How To Find And Use Your Hard Skills For Your Advantage

Are you looking to take your career to the next level? Do you want to switch industries? Or maybe you’re curious about what your strengths are. No matter your motivation, understanding your hard skills is a crucial step in achieving your goals. 

Let’s dive into what hard skills are and how you can identify and transfer them. 

What are hard skills? 🧑🏼‍🔧

Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that can be quantified and measured. These skills are often acquired through education or training and are essential for performing specific tasks or jobs. 

Examples of hard skills include data analysis, project management, programming, and language proficiency. 

Why is it important to identify your hard skills? 🤔

Knowing your hard skills can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses. This can help you set achievable goals and develop a clear career path. 

Understanding your hard skills can also help you stand out in the job market and during interviews. By highlighting your hard skills and showing how they align with the job requirements, you can show potential employers that you have what it takes to succeed.

Identifying your hard skills is important because it allows you to showcase your strengths, build your confidence, and ultimately succeed in your career. 

So how can you identify your hard skills? 🔎

One of the best places to start is with a little self-assessment. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you might think! 

👉 First, think about your current or past roles. What tasks did you excel at? What technical skills did you use on a daily basis? What projects did you complete successfully? What do you enjoy doing? Reflecting on these questions can help you identify your hard skills. 

👉 Reflect on your education and training. What courses did you enjoy the most? What subjects did you excel at? What certificates or degrees have you earned? These can be valuable indicators of your hard skills.

👉 Think about the feedback you’ve received from colleagues and mentors. What strengths have they identified in you? What areas for improvement have they pointed out? 

👉 Think about your hobbies and extracurricular activities. What skills have you developed through your interests and passions? Maybe you’re an avid blogger, which means you have excellent writing and content creation skills. Or perhaps you’re a volunteer organizer, which means you have strong leadership and communication skills. 

After you’ve taken some time to self-assess, it can also be helpful to get some feedback from external sources. 

👉 Take a personality or career assessment test. These tests can provide valuable insights into your natural abilities and can help you identify areas for improvement. Plus, they can be a fun way to learn more about yourself. Check out the one I recommend here! 

👉 Ask for feedback from your colleagues and mentors. Ask them what they think your strengths are and where they see you excelling. Asking for feedback can help you identify your strengths and areas for improvement. Plus, it shows that you value their opinions and are committed to personal growth. 

What are the benefits of knowing your hard skills? 🙌

First and foremost, knowing your hard skills can help you identify and pursue career opportunities that align with your strengths. For example, if you excel at data analysis, you might consider pursuing a career in business intelligence or analytics. This can help you find a career path that you’re truly passionate about and in which you can thrive. 

Understanding your hard skills can also help you set realistic career goals. Maybe you’ve identified project management as a hard skill, and you’re looking to become a project manager within your organization. Knowing this can help you set concrete goals and develop a plan to achieve them. 

Understanding your hard skills can help you tailor your resume and cover letter. By highlighting your relevant hard skills and experience, you can make a strong case for why you’re the best candidate for the role. This can help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of getting an interview. 

Speaking of interviews, knowing your hard skills can also help you prepare for job interviews. By anticipating questions about your hard skills, you can prepare thoughtful responses that showcase your experience and expertise. You can highlight your skills and experience with confidence, knowing that you have the hard skills required for the role. Plus, you can demonstrate your ability to apply your hard skills to real-world situations and speak to how your skills can contribute to the success of the organization.

Understanding your hard skills can help you negotiate your salary and benefits package. By highlighting your hard skills and their value to the organization, you can make a compelling case for why you deserve a competitive compensation package. This can help you secure the compensation you deserve and ensure that you’re valued for your contributions. 

Knowing your hard skills can also help you identify areas for improvement. By understanding your strengths and weaknesses, you can focus on developing your hard skills to become an even stronger candidate in the future. 

Developing your hard skills can lead to increased job satisfaction and career advancement. By continually improving your hard skills, you can take on new challenges, increase your responsibilities, and potentially even earn a promotion. This can lead to greater job satisfaction and fulfillment. 

Knowing your hard skills can help you navigate a career change. If you’re looking to pivot to a new industry or role, identifying your transferable skills can help you make a smooth transition. For example, if you’re a project manager looking to move into the healthcare industry, you might highlight your organization, communication, and leadership skills as transferable. 

But more on that next:

How can hard skills help you transfer to a new career? 🚀

▶ Research your target industry. Identify the hard skills that are in demand by reading job postings and industry news. Look for common themes and identify the skills that overlap with your current skill set. This can give you a good idea of what skills you need to develop and highlight in your job application. 

▶ Identify your transferable skills. These are the skills that can be applied to a variety of roles and industries. For example, if you’re a skilled project manager, your ability to manage timelines, budgets, and stakeholders can transfer to a variety of roles, such as operations management or business development. 

▶ Make sure you understand the job requirements. Once you have a job that you’re interested in, read the job description thoroughly and identify the hard skills that the employer is looking for. Make a list of your own hard skills that match the job requirements. 

▶ Highlight your hard skills in your resume. Use bullet points to list your hard skills under each job experience. Be specific and use quantifiable examples to demonstrate how you used your hard skills in previous roles. For example, instead of simply stating that you have excellent communication skills, provide an example of how you successfully led a team project and effectively communicated with stakeholders to achieve the project goals. 

You can also create a skills section in your resume. List your hard skills in bullet points and organize them by category. For example, you can have categories such as “Technical Skills,” “Leadership Skills,” and “Interpersonal Skills.” 

▶ Make sure your cover letter highlights your hard skills. Use the job requirements as a guide and provide specific examples of how your hard skills match the job requirements. Show the employer that you have the necessary skills and experience to excel in the role. 

▶ Don’t be afraid to showcase your hard skills in the interview. I know I already mentioned this up above but BE PREPARED to provide specific examples of how you’ve used your hard skills in previous roles. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to provide detailed and concise examples of how you’ve applied your hard skills to achieve results.

▶ Be willing to learn new skills. While your transferable skills can get your foot in the door, you may need to develop new hard skills to be successful in your new career. Take advantage of training programs, online courses, and industry certifications to develop your skills and demonstrate your commitment to your new career.

▶ Be patient and persistent. Changing careers can be a challenging and time-consuming process, but it’s worth it if you’re passionate about your new career. Don’t be discouraged by rejection or setbacks, and keep working on developing your hard skills and showcasing your transferable skills.

In Conclusion….

Understanding your hard skills is important for your career development and success. Continuously developing and honing your hard skills can open doors to new opportunities and advancement. So take some time to reflect on your strengths, seek feedback, and showcase your hard skills with confidence! 

👉🏾 Tyche Takeaways 👈🏾

• Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that can be measured and quantified. 
• Examples of hard skills include proficiency in a programming language, knowledge of financial analysis, or proficiency in a specific software program. 
• Identifying your hard skills helps you focus on developing and improving your skills to advance your career.
• Knowing your hard skills is crucial for job search and interview preparation. 
• Transferring hard skills to a new career involves researching your target industry, identifying transferable skills, and highlighting them in your job application. 
• Highlighting hard skills in your job application involves understanding the job requirements, highlighting hard skills in your resume, using your cover letter to showcase hard skills, and preparing for the interview.
• Understanding your hard skills helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, prepare for job search and interviews, and advance your career.