Leveraging Skills for Career Management

Skills for employees range from technical skills for a specific discipline like engineering, accounting, software development, law, international affairs, law enforcement, medicine, education/teaching, mechanics, plumbing, technology/cybersecurity, or nursing; leadership skills, include team building, negotiating, navigating constantly evolving work environments, driving results, resolving conflict, public speaking, and leading change; management skills, include project, program, or organizational management, budgeting, scheduling, time management, or training; soft skills include communications, emotional intelligence, dependability, problem-solving, adaptability; transferable skills – those skills that are adaptable to other disciplines or industries; and many more. 

As a career coach, I help my clients identify skill gaps and enhance skill strengths. We focus on the positive and accentuate transferable skills for new positions, promotional opportunities, target jobs, and jobs of passion. 

For example, when conducting a skills assessment with my clients, I ask them to identify skills they possess that are natural or that they have mastered (these skills come easy); skills they possess that are nearly mastered and they delight in using these skills; skills they excel at that they no longer wish to use (this category may cause extreme burnout); and skills they want to possess that may require education, training, or development.  

I then coach my clients on how to use/leverage skill sets. I ask my clients to identify their top five hard (specific disciplines) and soft skill sets. Very often, my clients cannot differentiate between hard and soft skill sets, and they provide a list of soft behavioral skills, e.g., hardworking, disciplined, detail-oriented, excellent communicator, successful, and dependable. 

In these cases, I coach my clients to define their hard/technical skill sets (e.g., writing, electrical, analyst, accounting, policy, environmental, and language skills) and learn to leverage them in written career management documents like the résumé and LinkedIn profile and the interview process – tied to measurable results.

Below is a breakdown of the skill levels and how best to manage coaching sessions: 

• Skills a client possesses that are natural or have been mastered and enjoy using often make a job easy for them. These skills can be refined and enhanced. These skill sets make clients feel like they are “not working.” 

• Coach Tips:  This client will benefit from career coaching to further build their skill set by exploring additional education or credentialing opportunities. We may explore opportunities for advancement or opportunities at other companies that may allow the client to gain more challenges using the skill sets. Brainstorming may include shifting from work at a small company to a larger Fortune 500 company; moving from a small hospital in a small city or rural setting to a larger hospital in a big city or inner city; or moving to a new state or location. We will also brainstorm salary and benefits and analyze new positions with more significant income. 
• Skills a client possesses that are nearly mastered and that they delight in using may need coaching to develop fully the skill set(s). By coaching these clients to master skill sets they enjoy using, they may become industry or discipline experts. 
• Coach Tips:  This client may need additional education or training. We may explore university programs, advanced degrees, or certification or licensure programs. They may also find value in identifying a specific mentor. Brainstorming may include becoming published, speaking at large conferences/symposia/consortiums, and seeking new employment with more challenges and a potential mentor or reimbursement for advanced degrees. This client usually seeks new professional development positions and greater income levels. 
• Skills a client thinks they want to possess but does not have any education may require training and development by obtaining schooling or training. 
• Coach Tips:  This client may need to explore the desired skill sets by engaging in informational interviews, shadowing an expert on the job, joining an association, or attending conferences to learn about the skill set. For example, suppose a young adult client states they want to be a nurse. In that case, when allowed to observe classes, visit patients in a hospital setting, or view videos of medical and surgical procedures, they decide they cannot handle the sight of blood or the smells of the hospital setting and may change their mind. Shadowing a nurse or surgeon as an observer for a day may help them determine if they genuinely want to pursue that career path.

• The Food Safety and Inspection Service uses virtual reality goggles at some of its job fairs so potential job seekers can view a meat processing/slaughter operation. Even so, many new employees quit after being on the job, as the sight of the plant from a virtual reality vantage differs from the live smells and blood involved in the live plant environment.  

• Skills that a client excels at but no longer wishes to use require a complete coaching program to identify the skills of strength, why they no longer choose to use the skills, and how the skill/skills can be used as a transferable skill set. A client in this situation may be on the verge of burnout and hate his job and work environment. He may be working overtime because he is relied upon as an expert in his discipline/skill set.  

• Coach Tips: Coaching a client on the verge of burnout is challenging. The client may be discouraged and confused about the next steps in the career trajectory. The client’s salary may be very satisfying, which keeps the client in the role despite the extreme burnout and fatigue. In this case, I ask my client many questions to determine the source of the burnout. We explore how his skill sets may be transferable to other roles, industries, or disciplines. We may prepare a budget to determine if the client can take a lesser salary to return to school to obtain new skill sets or take a lesser salary for a better-fit position, e.g., moving into a non-supervisory role. 

• Most of my clients have transferable skill sets. I coach them to break down their skill sets, and we analyze potential new industries or disciplines. 

• Coach Tips: For example, one of my clients worked in animal behavior, focusing on research with primates. She received degrees in animal behavior, zoology, and biology. During her career, she wrote scores of different types of documents. She decided to pursue a career in medical writing. To solidify her decision, she obtained a certificate in medical writing. We leveraged the writing part of her skill set on her résumé and LinkedIn profile and removed much of her direct descriptions of her work with primates. 

As a career coach working with clients, I learn about their skill sets, why they like them, and how they want to use them. This process is critical in coaching them to land satisfying jobs that pay what they seek. 

If you desire to strengthen your career coaching skills, the Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) program delivers detailed descriptions of skill set development with clients and teaches you how to ask questions to move your clients forward. The CPCC also coaches you as you learn to become a career coach.