Focusing my Skills: Part 2

Coming up with a skill-summary...is hard! I am the long-winded and all-inclusive type. Summarizing, by it's very nature, requires me to be brief and exclusive. Ugh. Regardless, I think I can push through my verbosity...here goes!

PEOPLE
I need to work with people. I need to talk to them, listen to them and be in front of them. Whether it's teaching, training, selling or analyzing I love, love, love working with people! Specifically, I need to be face to face with either large and changing crowds or one on one with regular clients.

PROBLEMS
I get bored so easily. I worked in a parts packaging factory for 3 months in college and almost died of boredom! I simply cannot be involved in repetive activity. I like solving problems that have to do with people, plans and systems. Specifically, I need to have ample opportunity to learn, plan, strategize, organize/reorganize and create solutions that didn't exist before.

PASSION
I have a heart, I cannot hide it and I don't want to! I'm not some basket case of emotion who cries at Kleenex commercials. I'm just not a hard-hearted, it's-just-business-don't-take-it-personally decision-maker. I need to be able to love what I'm doing. I prefer work that has some weight to it, some meaning and lasting value. Specifically, I need to feel something for my work and to be able to show what I'm feeling.

Not too bad! I'm sure I'll continue to update and refine the list -- I also need to work on thinking about the list in negative terms and work on describing the type of environment I thrive in. For now though, I can already feel my job search focusing itself -- some job apps are calling my name!

Focusing my Skills

In the middle of laying down our new flooring, I decided to paint one of our living room walls. Why not make an already drawn out project even larger?! Anyway, as I painted I rediscovered a forgotten skill: cutting in. I can cut in an almost perfectly straight line. It's a thing of beauty really.

The rediscovery of that one skill has significantly helped me to draw a line (forgive me!) in the sand of my job search. There are several lessons I can list out quickly...

• No skill is insignificant! Being able to cut in with paint may seem small -- I don't want to paint walls for a living. However, it demonstrates my steady hand and that is a transferable skill. My timing (of the painting) demonstrates my love of/skill for efficiency and my desire to paint shows my affinity for beauty. I'm so transferable I can't shut it off.
• Transferable skills may show up in surprising places, so it's good to be aware. Even just spending a few concentrated minutes a week thinking through tasks and errands may uncover some pleasantly surprising results.
• Though no skill is insignificant, it's possible to get mired in detail. I don't want to just add every new little skill I discover to my resume. I need a big picture focus so that I can communicate without overwhelming.

Tomorrow then, I'll focus my skills to come up with a big picture summary. In the meatime, I'm sure there's another home improvement project somewhere calling my name!