Freelance Switch (which has graciously linked to CareerNiche for a while now) has this great article on good ways to build your skills.
Regardless of whether you’re a freelancer, an entrepreneur, or an employee, it’s always important to work on strengthening the skills you already have, and learning new tricks along the way. It keeps you on top of your field. It keeps you motivated, and helps avoid those energy-sapping ruts. It can also make you look more attractive to the people you want to do business with by showing your versatility and commitment to your field.
Skill-building can also be a great form of networking. When you look to others to learn something, they get to know who you are in the process. This can help generate leads. It can also help form collaborative relationships, and it gives you people you can refer others to. Word-of-mouth and sincerely trying to help others are always good things.
Try to incorporate one or two of the suggestions into your routine. See how they’ll help you not only become better at what you already do so well, but how they can benefit you in unexpected ways.
Posted by Rebecca as Skill building at 8:18 AM EDT
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I have a problem. I think, because I’m smart and multi-talented, that I should be able to do everything. It’s kind of a funny problem, actually. It leads to my learning how to use things I may only use once.
Take, for example, Inkscape. I can’t draw to save my life. I can create composite images and basic pictures in GIMP, Photoshop, and PSP. But then I started working on the first Dead Bunny tutorial. I was bound and determined to do the entire thing myself. I taught myself how to use Impress (OpenOffice’s version of PowerPoint) through a really great PowerPoint book. I taught myself how to write a storyboard and a script. I tried to troubleshoot a problem in Impress too big for me to troubleshoot at my current level of knowledge. Then, I turned my attention to trying to create the few images I still needed for the tutorial.
I checked out a couple of books on Illustrator and armed myself with Inkscape’s tutorials and user manual. I then created a few very disturbing outlines of something pretending to be a bunny. (It turned out to be a cute alien…but I scrapped the little green man idea over a year ago!)
Needless to say, I probably need to find someone who is actually skilled at art to handle all my image needs so I can focus on planning and writing, my strengths. (I wonder if I can find an artist who would barter with me…)O
A week ago, I’d have felt bad for admitting that, but something over the weekend changed my mind. Fabienne Frederickson’s latest newsletter focuses on growing your own strengths and outsourcing your weaknesses. It’s really a win-win situation for both you and the person you convince to work with you, plus you build a partnership that can lead to further collaborations. She recommends making a list of your strengths and weaknesses, and going from there.
It’s okay to admit you can’t do something, but it’s not okay to let that stop you from doing what you want.
Posted by Rebecca as Skill building at 8:10 AM EDT
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I had originally thought to review Brazen Careerist and Career Intensity separately, but I’ve realized they really go together. Both focus on taking charge or your career.
Penelope Trunk, writer of Brazen Careerist, really has a bright casual tone that will likely resonate more with younger readers. Her rules are organized step by step from starting the job search clear through to management, all in 200 pages. She focuses on showing off your best side without running yourself into the ground, and making connections while being authentic. It’s good, relevant advice at a time when I think a lot of people are trying to figure out how to move in their professional paths. I came away with a ton of notes to help me deal with my own lost career.
David Lorenzo, author of Career Intensity and the blog by the same name, focuses more on how to move a stuck career you’re already in. He classifies workers as being on of four types: Workplace Warrior, Management Maverick, Intrepreneur (which is where I fit in the grid), and Entrepreneur. Lorenzo then spends the rest of the book speaking mainly to those who fall into the Workplace Warrior and Management Maverick categories, providing thoughtful advice on how to get unstuck and enjoy the career enjoyed by Intrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs. He encourages more strategic risk-taking and managing your image, two very important components of a successful career.
The two read incredibly well together as a continuous flow through career stages, both providing their own voice and ideas on a variety of topics. I’d actually recommend that if you choose to read them, you do read them together and start with Brazen Careerist. You can also read them separately and come away with great advice to help you jolt your own career.
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Skill building, Networking, Leadership and management, Work skills, self-analysis at 8:13 AM EDT
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I’ve been working with a friend to help her prepare applications, and she recently sent me a cover letter to review.
It was a good thing, too. Her entire letter was full of taken-back statements and thoughts expressed half-heartedly. That’s fine, except it wouldn’t land her an interview.
Your writing is an extension of you; it’s an attempt to show who you are through words. When you pick weak words, you’ll come across as weak. If you pick stronger words, you come across as confident.
Consider the following:
I am interested in applying for the job you posted.
I am applying for the position posted to this job search site.
Which person would you feel better about talking to, the first person who can’t seem to commit to applying, or the person who comes right out tells they want the job? You’d take a closer look at the second applicant. They know what they want and they aren’t afraid to tell you that.
Regardless of what you write, strong word choice will always make you stand out. Before you send out any business writing, read over it and look for weak words, weasel words (words that don’t actually say anything), and waffling sentences.
Posted by Rebecca as Skill building, Networking at 8:07 AM EDT
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Sometimes, your career can only move because you put things in motion. Here are some great tips to help inspire and advise you to become your own lit fire.
- Ask and don’t take no for an answer: The best way to get what you want to is to let people know what you want. It’s a good life skill. I became a communicator because I asked for the job. Once I had communication experience under my belt, I started to ask for UX opportunities and unknowingly started structuring and restructuring information in help systems with better information architectures.
- Just do it: If you see a need, fill it. Sometimes it may not be appreciated, but more often these kinds of actions are labeled as “proactive.” If you see a bad design, sketch a better one and show it to the most appropriate person, being sensitive to the group dynamics and company culture. Make sure you appreciate the effort already given and stress that you are representing the users’ interests.
- Build relationships: with coworkers and managers, making sure to tell them your career aspirations. Tell them in terms of “this is what I do and this is how it can help you.” One day, when a developer or manager has a problem, she might think, “Theresa told me she could help me if I ever had this problem…” It takes effort (and constant vigilance!), but it can work.
- Get a mentor: I’ve had several mentors over the years. At one company, the UI designer taught me task analysis, user analysis and UI design. He did several training sessions for the whole team. After joining the IA Institute, I found a mentor to help me identify my transferable skills and learn how to sell my services.
- Get your foot in the door: Taking a communicator contract can be a foot in the door to a UX job. You can get in, do a great job, figure out the company culture and scope out the opportunities for UX work.
- Take a class, network, moonlight: To gain knowledge outside a company, take a class on UI design or information architecture. Many websites have lists of these kinds of classes. Networking at local user experience groups is a great way to meet peers. Eventually, you might find small contracts you can do in your spare time. When you want to complete your move, you will already know people.
- Do informational interviews: From your networking, you’ll know people. Meet them for 20-30 minutes and ask them what skills they use, what challenges they face, what they like about their job, what they think you can do to make the move, what the market is like. Keep in touch, keep networking. (Source)
- Work quickly. Produce a lot.
- Attend to details.
- Be versatile.
- Make an effort to learn.
- Anticipate problems.
- Set goals.
- Display a positive attitude. (Source)
Posted by Rebecca as Skill building at 8:07 AM EDT
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One of the reasons some of my students like working with me is because I’m not afraid to admit when I don’t know something. It helps them feel like they don’t have to know everything, either.
But they also like me because of what I do after admitting I don’t know. I start trying to find out.
I’ve long known that I don’t know everything. Given that I generally come across as pretty darn smart, most people are very surprised when I don’t know something. Of course, I’m not okay with not learning something new when the opportunity arises, so I try to find out what I didn’t know.
This has had so many benefits for me over the years. First, I get to learn something new! (I like that part.) Second, I get to be helpful, another thing I really enjoy. Third, the person I’m helping actually gets the help they need (probably the best part).
I’m human. I don’t know everything. I’m okay with that. But if you need to know something I don’t know, then I’m going to help you find it. Amazingly, many of my students come to me with the inability to find anything without resorting to Wikipedia. Those same students tend to leave me knowing how to use a book’s index and table of contents to find information within the book they’re using. They know to go find another resource if the book they’re holding isn’t enough, and they know how to pick a good book. If they’re researching online, they know how to to create search queries that will give them results that are better quality and more informative than what they would have found on their own.
In all my years of retail, volunteer, and teaching experience, no one has ever killed me for saying, “I don’t know,” and they’ve never left me without finding out what they needed to know or at least being pointed in the right direction.
(Inspired by Scott Ginsberg)
Posted by Rebecca as Skill building at 8:30 AM EDT
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It’s already common knowledge that the easiest way to find a new job is to network your way into one. Talk to friends, to colleagues, to like-minded people, those you know through your recreational activities. Get to know these people. Build sincere relationships complete with bidirectional give and take.
In this day and age, you can even forge these meaningful friendships online- through blogging, through social sites, through themed communities. The ability to connect with diverse people these days is incredible.
One of the reasons I love reading Jory Des Jardins’ blogs is because she weaves skillful stories about so many topics including forming these relationships, and the positive results that come from networking.
Her latest offering on Fast Company, though, struck a chord with me. For the past year or so, I’ve been reading up on e-portfolios, personal learning environments (PLEs), and the potential benefits and pitfalls of blending the two. I have been building up notes on what I think my own PLE/e-portfolio would have to involve if I were to seriously sit down and force myself to be a good little netizen, but have yet to actually organize myself into this state.
Des Jardins points out in the article that while it’s important to forge those relationships, it’s also important to put your best virtual face forward for potential employers, employees, and clients. The time may come when a list of selected skills and a brief letter won’t be what gets your foot in the door; it may actually be you yourself.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I think it’s great. To know that you got where you were based on your actual skills rather than what you able to present on two pieces of paper and an hour’s interview just appeals a lot more to me.
Maybe it will even be enough to push me out of my hermit’s shell to start building a virtual presence that better reflects my knowledge and skills.
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Skill building at 7:53 AM EST
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A little self-confidence can do amazing things. It can help you succeed in the job search, during career transitions, and even when starting your own company. When you show a little confidence in yourself, the people around you respect that. In some cases, they even start to find a little self-confidence of their own. It’s like a pebble rippling out, much like a smile or laugh often can.
Need a little help finding your confidence? Try out these tips and let me know how it works out for you!
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Skill building, Responsibility at 7:48 AM EST
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In education, we often worry about what our students know versus what we know they should, know, but can’t pull out of them. We call any knowledge we can assess “explicit knowledge” and anything the student knows, but we can’t assess “tacit knowledge”.
In business, we face the same thing, within ourselves and our employees. When we create a resume to showcase our skills, we have this wide range of skills that are harder to demonstrate. These are our “tacit skills”. These are the skills that we may not be aware we have, or they may be soft skills that we don’t know how to present. These are the skills that often end up coming out during a behavioral interview, training, or the adjustment period after starting the job.
The skills that we can demonstrate are our “explicit skills”. Our schooling, our training, our accomplishments in previous jobs. These are the skills interviewers and recruiters look for because they can quantify them, but in the back of their mind, they also have some tacit skills in place that they are looking for.
What does this mean for you, the job seeker? It means that while you should present your explicit skills to best showcase what you’re capable of, you should also think about those skills you can’t show off so easily and then practice your interview in that light. Become comfortable with those aspects of yourself to help present you in your entirety to a prospective employer.
Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers, Skill building, self-analysis at 7:48 AM EST
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At any interview where I know I’m not exactly what the hiring manager is looking for but also know I could easily do the tasks required of the job, I always try to impress on the interviewer that I am able to pick things up fairly quickly
It’s true. When I don’t know something I need to know in order to get work done, both in my professional and my personal life, I seek it out and learn it, immediately applying it to whatever I’m working on. That’s how I got started in teaching, in web and graphic design, and it seems an awful lot of my management skills are self-learned because I needed a skills boost to survive a situation.
Right now, as I’m trying to break into a new field, I’m trying to demonstrate what I’ve learned on the fly and trying to make it clear to potential employers that I can learn what I need to in order to complete their projects.
If you can pick skills up quickly and are willing to learn, that’s a valuable skill and you should make it part of marketing yourself. It’s amazing how many people will defer to someone who knows how to do something, just so they can get out of having to learn something new.
Posted by Rebecca as Skill building at 7:45 AM EST
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