Employers need people with 2 kinds of skills: employability skills and work–specific technical skills.
Employability skills
Employability skills are the basic skills you need to succeed in the workplace. They are also known as transferable or soft skills.
Learn how to identify your employability skills and market them to an employer.
Work-specific skills
Work-specific skills are technical skills you need to do a specific job.
Some examples of work-specific skills are:
- Using a specific software program
- Driving a forklift
- Operating a cash register
- Arranging flowers
Do you lack work experience? Consider doing volunteer work.
It’s a good idea to take stock of your technical skills. Think about the work you have done before, whether paid or unpaid, and the tasks involved in that work. In the form below, record the tasks you have done in your work and the skills you needed to complete each task.
For each skill, ask yourself the questions journalists ask when investigating a story: who, what, when, where, why and how. Use the answers to these questions to describe each of your skills as accurately as possible.
If you’re not sure which skills to list, here are some places to look for ideas:
- Your previous job description or volunteer position description, if you’ve had at least one
- The Skills & Abilities section in an occupational profile
- Job postings – search for the kinds of work you’ve done and see what skills employers list on their job ads:
- Examples of work-specific tasks and skills
Examples of work-specific tasks and skills
Task
Repair auto bodies
Work-specific skill(s) involved
- Use frame machines to straighten bent frames
- Remove badly damaged sections of vehicles
- Weld torn metal
- Work out minor damage in panels, fenders, and trim
Task
Yard maintenance
Work-specific skill(s) involved
- Use lawn mower
- Use weed whacker
- Identify and dig weeds
- Water and fertilize plants