What Are You Really Good At?
You will have heard me say many times in blog posts, videos and perhaps even in person that you have to be able to market and sell yourself to potential employers.
The thing is most professionals either don’t spend the time really getting an insight into themselves and what they offer to a potential employer or are reluctant to speak positively about it.
Here’s the thing. Speaking positively about what you can offer to an employer is not bragging. It’s not being a know it all. It is simply sharing what you can bring to the table to help the organisation be more successful.
So how do you undertake that personal stocktake and get clarity about what you are really good at?
Use An Assessment
There are plenty of assessments that you can get access to for a small investment. One of the best I have seen is Strengths Finder 2.0. It will give you your top 5 signature strengths. Those are the areas of real strength.
Ask For Feedback
A lot of people are reluctant to go out and ask for feedback. They somehow see it as a weakness. It’s actually a strength.
Make a list of 10 people whose opinion and feedback you would value. These should include people in your peer group (at a similar level), people more senior and people more junior.
Ask them 3 questions. What do I do well? What could I do better? What should be my priority for development?
If you are worried about people being reluctant to respond, use an anonymous survey. You can use something like Survey Monkey that will let you set up a 10 question survey for free.
Self Reflect
You probably have better insights into yourself and your strengths than you perhaps acknowledge.
Taking a bit of time to reflect on what you have achieved, the skills, qualities and knowledge that you used can provide some great insights.
Work With a Career Coach
They will provide you with the structure, support and tools to really get to know you and what you are really good at.
Duncan Brodie helps accountants and professionals achieve more career success. You can access a range of free career development resources by clicking here.
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.