In our first article we referred to a process called a skills audit, many of our readers may not be familiar with one or simply may not have conducted one. In this article we aim to follow on from our previous post to present a guide on conducting a skills audit in order to land your dream job! Before we go through how, lets first deal with the basics.

What is a Skills Audit?

A skills audit is a written document that clearly lays out all the skills you currently have and how advanced those skills are. It will also document what skills you need for your dream job, where the gaps are in your skill set and how you gain the skills you need.

Who should conduct a skills audit?

A skills audit should be written by you, however, it is good to get advice and input from, friends, family and co-workers.

When should you conduct a Skills Audit?

Conducting a skills audit is an ongoing process. You should aim to conduct a skills audit half-yearly and every time you are thinking of making changes to your employment situation in any way.

Why do you need to conduct a Skills Audit?

A skills audit will illustrate clearly on paper all the things you need to think of, in order to confidently make possible life changing decisions regarding your job or career. It will allow you to formulate a plan as to how you will land that dream job, promotion or pay rise.

Now the important stuff…

How do you conduct a skills audit?

Remember for all the points below although it is up to you to make the critical analysis, ask your friends, family and colleagues to help you with advice or clarifying details.

1 – On a piece of paper write down all the skills you have gained, that you would be able to refer back to and use. These skills could have come from any of the following:

• Your education (school, college, university)
• Your work history (look at the small detailed tasks as well as the bigger picture)
• Personal experiences (travelling/back-packing, countries you have lived in, family life, major events)

2 – Critically rate each skill, from 1 (low) – 10 (high), in terms of your experience level (be critical, ask somebody to take a look and adjust your scores)

3 – Write down all the jobs you would like to have

4 – Write down all the skills needed for those jobs (look at real job descriptions)

5 – Write down any skills you need to gain or improve to land those jobs

6 – Write down how you can develop the skills in question (you may need to take on other jobs to develop particular skills before you can land that dream one!)

7 – There are a few optional extras depending on you want and on your circumstances:

• Time frames needed to develop skills
• Companies that would be particularly good in nurturing those skills
• Countries where you develop further (particularly in relation to language skills)

8 – Add all of these details into a spread sheet, adding your plan and best route into that dream job

9 – Print and stick up somewhere visible

10 – Implement your plan and follow that dream!

If you follow these steps, you will be certainly on your way to getting that job with a clear picture of your route, and here at Job Coconut, we wish you all luck and success in that pursuit.