7 STEPS TO

ENHANCING YOUR
SKILLS

Rebecca Gordon

A Personal Branding
Workbook for Jobseekers
1

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 7 STEPS TO
ENHANCING
YOUR SKILLS

A Personal Branding
Workbook for Jobseekers

Rebecca Gordon
Certified Professional Career Confidence Coach

© 21st February 2011

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES:

The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with
which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions.

The report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this
report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. slights of
specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no
guarantees of income made. Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their individual circumstances to
act accordingly.

The author claims no responsibility for your actions or lack of actions. As the author does not know you or anything about
you, your level of commitment to success, you are entirely responsible for your actions, the outcomes, your experiences and
your reality.

If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This
report is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern
business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether
living or dead is purely coincidental.

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Know Who You Are - page 5

Shower-thought Your Skills List - page 7

Evidence Your Skills List - page 9

Know What‟s Important To You - page 11

Set Your Benchmark - page 13

Change The Picture Frame - page 16

Keep Extending Yourself - page 18

Satellite Life Coaching Philosophy - page 19

References - page 20

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

IN THE (URGENT) QUEST TO GET A JOB,
YOU MAY BE MISSING VITAL ELEMENTS
IN THE MARKETING OF YOURSELF.
WHAT MIGHT THESE BE?

1. KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Labour market data statistics published in the UK in February 2011 reveal interesting
information on the current unemployment trend. In the last quarter, the total number of
unemployed was 29.12 million. The number of unemployed count of JSA claimants rose by
2,400 to 1.46 million. It was also revealed that in the three months to January 2011, job
vacancies rose by 40,000 on the previous quarter. What might this tell us? Evidently, there is
a high level of unemployment, jobs are being lost, yet vacancies are being created.

As austerity measures take effect many people are bracing themselves for job cuts as
funding restrictions take hold. With thousands of council jobs still to be axed, it is inevitable
that the unemployment rate will climb. The picture is indeed gloomy, somewhat confusing
and worrying. One thing that no-one can be certain of is how quickly or how many new jobs
will be created.

If you are affected by redundancy, unemployment or job changes, the most important thing
on your mind right now may be how all of this will impact upon you on a personal level. No
matter what, it is important that you remain motivated and project yourself with confidence to
stand out uniquely and be the person who gets that job.

Many Clients I speak to tell me that they will consider „any job‟. When I reflect this statement
back to them and seek clarification on what any job is, there is thoughtful backtracking due
to a profound realization that „any job‟ just won‟t do.

When we carry out work that is meaningful and purposeful, there is a sense of satisfaction
that motivates us to immerse ourselves fully into the role. We want to do so well, that we
condition ourselves to be prepared to go the extra mile and put our all into achieving a high
standard and quality of work. This scenario can result in happiness and well-being at work,
especially if other factors that are important to us are met.

With the increasing amount of time and energy we put into fulfilling a job, role, work, function
or career, it can easily happen that the „persona‟ and machinery of the organisation swallows

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

us up. By this, I mean that it can become all too easy to lose sight of the essential strengths,
skills and qualities that define who we are and which got us the position in the first place.

Suddenly, when faced with unemployment, the threat of redundancy or some sort of job
change, we become placed in the position of needing to examine who we are and exactly
what it is that we can do. This involves taking a long, honest and critical look at our skills-set
and the characteristics and qualities we possess. We then have to consider what specific
and required skills we have that match the needs of a potential new employer. I would add
that it is also important to examine the particular things that we seek in a job or career that
contributes to our happiness in an activity that we are likely to spend the majority of our
waking time being involved in.

If you are unemployed or thinking about changing jobs, you may be uncertain of how to
determine the role that is right for you. You may be unsure how to demonstrate that your
skills match a new role that seems attractive.

In the marketing of yourself, it is vital that you take the time to dig deep within to uncover all
the things that are important to you for which you expect to receive a financial remuneration.
When you consider that many people spend a lot of money on a particular brand of clothing
because of the quality that is associated with the name, consideration should also be given
to the quality of self that is projected in a CV or application. In the marketing of yourself, you
are the brand. Having a firm foundation of self means that you know the brand inside and
out, just as you may live and breathe the brand of an organisation that you proud to work for.

Having surety of self with enhance your confidence from the time you complete your
application and send off your CV right through to the interview stage. Analysis, awareness
and acknowledgment of your brand will enable you to perform with confidence and increase
your chances of a positive outcome in your job search. Taking the time to learn more and
know more about the brand that is you is essential.

Seek to claim ownership of the unique and special abilities that an employer needs to know
that you possess. When you make the decision to market yourself as a brand, you will widen
your perspective and enhance the possibilities of gaining employment.

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 2. SHOWER-THOUGHT YOUR SKILLS LIST

Your CV is the road map of your working life. It tells a prospective employer many things
about your skills set. Too often, I have seen CVs that merely list job titles and do not give
any information about the competencies and expertise that the candidate has. On the other
hand, I have seen CVs that contain so much detailed and technical language that the
candidate‟s range of transferable skills cannot easily be identified. Employers do not have
time to pick out the things that matter, therefore, you have to make the important things clear
and evident.

This exercise will help you to define your capabilities and the traits and attributes that are
important when promoting your brand:

Exercise:

Get a blank piece of paper, turn it landscape and create two columns. Make the left
column wide enough to write in your current or most recent job title and label this A.
Make the second column as wide as possible and write the title ‘SKILLS’.

1. Imagine yourself in your present or most recent job and shower-thought the
activities carried out by you in this role. To do this, take a typical day and note
the things that you did from the start until the end of the day. Reflect on
another day in the week. What else did you do that you can add to the list? Do
this for another day, and another.

2. Write down all the scheduled tasks that you had to carry out on a monthly
basis. What was special about the tasks? What were your responsibilities?

3. In appraisal meetings, what constructive feedback did you get from your
senior? If you have not already done so, add these to your list now.

4. Number each activity on the list in the SKILLS column.

When carrying out this task, do not ignore what you think is the obvious as everything is
relevant. The important thing is to take this crucial information out of your head and onto
paper. Instead of creating a list, make a mind-map and use different colour lines for each job
role. However you choose to do this exercise, the empowering action of writing will help you
to name and claim your skills and experiences rather than burying these as inconsequential
tasks.

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

Here is a brief example of a shower-thought Skills List:

Job Title: Skills:

1. Used MIS & TCS to record bonuses, overtime and schedule adherence.

2. Analysed data relating to operational measures.

A.
3. Conducted sit-in observations and remote observations.
Team
Manager 4. Organised and ran team meetings, cascading information in a timely manner.

5. Carried out performance management, absence management.

6. Monitored statistical performance.

Regardless of your role, by taking the time to creatively shower-thought the activities you
performed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis you will identify the talents and expertise that
you applied within your job function.

Now shower-thought each job that you have ever had that was paid or voluntary. Label each
B, C, D, etc and write your list of skills. Take your time and do not rush the process; let your
thoughts flow freely and write down everything that comes to mind.

When you feel that you have exhausted

the list, ask yourself ‘What else did I
do?’ ‘What else?’ Hours or days later,
you may recall something important. If
this happens, stop what you are doing
and write this down straight away.

Congratulations! You have now created

a comprehensive list in which you have
specifically named and claimed your
skills. What surprises are there? What
skills do you recognise that you did
were not previously aware of?

It is important to remain motivated and

confident in your job search activities. Read your Skills List every day to help you remain
positive and focused.

Our work is the presentation of our capabilities.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 3. EVIDENCE YOUR SKILLS LIST
To merely state your skills is not enough. To provide evidence of your skills demonstrates
practical application of your capabilities and gives an employer a reason to look further into
the relevancy of your application or CV.

Now that you have created your Skills List, the next thing to do is to write a statement that
supports and evidences each criteria of skill. In essence, you will create key sentences that
you can quickly and easily access when completing a CV or application form, or when in an
interview. The statements that you compose which reflect your skills and abilities can be
drawn upon when you market yourself and therefore will increase your confidence in the
presentation of self.

You may choose to select key statements from your Skills List and Evidence criteria for
specific job applications. As a result, you can then tailor your application and supporting
statement to suit a particular vacancy or industry. The Skills and Evidence List can also
serve the purpose of becoming a reference point for discussions in a job interview or even
used to create questions to ask an employer at the end of the interview. When thinking about
how to evidence your skills, key questions to keep in mind are:

‘What happened as a result of my skills in action?’

‘What improvements occurred due to my skills being implemented?’

Here is the Skills-Evidence from the earlier task:

Skills: Evidence Criteria:

1. Used MIS & TCS to record bonuses, 1. Met the motivational needs of staff that
overtime contributed to maintaining a x% increase in
productivity

2. Analysed data relating to operational 2. Created spreadsheets on a weekly and monthly

measures basis to distribute to staff members, colleagues
and managers in management and appraisal
meetings

3. Conducted sit-in observations and 3. Led to an improvement in Call Quality scoring by

remote observations X% through coaching and mentoring

4. Organised and ran team meetings, 4. Staff kept informed and updated on new
cascading information in a timely procedures and processes resulting in increased
manner accuracy of information to customers

5. Carried out performance 5. Enhanced performance, improved schedule

management, absence management adherence and reduced absenteeism by X%

6. Met and exceeded (KPIs) Key 6. Monitored statistical performance that enabled
Performance Indicators team and organisational targets to be maintained
or exceeded

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

Again, do this for each paid or voluntary role you have had.

Treat this as an ongoing personal development task that is done periodically during your
working life in which you add to or modify your skills list as your competencies, expertise and
experiences increase.

As your life is unique, remember to include the skills that spring forward from your character
and personality. For example, you may be a keen people developer and have provided
opportunities for others to gain experience; you may be the person who people come to for
advice or to share their concerns and therefore have effective listening skills.

To expand on this task, think about some of the things that you do in your spare time.

What do you do very well?

What things do you do that make a difference?

Reflecting on these questions as you identify and evidence your skills may bring up new
awareness. They are also valuable for generating ideas if you do not have a lot of practical
work experience.

Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence is

the key to unlocking our potential.
Liane Cardes

10

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 4. KNOW WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU

If you are happy to do any job, then skip this section.

I believe that it is important to assess the worth for whatever you do. Think of the „worth‟ as
the appeal, the significance, the thing that attracts you or the value that you give and
receive. This touches onto the realms of „life purpose‟, which is a whole other eBook. Yet, it
is true to say that if you give your time, effort and energy in a daily function called „work‟, it is
worthwhile for you to have conscious awareness of what is important to you in doing this.

When you are not in a job, „worth‟ is crucial as we feel the need to do something „worthwhile‟
that helps to define who we are. If already in a job, worth comes into play as the factors that
contribute to a feeling of usefulness and meaning. Have you ever felt a sense of
satisfaction, commitment or a strong feeling of contribution to teamwork? Similarly, you
may feel a lack of reward, recognition or support. The highlighted words are examples of
important merits that may be motivators in a job. To identify our merits and to align them with
our skills leads to an improved ability to attract and identify the role that will enable us to
positively demonstrate our abilities.

So, what is it that is important for you to know that you get from a job? What are you
seeking? List all of your essential or significant wants and needs in a job or career. For

11

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

example, you may feel that money, job satisfaction, making a contribution, recognition or
support are some of the things that motivate you to enjoy work.

Create an extensive list by writing down what comes to you. List these in the first column.
For each, consider ‘what makes this important to me?’ To get the best from this exercise,
you may wish to complete it on a separate piece of paper:

Wants and needs: Was not met:

 Eg., recognition  support
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Now, list of all of the things that you feel you did not receive in your last job. Put these in the
second column. Take this further by noting how you would feel if each merit you listed in the
second column was met.

Your immediate wants and needs are your conscious motivators in a job or career. What you
identified as unmet are principles that are important to you in a job, role, work or career that
you may not be immediately aware of. Look at your list of values and choose five that stand
out to you. Write these down separately.

Carrying out extended work with a Life Coach on this activity can help to raise awareness of
your main values and what these mean in relation to the work that you do or want to do. This
is helpful for recognising your unconscious motivators. It is also helpful for finding out how
you can use these to your advantage in your job search or career transition.

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.

- Unknown

12

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 5. SET YOUR BENCHMARK

In the previous exercise, you will have identified a list of standards that motivate you and
which you can include in a supporting statement or profile of your personal attributes. To
illustrate, using the merit descriptors commitment, contribution, teamwork, reward,
recognition or support, I have created the following „values in action‟ statement:

“I am committed to achieving a high quality and standard of performance. One

way in which I have done this is by recognising and rewarding staff for their
achievements. By supporting team members through providing regular access to
training and fostering a spirit of teamwork, the performance levels within my team
was greatly enhanced.”

Also, think of these merits as your benchmark of standards – the principles that you set for
yourself and from which you gain self-worth in anything that you do.

The following activity will help you to transfer your values into meaningful statements that
relate to how you work. For each value that you listed earlier, create a statement that
explains how the value serves you at your best.

Here is an example:

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement
 I am able to work independently and use my initiative to resolve problems.

Autonomy  Being a self-motivator, I initiate projects, take responsibility for these and see
them through to completion.

 I am able to work unsupervised and ensure that I provide feedback to seniors

in a timely manner.
An example of this is...

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement
 I am fully committed to and take responsibility for my Continuous
Professional Development.

Commitment  I actively seek to develop my knowledge of current educational

developments.

 I am fully committed to work towards achieving organisational objectives.

An example of this is...

13

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

On a piece of paper, carry out this task for each of the five values that you selected. When
you complete an application form, or tailor your CV to a specific industry or job, look at the
requirements of the job specification and think about how your values match and can be
applied to these. To help you do this, create another statement of evidence by completing
the sentence: “An example of this is…”.

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement

An example of this is...

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement

An example of this is...

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement

An example of this is...

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement

An example of this is...

How does X Value serve me at my best?

Value Statement

An example of this is...

14

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

How will you use what you know about the standards and merits of working that you
operate from?

How can this awareness serve you best in your job search activities?

You don't get paid for the hour.

You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.
Jim Rohn

15

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 6. CHANGE THE PICTURE FRAME

Now that you have taken a fresh look at your wants and needs in a job role or career, it is
likely that the analysis of your skills is tremendously more than your initial perception and
awareness. You may also have greater clarity of what is important to you in a job or career.
This may in turn result in the need to alter your job search methodology. With Clients I work
with, I refer to this as changing your picture frame.

In the re-branding of yourself the existing picture frame that you have carried for so long is
outgrown and outdated. Your new clearly defined and developed image no longer fits the
frame that you had adapted yourself to and so snugly fit. Now, you have the freedom to
design and fashion the picture frame of your choice that better suits your current enhanced
skills.

A Client I coached expressed that having confidence in his application was due to knowing
that he had a good range of skills, that his CV was positive and highlighted the key
successes for specific roles that matched what employers are looking for.

As a result of greater awareness from going through a skills and values analysis and with the
help of coaching, he created a mind-map of an average of 8 job titles that matched his skills
across three industries. This resulted in him having 24 different job titles to search for
vacancies in.

As well as using his own industry as a starting point, he recognised that he had transferable
skills that he could apply to other industries. With this knowledge, he was able to massively
expand his existing picture frame and create a couple of new ones.

You too can do this. You can select the colour, the shape, the style, the dimensions, the
depth, the contours, the texture and the size of the frame to transpose your skills onto. By
identifying, mixing, emphasizing, and adapting your skills to match a role that you may not
have considered before, or to fill the criteria of the next role up, you can shape the picture
frame, rather than feel the need to fit into a rigidly defined structure.

16

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

Here is the step-by-step guide to Changing Your Picture Frame:

1. Look at your Skills List and Evidence Criteria. Identify the themes that stand
out for you. For example this may be management. Shower-thought all the job
titles and related activities that stem from the themes. Such as, managing
people, managing operations, Customer Service, People Development, etc.
Write these down.

2. Think about the specific industries that you have an interest in or have always
wanted to work in. What comes to mind? For example, IT, Customer Services,
Education, Third Sector, Blue Chip companies, Engineering, etc. Write these
down.

3. Choose one of the industries. Read your themes. What job titles come to
mind? For example, Customer Relationship Management, Operations
Management, Team Manager, Team Leader, Customer Services Supervisor,
etc. Carry out an extensive shower thought. When you have exhausted the list,
ask yourself, what other ideas do I have? Do this for each industry you have
noted. It may be helpful to do an internet search for different job titles. Try
http://www.1job.co.uk/job_titles.php or http://www.jobtitles.org/to see a range
of job titles.

4. Then answer this question: Where are such jobs advertised? For example,
specialist markets, general recruitment agencies, specialist recruitment
agencies, newspapers, industry publication, company websites.

5. Actively seek out vacancies for the roles you have identified. What can you do
that you have not tried before to seek out these roles? What else?

You may have a comprehensive list of job titles. This is great as you have a range of
transferable skills that can be utilised in different roles. If you have identified specific roles,
this too is great, as you have developed expertise in a particular area in which you can
market yourself. When you carry out this exercise, know that there are no wrong answers.
The right answers are whatever is right for you.

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes

but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust

17

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 7.KEEP EXTENDING YOURSELF

What next? You have upgraded your skills-set, converted these skills to selling points and
aligned yourself closer to what you want to do. Now you have a wider appreciation of the job
titles, roles or industries that you can consider researching vacancies in and you have armed
yourself with more confidence and motivation than before.

The next step is probably the most important. The motivational speaker, Brian Tracy asserts:

“THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF SUCCESS IS SELF-DISCIPLINE. SELF-

DISCIPLINE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE THE ABILITY, WITHIN YOURSELF, BASED ON
YOUR STRENGTH OF CHARACTER AND WILLPOWER, TO DO WHAT YOU SHOULD DO,
WHEN YOU SHOULD DO IT, WHETHER YOU FEEL LIKE IT OR NOT.”

What can you do to keep extending yourself? What agenda will you set in which you
implement a structured daily job search routine? The actions that you carry out regularly
become habits, therefore, with an enhanced skill-set, you can now create structured action
steps that become habits that accelerate you to success. For example, some of the action
steps that you may decide to build into your daily or weekly routine could be:

 Review your skills list, evidence criteria, statements and values on a daily basis

 Source jobs from the newspapers and internet three times a week

 Re-model your CV to tailor specific industries

 Research new and specialist recruitment agencies and register with them

 Make a number of speculative applications each month

 Tell friends and family the types of jobs and industries you are seeking work in.

By setting daily, weekly and monthly challenges,

you will remain motivated and on target for
success and identify the opportunities that are
presented.

Importantly, your success can only be heightened

by the application of action. Having the support of
a Career Confidence Coach who can help you to
remain committed and be accountable for your
actions or non-actions, may be just what you need
to help you extend yourself to the next level to be
the person who gets that job.

18

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

 Thank you for taking the time to read this e-Book. I would like to
make the next e-Book even more relevant and beneficial to you,
therefore, I would appreciate if you could please give me some
feedback and thoughts on this e-Book by visiting the testimonials
page at www.satellitelifecoaching.com.

As a thank you, once you have done this, please email me to

arrange for a no obligation Career Confidence Coaching session.

www.satellitelifecoaching.com
info@satellitelifecoaching.com
+44 (0) 7833 461 773

PHILOSOPHY:

1. LIFE IS A QUEST THAT INVITES US TO LEARN AND GROW FROM OUR

ADVENTURES.

2. THROUGH UNLEASHING THE INNER CORE OF OURSELVES, WE RESPECT,

HONOUR AND SERVE OUR HIGHER PURPOSE.

3. AS A RESULT OF PURPOSEFUL LIVING, WE ATTRACT OPPORTUNITIES THAT

ARE IN HARMONY WITH WHO WE TRULY ARE.

4. THE QUESTIONS WE ASK ARE THE ANSWERS WE GET.

19

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773

REFERENCES

Unemployment by Constituency, February 2011, RESEARCH PAPER 11/19

http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/rp2011/RP11-019.pdf
Accessed 19th February 2011

http://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-views/2011/01/19/uk-unemployment-rises-again
Accessed 20th February 2011

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/02/13/unions-condemn-birmingham-
city-council-job-cuts-97319-28163714/ Accessed 20th February 2011

20

www.satellitelifecoaching.com +44 (0) 7833 461 773