Matt: Need some help getting some skills down, eh? Don’t worry your magical guide Matt is here to help!
All jobs will expect you to bring some skills with you. Your skills are kind of what make you who you are and they’re also your biggest advantage. Skills are what employers are most interested in.
Student: But I don’t know what to put down here.
Matt: That’s ok. Don’t freak out, even if you don’t think you have the skills – you do. Let’s go see.
So you got a licence? Well, that’s a skill – it’s a technical one, like knowing a language or a computer program – like Photoshop. There’s a whole range of other skills like this that you probably have that you didn’t even realise.
Hold on, wait for me!
So, let’s have a look at some of these other types of skills that we can see in this job description, skills you can transfer from other areas of your life.
Student: Hmmm … must be able to work in a team.
Matt: Hey, heads up! Netball! You show up every week to the game, don’t you? You train hard, you work as a group.
Student: Yeah, but..
Matt: Well, this is teamwork! This is dedication! In order to find out what skills you do have, you need to look at all areas of your life.
Student: Mmm.
Matt: And don’t be shy, promote yourself! Everyone else does. You gotta put your best foot forward. Ha!
Thank you.
Awesome! This volunteer work shows us how well you can manage your time in your weekends, by balancing sport, study and volunteer work. And hey, you’re a natural at talking to people, and that shows you’ve got great communication skills as well! Here you go.
Student: So the trick is to think about different areas of my life: being in a young enterprise scheme at school, volunteering, after-study activities, sports…that kind of thing?
Matt: Exactly. Think about the skills the employer is looking for and an example from your life that demonstrates that. Then, describe the activity on your CV and the skill it taught you. It doesn’t have to be perfect at this stage, the important thing is you get something down and give it a go.
Student: Thank you. Bye! You may think you don’t have any skills, but you do – you just need to know how to spot them. Letting people know what those skills are lets them know just how good you are.