What Color Is Your Parachute? Part 13

Simpler skills can be, and usually are, heavily prescribed (by the employer), so if you claim only the simpler skills, you will have to "fit in"-following the instructions of your supervisor, and doing exactly what you are told to do. The higher the skills you can legitimately claim, the more you will be given discretion to carve out the job the way you want to-so that it truly fits you.

4. The higher your transferable skills, the less compet.i.tion you will face for whatever job you are seeking, because jobs that use such skills will rarely be advertised through normal channels.

Not for you the way of cla.s.sified ads, resumes, and agencies. No, if you can legitimately claim higher skills, then to find such jobs you must follow the step-by-step process I am describing here.

The essence of our approach to job-hunting or career-changing is that once you have identified your favorite transferable skills, and your favorite special knowledges, you may then approach any organization that interests you, whether they have a known vacancy or not. Naturally, whatever places you visit-and particularly those that have not advertised any vacancy-you will find far fewer job-hunters that you have to compete with.

In fact, if the employers you visit happen to like you well enough, they may be willing to create for you a job that does not presently exist. In which case, you will be competing with no one, since you will be the sole applicant for that newly created job. While this doesn't happen all the time, it is astounding to me how many times it does happen. The reason it does is that the employers often have been thinking about creating a new job within their organization, for quite some time-but with this and that, they just have never gotten around to doing it. Until you walked in.

Then they decided they didn't want to let you get away, since good employees are as hard to find as good employers. And they suddenly remember that job they have been thinking about creating for many weeks or months, now. So they dust off their intention, create the job on the spot, and offer it to you! And if that new job is not only what they need, but is exactly what you were looking for, then you have a dream job. Match-match. Win-win.

From our country's perspective, it is also interesting to note this: by this job-hunting initiative of yours, you have helped accelerate the creation of more jobs in your country, which is so much on everybody's mind here in the new millennium. How nice to help your country, as well as yourself!

5. Don't confuse transferable skills with traits.

Functional/transferable skills are often confused with traits, temperaments, or type. People think transferable skills are such things as: has lots of energy, gives attention to details, gets along well with people, shows determination, works well under pressure, is sympathetic, intuitive, persistent, dynamic, dependable, etc. As mentioned earlier, these are not functional/transferable skills, but traits, or the style with which you do your transferable skills. For example, take "gives attention to details." If one of your transferable skills is "conducting research" then "gives attention to details" describes the manner or style with which you do the transferable skill called conducting research. If you want to know what your traits are, popular tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measure that sort of thing.8

If you have access to the Internet, there are clues, at least, about your traits or "type": Working Out Your Myers-Briggs Type www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mb-intro/mb-intro.htm An informative article about the Myers-Briggs The 16 Personality Types www.personalitypage.com/high-level.html A helpful site about Myers types What Is Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type?

www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html www.personalitypathways.com Another article about personality types; also, there's a Myers-Briggs Applications page, with links to test resources Myers-Briggs Foundation home page www.myersbriggs.org The official website of the Foundation; lots of testing resources Human Metrics Test (Jung Typology) www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp Free test, loosely based on the Myers-Briggs Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Online www.discoveryourpersonality.com/MBTI.html On this site you can find the official Myers-Briggs test, $60 The Keirsey Temperament Sorter http://keirsey.com Free test, similar to the Myers-Briggs "I WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE MY SKILLS IF THEY CAME UP AND SHOOK HANDS WITH ME"

Now that you know what transferable skills technically are, the problem that awaits you now, is figuring out your own. If you are one of the few lucky people who already know what your transferable skills are, blessed are you. Write them down, and put them in the order of preference, for you, on the Flower Diagram.

If, however, you don't know what your skills are (and 95% of all workers don't), then you will need some help. Fortunately, there is an exercise to help.

It involves the following steps: 1. Write a Story (The First of Seven) Yes, I know, I know. You can't do this exercise because you don't like to write. Writers are a very rare breed. That's what thousands of job-hunters have told me, over the years. And for years I kind of believed them-until "texting" came along. Let's face it: we human beings are "a writing people," and we only need a topic we have a real pa.s.sion for, or interest in, for the writing genie to spring forth from within each of us, pen or keyboard in hand.

So, call the Seven Stories you're about to write your personal offline blog, if you prefer. But start writing. Please.

Here is a specific example: A number of years ago, I wanted to be able to take a summer trip with my wife and four children. I had a very limited budget, and could not afford to put my family up in motels. I decided to rig our station wagon as a camper.

First I went to the library to get some books on campers. I read those books. Next I designed a plan of what I had to build, so that I could outfit the inside of the station wagon, as well as topside. Then I went and purchased the necessary wood. On weekends, over a period of six weeks, I first constructed, in my driveway, the sh.e.l.l for the "second story" on my station wagon. Then I cut doors, windows, and placed a six-drawer bureau within that sh.e.l.l. I mounted it on top of the wagon, and pinioned it in place by driving two-by-fours under the station wagon's rack on top. I then outfitted the inside of the station wagon, back in the wheel-well, with a table and a bench on either side, that I made.

The result was a complete homemade camper, which I put together when we were about to start our trip, and then disa.s.sembled after we got back home. When we went on our summer trip, we were able to be on the road for four weeks, yet stayed within our budget, since we didn't have to stay at motels. I estimate I saved $1,900 on motel bills, during that summer's vacation.

Ideally, each story you write should have the following parts, as ill.u.s.trated above: 1. Your goal: what you wanted to accomplish: "I wanted to be able to take a summer trip with my wife and four children."

2. Some kind of hurdle, obstacle, or constraint that you faced (self-imposed or otherwise): "I had a very limited budget, and could not afford to put my family up in motels."

3. A description of what you did, step by step (how you set about to ultimately achieve your goal, above, in spite of this hurdle or constraint): "I decided to rig our station wagon as a camper. First I went to the library to get some books on campers. I read those books. Next I designed a plan of what I had to build, so that I could outfit the inside of the station wagon, as well as topside. Then I went and purchased the necessary wood. On weekends, over a period of six weeks, I ..." etc., etc.

4. A description of the outcome or result: "When we went on our summer trip, we were able to be on the road for four weeks, yet stayed within our budget, since we didn't have to stay at motels."

5. Any measurable/quantifiable statement of that outcome, that you can think of: "I estimate I saved $1,900 on motel bills, during that summer's vacation."

Now write your story, using the sample as a guide.

Don't pick a story where you achieved something big. At least to begin with, write a story about a time when you had fun!

Do not try to be too brief. This isn't Twitter.

If you absolutely can't think of any experiences you've had where you enjoyed yourself, and accomplished something, then try this: describe the seven most enjoyable jobs that you've had; or seven roles you've had so far in your life, such as: wife, mother, cook, homemaker, volunteer in the community, citizen, dressmaker, student, etc. Tell us something you did or accomplished, in each role.

2. a.n.a.lyze Your Story, to See What Transferable Skills You Used On the next page, write the t.i.tle of your first story above the number 1. Then work your way down the column below that number 1, asking yourself in each case: "Did I use this skill in this story?"

If the answer is "Yes," color the little square in, with a red pen or whatever you choose.

Work your way through the entire Parachute Skills Grid that way, with your first story.

Voila! You are done with Story #1. However, "one swallow doth not a summer make," so the fact that you used certain skills in this first story doesn't tell you much. What you are looking for is patterns-transferable skills that keep reappearing in story after story. They keep reappearing because they are your favorites (a.s.suming you chose stories where you were really enjoying yourself).

To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14016 To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14016 To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14016 3. Write Six Other Stories, and a.n.a.lyze Them for Transferable Skills Now, write Story #2, from any period in your life, a.n.a.lyze it using the grid, etc., etc. And keep this process up, until you have written, and a.n.a.lyzed, seven stories.

If you are finding it difficult to come up with seven stories, it may help you to know how others chose one or more of their stories:9 "As I look back, I realize I chose a story that: Is somehow abnormal or inconsistent with the rest of my life Reveals my skills in a public way Is in a field (such as leisure, learning, etc.) far removed from my work I remembered through or because of its outcome Represented a challenge/gave me pride because it was something: I previously could not do My friends could not do I was not supposed to be able to do Only my father/mother could do, I thought Only authorized/trained/experts were supposed to be able to do Somebody told me I could not do My peers did not do/could not do The best/brilliant/famous could or could not do I did not have the right degree/training to do People of the opposite s.e.x usually do I would like to do again: In a similar/different setting With similar/different people For free for a change/for money for a change Excited me because: I never did it before It was forbidden I took a physical risk I was taking a financial risk No one had ever done it before It demanded a long and persistent (physical/mental) effort It made me even with someone I loved doing it because: I kind of like this sort of thing The people involved were extremely nice It did not cost me anything It will support/justify the professional goals I have already chosen"

4. Patterns and Priorities When you've finished this whole inventory, for all seven of your accomplishments/achievements/jobs/roles or whatever, you want to look for PATTERNS and PRIORITIES.

a. For Patterns, because it isn't a matter of whether you used a skill once only, but rather whether you used it again and again. "Once" proves nothing; "again and again" is very convincing.

b. For Priorities (that is, which skills are most important to you), because the job you eventually choose may not be able to use all of your skills. You need to know what you are willing to trade off, and what you are not. This requires that you know which skills, or family of skills, are most important to you.

So, after finis.h.i.+ng your seven stories (or if you're in a hurry, at least five), look through that Skills Grid, and now guess which might be your top ten favorite or your top twenty-four favorite skills. These should be your best guesses, and they should be about your favorite skills: not the ones you think the job-market will like the best, but the ones you enjoy using the most.

At this point you want to be able to prioritize those ten or those twenty-four in exact order of priority. We need something a little more scientific than guesses. Time for the Prioritizing Grid again, either the ten-item one, or the twenty-four (or fewer) one. Your choice. Run your guesses through the grid you choose, and when you're done with that grid's Section D, copy the top ten (from either grid) on to the building blocks diagram below, as well as onto your Favorite Transferable Skills petal.

To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14017 A word of explanation about this building blocks diagram. Its purpose is to show, as the Skills Petal cannot, how rearranging your skills can define a new career. Suppose for example I end up with these top ten favorite skills: a.n.a.lyze, teach, research, write, diagnose, synthesize, entertain, cla.s.sify, convey warmth, lead, motivate. (I might prefer to put them in their gerund form: a.n.a.lyzing, teaching, researching, writing, diagnosing, synthesizing, entertaining, cla.s.sifying, conveying warmth, leading, motivating.) Either way, if I enter these terms onto those building blocks, the top one helps to define the kind of job or career I'm looking for. Put "a.n.a.lyzing" in the top block, I might seek a job as an a.n.a.lyst. But, if instead I move "teaching" to the top block, then I might seek a job as a teacher. And so on, with "researching," "writing," "diagnosing," etc.

Here we see the folly of most training programs for the unemployed. They deal with roles when they should be dealing with skills. An unemployed construction worker, for example, is typically retrained for just one role: say, computer repair person. But if we see ourselves not as one role, but as ten different skills, then after retraining, there are several careers (or roles) we can pursue.

To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14011 To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14013 5. "Flesh Out" Your Favorite Transferable Skills with Your Traits We discussed traits earlier. In general, traits describe: How you deal with time, and promptness.

How you deal with people and emotions.

How you deal with authority, and being told what to do at your job.

How you deal with supervision, and being told how to do your job.

How you deal with impulse vs. self-discipline, within yourself.

How you deal with initiative vs. response, within yourself.

How you deal with crises or problems.

You need to flesh out your skill-description for each of your favorite skills so that you are able to describe each of your talents or skills with more than just a one-word verb or gerund, like organizing.

Let's take organizing as our example. You tell us proudly: "I'm good at organizing." That's a fine start at defining your skills, but unfortunately it doesn't yet tell us much. Organizing WHAT? People, as at a party? Nuts and bolts, as on a workbench? Or lots of information, as on a computer? These are three entirely different skills. The one word organizing doesn't tell us which one is yours.

So, please look at your top ten favorite transferable skills, and ask yourself if you want to flesh out any of them with an object-some kind of Data/Information, or some kind of People, or some kind of Thing-or with a Trait (adverb or adjective).

Why adjectives here? Well, "I'm good at organizing information painstakingly and logically" and "I'm good at organizing information in a flash, by intuition," are two entirely different skills. The difference between them is spelled out not in the verb, nor in the object, but in the adjectival or adverbial phrase there at the end. So, expand the definition of any of your ten favorite skills that you choose, in the fas.h.i.+on I have just described.

When you are face-to-face with a person-who-has-the-power-to-hire-you, you want to be able to explain what makes you different from nineteen other people who can basically do the same thing that you can do. It is often the adjective or adverb that will save your life, during that explanation.

Now, on to another side of Who You Are.

To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14018

I Am a Person Who ...

Has Favorite Working Conditions

Fourth Petal MY FAVORITE WORKING CONDITIONS.

My Favorite Working Conditions Petal

Goal in Filling Out This Petal: To state the working conditions and surroundings, that would make you happiest, and therefore enable you to do your most effective work.

What You Are Looking For: Avoiding past bad experiences.

Form of the Entries on Your Petal: Descriptors of physical surroundings.

Example of a Good Petal: A works.p.a.ce with lots of windows, nice view of greenery, relatively quiet, decent lunch period, flexibility about clocking in and clocking out, lots of shops nearby.

Example of a Bad Petal: Understanding boss, good colleagues, fun clients, etc.

Why Bad: These all belong on the petal called Preferred Kinds of People to Work With, not this one, which is just about the physical surroundings at your work. Of course, since this is your Flower Diagram, you can put any info you like on any petal you like. It's just that if you want your thinking to be clear, it's useful to preserve the difference between "what is my physical setting going to be like?" and "who will I be working with?"

Your physical setting where you work can cheer you up or drag your spirits down. It's important to know this before you weigh whether to take a particular job offer, or not. So, let's start with working conditions that made you unhappy in the past, and then flip them over into positives, by filling out the chart below.

To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14019 Plants that grow beautifully at sea level, often perish if they're taken ten thousand feet up the mountain. Likewise, we do our best work under certain conditions, but not under others. Thus, the question: "What are your favorite working conditions?" actually is a question about "Under what circ.u.mstances do you do your most effective work?"

As I just mentioned, the best way to approach this is by starting with the things you disliked about all your previous jobs, using the chart to list these. Copy this chart onto a larger piece of notebook paper if you wish, before you begin filling it out. Column A may begin with such factors as: "too noisy," "too much supervision," "no windows in my workplace," "having to be at work by 6 a.m.," etc.

If you are baffled as to how to prioritize the Column A list in the s.p.a.ce provided for that ranking (Column B), I recommend you use the ten-item Prioritizing Grid. (For a refresher on how to use it, turn to "Instructions for Using the Prioritizing Grid,".) This time, when you compare each two items, the question you must ask yourself is, "If I were offered two jobs, and in the first job offer I would be rid of my first distasteful working condition (1) but not the second (2), while in the second job offer I would be rid of my second distasteful working condition (2), but not the first (1), which job offer would I take?"

To download a printable PDF of this image, please visit http://rhlink.com/para14011 After you've finished prioritizing, what have you ended up with, in Section D? The exact list you copy into Column B of your Distasteful Working Conditions chart.

Now that you have that list in Column B, ranked in terms of most distasteful down to least distasteful working conditions, turn to Column C in that chart and write the opposite, or something near the opposite, directly opposite each item in Column B.