5 Skills You Need To Position Your Next Career Move
Every good coach needs their resources, and I’ve got mine. For career coaching, I love the book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters by Jay Conrad Levinson and David E. Perry. They echo much of what I teach, or perhaps I echo what they teach, and even though their awesome website gm4jh.com could be considered my competition, I believe there is enough business to go around. May the echoes reverberate perpetually!
I picked up version 2.0 of the book from the library two years ago, and got hung up on a segment that listed 5 qualities that, according to the authors, “will let you leapfrog over other competitors and showcase the skills and experience employers are looking for.” (Find the segment via google books here.)
The following is a list of those skills and my personal and professional take on them.
Leadership skills – Leadership is value driven and comes from purpose not position. Leadership is about being accountable, committed, and taking the reins and running with them toward not just the finish line, but the winning line, while motivating others to run alongside.
Communication skills – Communication is an imperative as relationships take higher precedence in business. Technology will advance and make some “hard skills” obsolete as qualifications, but people skills will still be needed, and more than ever. A good communicator listens first, and listens to their own drum as it applies to their purpose in life. Then they can authentically communicate that vision to others.
Bias toward action – The opposite of this is a lump on a log. The risk averse. Business moves faster than the speed of light now. A candidate must be willing to make moves, even when all the pertinent information isn’t present. Ready, gut check, GO!
Passion – Simon Sinek has called this your WHY! and it sounds easier than it actually is to pinpoint. It requires introspection and inspection of your core values. Levinson and Perry call this the “fire in your belly.” It comes from deep within you. Once you’ve identified your passion, you will be a much stronger candidate when you pursue a career move that resonates with that WHY!
Cultural Compatibility – Not to be confused with diversity, or getting along with everyone, Cultural Compatibility is about truly working well with others, without being political (read choosing sides for personal gain). The point is to choose a company culture that resonates with your own personal style and values, and approach the companies that represent that with your irresistible offer to help solve their problems.
In my coaching, I teach my clients to approach their career search from a level far beyond just qualifications in order to set themselves apart as “Candidates” and not just “Applicants.” It’s true, employers do look for qualifications, but the edge generally goes to the person with more of the skills you see listed above.
I was so inspired by those qualities, that I decided to write a book about them. What resulted was an endearing personal development parable called CHARGE! The Patchwork Rhino, due to be published on Kindle in early November. The pictures featured above tell part of the tale!
In the meantime David E. Perry is working on a tell-all book about executive recruiting that is bound to be a hit, called Hiring Greatness . Known as the Rogue Recruiter on twitter, David Perry has a writing style that is equally engaging and informative, and personally I can’t wait until the book comes out. It’s already on my Amazon wish list. You can read the first chapter here.
Sadly, Jay Conrad Levinson, the original Guerrilla Marketer passed away in 2014 but leaves a lasting legacy in words and deeds.
