Transferable SkillsWritten by Fran Watson
One of most important parts of a job search is assessing your Transferable skills. These are skills which you can use in other jobs such as: Communication, Information Management, Human Services, Managerial, Manual/Physical Labour, Personal Attributes, Organization.Often when people have been working in same job for a long time, they become so accustomed to performing their duties that they fail to recognize skills they have. It is beneficial to sit down and write out a list of all things you do in a work day and all things you do at home as well. It is easy to forget that skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, and organization which you use at home and in volunteering are skills that you can transfer and use on a new job. A benefit to this recognition of your skills is that you can come up with a variety of Ideas for jobs or places that these skills may be used. If you are currently unemployed and are having a difficult time with this, talk to some friends or a career/employment counsellor.
| | The Musketeer ApproachWritten by Nan S. Russell
Stories of intrigue, treachery, politics, lies, double crosses, and power struggles fill history books, much like they fill today’s headlines. In world of 17th century musketeer, life depended on who you could trust. In world of 21st century employee, one’s livelihood may.I’m not naïve to corporate politics, competition, or sabotage in workplace. I’ve held my own in corporations where silos, turf wars and power brokers delivered indigestion, sleepless nights, and distrusting cultures. But I still don’t get it. When people are more focused on what’s happening in cube next to them than on achieving corporate goals, everyone loses. When corporate politics fill emails with mixed direction stalling productivity, everyone loses. And when discretionary effort and new ideas are swallowed in pits of bureaucracy, guess what? Everyone loses. The way I see it, if company fails, we all fail. So, I believe Three Musketeers got it right: “All for one and one for all!" Each understood his fate as an individual was tied to their fate as a group. Trusting each other was unambiguous. One was in trouble, they all were in trouble. One needed help, they all provided help. One succeeded, they all succeeded. The fiction of Alexandre Dumas, set in 17th century, seems a good prescription for 21st century workplace. I know it’s worked for me. Arriving at a new job, I discovered boss who hired me was away, and no one expecting me. I found no office, no desk, and no information. The person I was hired to replace was in my job, and had no idea I was replacing her. Each week got worse. Information and requests flowed like water through a clogged pipe. I was out of loop on important issues and viewed like enemy. Turning to my boss for guidance was like stepping into a sink hole, as I discovered his credibility and department’s lacking.
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