Home Library Translate
A A A
Share »
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect »

Blog: Career Management

Menu

  • This Blog's Home
  • Guest Writer Submissions
  • Policies
  • To Subscribe to a Blog
  • About
  • Feedback

Your Competitive Edge: Have Skills Will Travel

By Marcia Zidle on January 28, 2011

have skills will travelWhat do you bring to the employment table?

As organizations continue to change -they’ll grow, restructure, merge, right size, outsource – an increasingly vital career strategy is to make sure your competitive edge continues to be well honed, razor sharp, and very, very productive.

Get this image in your mind—you are carrying a large suitcase or portfolio that holds all of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. It is unique to you. You carry it, wherever you go. Is it heavy with many skills or is it light with only a few? Do you know if your portfolio would be of value in lots of different places or just a limited few?

Periodically inspect your skills portfolio.
Realize you are more than your job description. Rather, define yourself by what you do well and where you can use them. Which skills are state-of-the-art and in great demand? Which skills are somewhat rusty that need to be improved? How many are transferable to other areas inside your organization or even outside to other companies or industries?

Think resume in everything you do.
At the end of each year, whether you are looking for a new job or not, take the time to write or update your resume and compare it with last year’s. See if it has gotten noticeably better. See if it shows growth either in skills and competencies or in high valued assignments or projects?

Take charge of your career.
So, are you waiting for the company to magically tell you what you need to do? Or are you taking responsibility to keep your skills and expertise up to date and marketable? How often do you…

  • Examine your skills portfolio on a regular basis?
  • Determine if you have both breath and depth in your functional area?
  • Pinpoint specific skills and knowledge that you need to acquire or upgrade?
  • Periodically review educational opportunities that may help your career advancement?
  • Evaluate each potential assignment on the merits of growth, exposure and visibility to key people? Not all are equal.

Career Success Tip:

Your career security in a changing workplace lies less in your position and more in how marketable you are inside and outside your organization. So, have transferrable skills and therefore you will travel. View yourself as a roving skills portfolio to stay employable the rest of your life.

Readers, what skills do you think will be necessary to succeed in the future?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

  • For more resources, see the Library topic Career Management.
  • Start with the  Career Success System.
  • Sign up for Career Power: 101 success tips.
  • Fast track your career. Be part of a Success Team.
  • Need a speaker? Get the Edge Keynotes-webinars-workshops.
  • Find career and leadership boosters in the Smart Moves Blog.
  • Copyright © 2011 Marcia Zidle career and leadership coach.
« Previous Next »

Search Our Site

Meet This Blog’s Host

Marcia Zidle, a certified career strategist and business coach, works with high potential, high impact executives, managers and professionals to advance their careers and grow their leadership capabilities.
[Read more ...]

Recent Blog Posts

  • Watch Out For These Bad Habits: They Can Stop Your Career
  • Getting the Recognition You Deserve
  • Your Career Goals: Are You On Track or Side-Tracked?
  • Communication: Make Small Talk Big Talk
  • New Job and New Boss: Get Off On The Right Foot
  • What Are Your Career Goals For 2013?
  • What’s Important to an Employer?
  • Career Advice For Young Professionals and Leaders
  • The First Six Months On the Job: What You Need to Do!
  • Asking For Help Can Help Your Career

Categories of Posts

  • Basics and Overviews
  • Career Advancement
  • Career Planning
  • Career Resilience
  • Career Transition
  • Change Management
  • General Resources
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Job Search
  • Leading Others
  • Professional Development
  • Success Tips
  • Uncategorized

Related Library Links

  • Changing Your Behavior
  • Personal Development
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Management Development

Library's Blogs

  • Boards of Directors
  • Building a Business
  • Business Communications
  • Business Ethics, Culture and Performance
  • Business Planning
  • Career Management
  • Coaching and Action Learning
  • Consulting and Organizational Development
  • Crisis Management
  • Customer Service
  • Facilitation
  • Free Management Library Blogs
  • Fundraising for Nonprofits
  • Human Resources
  • Leadership
  • Marketing and Social Media
  • Nonprofit Capacity Building
  • Project Management
  • Quality Management
  • Social Enterprise
  • Spirituality
  • Strategic Planning
  • Supervision
  • Team Building and Performance
  • Training and Development
About Feedback Legal Privacy Policy Contact Us
Free Management Library, © Copyright Authenticity Consulting, LLC ®; All rights reserved.
  • Graphics by Wylde Hare LLC
  • Website maintained by Caitlin Cahill

By continuing to use this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.X