m acquiring) and then work out my elevator pitch. I’ve learned to listen to what an organisation needs, what they value, and quickly help them understand how my skills fill their gap.
But life wasn’t always like this. I found a career in finance very structured and linear, so I didn’t develop wider business and leadership skills early in my career. I only developed them when I needed them – not something I would recommend! – but I got there in the end.
Personally, I value a good sense of security with a feeling of variety and exploration. The first 10-15 years of my career were massively structured and the last 5 years or so have been filled with variety. Both are of value, and both I would highly recommend, because both serve me well.
And this is one of the key words which drives a lot of what I do – ‘to serve’. I reached a point in my career where I stepped closer to these words and started using them regularly in my vocabulary. These simple words unlocked everything for me and lead me to a healthy place of skills acquisition mindset.
Where to start?
I’m at a point in my career where I’m actually enjoying looking back at my pathway from job and job, role to role. Furthermore, I want to document it, because the next time I get stuck and life feels heavy, I want this blueprint of a pathway to guide me to the next step. Because, every so often, I still need to stop and think about this, to restart the direction for the next few years of my career. So, here it is, broken down in a way that even I will understand on my worst day!
START AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR STORY
Conduct a skills audit
- Document your career history: literally write down your CV and don’t worry about how many pages it is. Document your roles in each organisation and for how long. Then write down the skills you acquired in each role. Write down your achievements, specifically what you are proudest of, what you really enjoyed and what you absolutely hated.
- Write down the ultimate role you want: describe the role that takes you into retirement – if you plan to retire! Write down everything you know about this role, the industry and the skills you will need to do this role well.
Next – and no real surprise! – compare the skills from both list and identify the gaps. Then look at what you already have under your belt and those you want and need to develop to get your dream job.
The outcome of this process, albeit simple, allows you to be intentional with your skills acquisition plan. It helps identify the next best step but also, in future, will help you recognise a good opportunity when you see it. In times when I have been intentional, my salary has increased alongside my happiness.
Who to serve?
So, now we have our skills list and we know what we also need to acquire. Let’s turn our attention back to ‘serving’ in our career.
Who to serve helps me truly think about the experience I need to get me my dream job. It could be a specific organisation or industry. A large or a small organisation? A for profit or not for profit organisation?
I use the process of:
- Reviewing who I served in the past.
- Identifying who I want to serve in my dream job,
If you can map out the two you can figure out the best nest step. Is the next role going to be good experience in the right sector along with adding the skills you need to acquire? Essentially, with these lists you have a framework in which to base decisions regarding your career.
How to serve?
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from recruitment, after you pass a few baseline questions of your skills, employers then want to know how you work. How you manage yourself, your team, how you delegate, how you communicate, how you will fit in with their culture?
If you can’t put language around how you do your work, someone else will and it may not serve you. The people who ‘dazzle’ in an interview can clearly breakdown ‘how’ they work.
Tips of finding your style:
Think of your dream job. Think of the person already doing that job. How does that person do that job? How do they lead? How do they communicate? How do they manage their time?
If this is a step too far for you, you can’t quite see it, or you’re not close enough to anyone in that position at the moment, then think about a person you admire in the work plan and really ask yourself why you admire them, why you listen to their opinion, why you value them? Turn these answers into a skill that person holds and add the skill to your list if you need to.
None of this is exact science, you may never get your dream job, you may decide you don’t want it. The point of this exercise is to point your ship in the right direction. Make some progress so you know you gave it a shot. Plan your skills acquisition with your dreams in mind and take the next best step.
Before you go, just one more thing……
Thinking of moving on from your current role? Early in my career I moved on from roles because I wanted the next job title, the next salary increase, the next big name on my CV. However, looking back, I definitely left good training opportunities on the table. By that, I mean there were places where I could have learnt more before leaving. Why is this important? Because, often it’s easier to get a shot at something new – perhaps a new project or piece of work – in a role where you’ve already built trust. Because, no matter what anyone promises you in an interview, you may not have this opportunity so readily available in your next role. Nothing should be assumed! Because, sometimes, when gaining a new skill, it’s easier (less stressful for you) to do it in a place where you already know the business and team.
I often move from role to role even within a small organisation because I want to develop my skills but I also know enough about the organisation to still serve them and add value even when I’m working on something new and learning on the job.
My final thought: Had someone told me at the start of my career that skills acquisition was 100% mine to own, I’m sure I would have planned my career more. I used my intuition and could always see the next best step and was often fast to rectify errors. Knowing I’m responsible for acquiring new skills and taking ownership of that has served me really well over the last few years and I’ve grown in confidence as I progress up the ladder…..along with my salary!