Job Skills Identification

Job Content Skills
Job content skills are those skills specific to a job or occupation. A secre¬tary is skilled in typing, word processing, answering telephones, company correspondence, and filing. An accoun¬tant would list accounts receivable, performing accounts payable, payroll, figuring taxes, using a 10-key adding machine, and computer accounting programs. A salesperson would include customer service, record keeping, order processing, inventory management, billing, and product displays. Job content skills are important to employers for obvious reasons. These are the specific skills they are looking for in a candidate to accomplish the duties of the job. Job skills do not always come from employment. Along with the skills you used in previous jobs, you may have developed job skills through education, hobbies, community activities, and life experiences. Common activities such as shopping, managing finances, balancing a bank account, hosting a party, and teaching a child all contain potential job skills.

Self-Management Skills
Sometimes called "personality traits," these self-management skills are the skills you use day-by-day to get along with others and to survive. They are the skills that make you unique. Sincerity, reliability, tactfulness, patience, flexibility, timeliness, or tolerance are examples of self-management skills. Employers look for these skills in candidates as evidence of how they will "fit" into the organization. How a person will "fit in" is an important consideration for employers.

Transferable Skills
These are skills that can transfer from one job or occupation to another. They may be either self-management or job content skills, and may or may not have been developed through previous employment. For most job seekers it is very unlikely that they will find a job that is identical to their previous employment. For many today, that new job will be totally different from their past experience. Therefore, it is critical for successful job seekers to carefully evaluate how their skills transfer into other opportu¬nities. It is also important to look for ways to express this transferability to a prospective employer.

Duties
Many people have trouble distinguishing between their skills and duties. Duties are the basic functions of an activity. Skills are the tools used to accomplish these functions. Duties or functions are a part of any organized activity, whether it is employment, volunteer work, or hobbies. A simple example is the management of a lemonade stand. The basic duties of a lemonade stand owner might be to manage lemonade operations including production, marketing, distribution and finances. There are many skills needed to accomplish these functions including: mixing, measuring, planning, sales, customer service, writing, cash handling, record keeping, maintenance, timeliness, dependability, accuracy and motivation. A complete list of skills would be very long. Writing out the duties or functions of an activity first can be a useful way to begin identifying skills. When presenting your skills to an employer, it is best to tie them to specific activities in which they were used. It is not enough to tell the employer your skills; you need to be prepared to tell where, when, and how you used those skills.

http://jobs.utah.gov/jobseeker/guides/07_28.pdf

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