Advice for Employees: How to Identify Your Skills and Strengths During This Pandemic

Your company, like many others, is trying its best to navigate through this pandemic. Maybe you have seen a dramatic decrease in your workload or, due to this decrease, have been let go for the time being. If you have been let go, however, the Paycheck Protection Program may have facilitated your call back to work. But, just because you are back on payroll, does not mean your company’s usual workload will be restored. Your company may now have the time and resources to work on projects that a typical workload would not allow for. Also, once the loan runs out, what skills can you offer your employer as business continues to pivot?   

So, now is the time to think about what you can bring to the table. What skills do you have that are related to your position, or skills related to one that you would like to grow into? Now is your chance to showcase what sets you apart. If you have trouble identifying your strengths, consider the following tips:   

Take a career or personality test  

If you are stumped trying to figure out what you are good at, try taking a career or personality test to help you out. According to U.S. News & World Report, these tests “take into account the type of person you are, assessing your strengths, weaknesses and passions by asking you a slew of questions in order to help you decide what the right job is for you.” Of course no one knows your strengths and skills better than you, but… 

• Online tests can help you figure out what you are good at and might even help you identify skills that you forgot you had.  
• Career and personality tests may also help you make connections between your hobbies and your line of work. For example, if you work in lead generation, but also have a passion for filming and editing videos, you might not see the intersection between these two areas. However, your knowledge of video production could help your company develop marketing materials.  
• A career and personality test may help you remember skills that you haven’t quite mastered yet, but would love to work on. Now is the perfect time to take training courses and brush up on old skills. It’s the perfect time to develop new skills too. 

 During this time we all need to learn how to be flexible and, when it becomes difficult to do your typical work, be creative and put your hobbies to good use will be beneficial to your company.  

Talk to your coworkers about their strengths and skills   

In business, communication is key. Bouncing ideas off of your coworkers is a great way to think of new ideas and, when it comes to identifying your strengths and skills, this is no different. Ask your coworkers what they are good at – what their hobbies are and how they plan on using their skills to help the company during this time. There are a few main benefits of doing this…  

• It help you see the relationships between your hobbies and your role at the company. 
• You may realize that you share similar skills with your coworkers and can work on future projects together. For example, if your coworker mentions that they enjoy video production and plan to help develop content, you may realize that you also have this skill and want to help out on those projects.  
• Additionally, through watching how you normally work, your coworkers may notice strengths you never knew you had.  

 Schedule a meeting with your supervisor  

Ultimately, your supervisor will know what your company needs during this time. Sometimes you need someone else to tell you what your strengths are. Other benefits of meeting with your supervisor to talk about your past work experiences and hobbies include:  

• If you don’t know how your skills relate to your position, they surely will. 
• Even if your skills can’t be put to good use right now, they may be useful in the future. If your supervisor is aware of all of your skills, they can call on you when skills like yours are needed.   

• They have access to your resume, so they can ask you about skills you listed on there. Even if those skills seem ‘dated’, it is likely that these skills are still relevant.  

 As you work through these unprecedented times, you may be asked to work on projects that you never thought you would be able to work on in your current position. Consider taking some time to identify your skills and strengths – taking career and personality tests, talking to your coworkers and meeting with your supervisor may help advance your career while providing real benefit to the company you work for who undoubtedly has lost revenue. Stay tuned for a future blog post where our own lead generators will talk about how they plan to expand their role during this pandemic and contribute to a better tomorrow.  

By Mallory McBride