33_DAY3_2005-02-25

Day 3 - Define three skills in your next job

Using the "X technique" learn how to pick out your three top (and favorite) skills to use in a job.

By Kevin Donlin, Star Tribune Sales and Marketing

Last update: February 28, 2006 - 9:39 AM

Yesterday, you created a list of skills.

Now, the following exercise will generate REAL insights. Rate each skill against the other. You're going to come up with your top three skills and won't struggle to do it.

Here's how.

Take the list of skills you wrote yesterday and match the first skill against every other skill. You will put an X next to the skill you enjoy more in each pair. It could look like this:

writing - X train people (I'd rather train people than write, so "train people" gets an "X")
X writing, - customer service
X writing, - managing others
writing, - X public speaking

Then, pair the second skill against the other skills, and repeat the exercise, like this:

X train people, - customer service,
X train people, - managing others,
train people, - X public speaking,

Repeat for every skill until each skill is matched and rated against all others. The three skills with the most X marks are your favorites!

Why does this "X technique" work?

Most people rank their skills among a list of five to ten skills. They get frustrated, give up, and their job search bogs down. But it's very simple to choose one favorite skill when matched against just one other. It becomes a simple yes or no question you can breeze right through.

Now that you have three job search skills picked out, move on to Step 2 ...

Day 4: Find jobs that uses those three skills.

Kevin Donlin owns Minnesota based Guaranteed Resumes and writes a biweekly column providing job search and resume writing advice. He is also the author of the books "51 Ways to Find a Job Fast -- Guaranteed" and "Resume and Cover Letter Secrets Revealed." Reach him at the Guaranteed Resumes website: http://www.gresumes.com.