When you are exploring a career change, having a list of personal skills can be a great help. Click here to go straight to the list.
Knowing what you are good at is an essential step in identifying the right career, but it can be quite hard to work this out for yourself.
Help is at hand.
I have created a list of personal skills below which you can read through and review in two key ways:
1. assess and rate the skills you think you have
2. assess and rate the skills you really enjoy using
These two steps are important, because when you are exploring new career ideas you should be looking at the things you are good at and that you really enjoy. Many of us develop skills over the years because we have to, but these may not be the ones that you take pleasure in exercising.
For example, over the years I have got to be quite competent at using a computer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I will want a job where I have to use or develop a high level of IT skills.
What matters is that when you are doing a personal skills audit, you use the two ratings together to get a real sense of what skills will be the most significant in your new career.
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A List of Personal Skills
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Skills can be grouped in different ways. You will see that I here, have broken the list down into four types of skills...
• People
• Data and Information
• Things and Tools
• Creativity and Ideas
You may find it helpful to see if your skills fall more in one area than another. This could give you another clue about the direction for your career change.
Scan through this list of abilities and skills – it is a long one! You might find it easier if you print out this page so you can sit back and do this exercise in comfort. Be sure to take your time over it.
For each skill, give yourself a rating on a 1- 4 scale
a) on how competent you are at this skill and
b) on how much you enjoy using this particular skill.
Highlight the skills where you have rated highly on both factors.
You should also look carefully at the skills you rated highly for enjoyment. Are these connected to activities that you want to make sure play a bigger part in your new career?
You should end up with a list of personal skills relevant to your career change plans.
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Here's the list...
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People Data and Information
Advising Analysing information and data
Adjusting communication style Applying statistical analysis
Advocating for people Auditing records
Anticipating people's needs and reactions Attending to detail
Appreciating others Being thorough
Being patient Budgeting
Building relationships Calculating
Caring for people Checking for accuracy
Conducting meetings Classifying and sorting data
Conflict management Comparing and evaluating information
Coaching and mentoring Compiling numerical and statistical data
Debating ideas with others Coordinating and presenting information
Delegating Creating efficient systems
Demonstrating empathy Creating implementation guidelines
Developing people’s abilities Developing plans and setting objectives
Developing rapport easily Editing and proofreading written material
Directing others Ensuring completion of tasks
Explaining things Evaluating information
Expressing opinions without offending Following procedures and instructions
Facilitating groups Forecasting, estimating expenses and income
Facilitating self-awareness in others Gathering information from varied sources
Helping others Getting things right
Influencing others Having an eye for detail
Interviewing people to get information Identifying and organising tasks or information
Leading Finding appropriate information sources
Listening Interpreting plans & diagrams
Managing people Keeping financial records
Motivating people Manipulating numbers rapidly
Negotiating Memorising
Open minded & non-judgemental Organising and improving systems
Participating in group discussions Patiently searching for hard-to-find information
Persuading Presenting data diagrammatically
Providing service to others Problem solving
Public speaking Recording facts
Responding to non-verbal cues Researching
Showing sensitivity and tolerance Sequencing information and actions
Supervising others Setting up and keeping to time schedules
Teaching and training Studying data to extract facts
Working well in a team Tracking progress of projects
Working well with the public Using technology for statistical analysis
Things and Tools Creativity and Ideas
Analysing and correcting faults Acting and/or dancing
Assembling things Adapting flexibly and easily/td>
Building things Brainstorming
Constructing self assembly items Communicating using metaphor
Driving and operating vehicles Composing music
Finding out how things work Conveying ideas through drawing or painting
Fixing or repairing things Creating novel solutions
Gardening and farming Designing building and interiors
Hand-eye co-ordination Designing new processes and systems
Handling things with precision Developing others’ ideas
Inspecting equipment and machinery Expressing ideas through art
Installing technical equipment Graphic design
Making things Improvising
Manual dexterity Innovating
Monitoring systems Insight
Physical strength & stamina Intuiting strategies and solutions
Physically inspecting things Inventing products and processes
Raising, training, tending animals Lateral thinking
Repairing machines and equipment Photography
Restoring objects Seeing alternatives
Sporting ability Seeing things from different perspectives
Tending plants Showing artistic flair
Understanding machinery Strategic thinking
Using hand tools Using accurate spatial memory
Using scientific or medical equipment Using colour, shape and form creatively
Using spatial awareness for practical tasks Using imagination
Using technical equipment and machinery Utilising computers for artistic creations
Utilising computer software and equipment Visualising concepts and possibilities
Working physically Writing creatively
Phew! That was quite a list of personal skills! How did you get on?
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What did you find?
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Once you have been through it carefully you will have a better idea which will be the best new career skills for you to focus on when you change careers.
Did you notice if your best/favourite skills fell into a particular category - People, Data, Things or Ideas? What does that tell you about your career choice?
Make a note of what you have learned about your skills in your Career Change Project File. A list of personal skills will add to the understanding you have of yourself and this will help you to work out your new career direction.
Here's the list...
| People | Data and Information |
| Advising | Analysing information and data |
| Adjusting communication style | Applying statistical analysis |
| Advocating for people | Auditing records |
| Anticipating people's needs and reactions | Attending to detail |
| Appreciating others | Being thorough |
| Being patient | Budgeting |
| Building relationships | Calculating |
| Caring for people | Checking for accuracy |
| Conducting meetings | Classifying and sorting data |
| Conflict management | Comparing and evaluating information |
| Coaching and mentoring | Compiling numerical and statistical data |
| Debating ideas with others | Coordinating and presenting information |
| Delegating | Creating efficient systems |
| Demonstrating empathy | Creating implementation guidelines |
| Developing people’s abilities | Developing plans and setting objectives |
| Developing rapport easily | Editing and proofreading written material |
| Directing others | Ensuring completion of tasks |
| Explaining things | Evaluating information |
| Expressing opinions without offending | Following procedures and instructions |
| Facilitating groups | Forecasting, estimating expenses and income |
| Facilitating self-awareness in others | Gathering information from varied sources |
| Helping others | Getting things right |
| Influencing others | Having an eye for detail |
| Interviewing people to get information | Identifying and organising tasks or information |
| Leading | Finding appropriate information sources |
| Listening | Interpreting plans & diagrams |
| Managing people | Keeping financial records |
| Motivating people | Manipulating numbers rapidly |
| Negotiating | Memorising |
| Open minded & non-judgemental | Organising and improving systems |
| Participating in group discussions | Patiently searching for hard-to-find information |
| Persuading | Presenting data diagrammatically |
| Providing service to others | Problem solving |
| Public speaking | Recording facts |
| Responding to non-verbal cues | Researching |
| Showing sensitivity and tolerance | Sequencing information and actions |
| Supervising others | Setting up and keeping to time schedules |
| Teaching and training | Studying data to extract facts |
| Working well in a team | Tracking progress of projects |
| Working well with the public | Using technology for statistical analysis |
| Things and Tools | Creativity and Ideas |
| Analysing and correcting faults | Acting and/or dancing |
| Assembling things | Adapting flexibly and easily/td> |
| Building things | Brainstorming |
| Constructing self assembly items | Communicating using metaphor |
| Driving and operating vehicles | Composing music |
| Finding out how things work | Conveying ideas through drawing or painting |
| Fixing or repairing things | Creating novel solutions |
| Gardening and farming | Designing building and interiors |
| Hand-eye co-ordination | Designing new processes and systems |
| Handling things with precision | Developing others’ ideas |
| Inspecting equipment and machinery | Expressing ideas through art |
| Installing technical equipment | Graphic design |
| Making things | Improvising |
| Manual dexterity | Innovating |
| Monitoring systems | Insight |
| Physical strength & stamina | Intuiting strategies and solutions |
| Physically inspecting things | Inventing products and processes |
| Raising, training, tending animals | Lateral thinking |
| Repairing machines and equipment | Photography |
| Restoring objects | Seeing alternatives |
| Sporting ability | Seeing things from different perspectives |
| Tending plants | Showing artistic flair |
| Understanding machinery | Strategic thinking |
| Using hand tools | Using accurate spatial memory |
| Using scientific or medical equipment | Using colour, shape and form creatively |
| Using spatial awareness for practical tasks | Using imagination |
| Using technical equipment and machinery | Utilising computers for artistic creations |
| Utilising computer software and equipment | Visualising concepts and possibilities |
| Working physically | Writing creatively |
Phew! That was quite a list of personal skills! How did you get on?
What did you find?
Once you have been through it carefully you will have a better idea which will be the best new career skills for you to focus on when you change careers.
Did you notice if your best/favourite skills fell into a particular category - People, Data, Things or Ideas? What does that tell you about your career choice?
