Apply the Skills You Already Have
Consider all the things that go into being successful at a job. You have to be a hard worker, display persistence, and have a propensity for further learning. All those things are great, and if you do them you should go far. However, there seems to be one thing missing from that list. In order to be successful you have to apply the skills that you already possess and have a small bit of mastery in. Let me share an example.
I’m really good at discovering and then collating information. I can search and dig and make sense of a loose continuum of data gathered from the far reaches of encyclopedias, reference books, archaic documents, and the internet. In my own opinion, that is one of my greatest skills.
In the job that I have now I am on the “development team.” It is my job to find projects, look at them, gather data, and help decide whether or not they are worth doing. Of course, I’ve had to learn how to use the resource tools that I am provided. There is no question about that. However, this job is perfectly suited to my little spot of expertise.
Why do I think that your existing skills are the most important in helping you succeed? Think about this. When interviewing you, a human resources manager may evaluate you based on your future potential. Most likely, though, they’ll be thinking about your past situations and what you’ve done already. That’s why they want a resume. That’s why they ask questions like “When did you work with a team the best and how do you think that experience could have been improved?” and “How did you handle your last large assignment that you had little guidance on?” They’re judging your skills that you already possess so those must be pretty important to the job. Perfect and master the things that you bring aboard to start with and you should go far.
I feel I must note at the end here that learning new things is always beneficial, so never stop the learning process, just concentrate on the things that you know something about already.