Hello, in this video, we will talk about how to make a list of your interests and skills. Then we will talk about three types of skills: things you do, things you know, and ways you act. Knowing your interests and skills helps you to choose the career that is best for you.
What are interests?
Let’s begin with a definition of interests and skills. Interests are subjects, ideas, or things you want to know more about. Interests can also be an activity or hobby that you enjoy doing in your free time.
For example, if you like to play computer games, cook, or read books, you could say those are interests or hobbies.
What are your interests or hobbies? Write two lists on one page, the left side with subjects or things that you like learning about, and the right side a list of things that you enjoy doing. When making these lists, think about yourself as a person, not just a worker.
Let’s look at this with an example job seeker, John. One of his interests is reading Internet news articles about computer programming. He should write that on the left side of the paper. John also enjoys playing online computer games, so he should put that on the right side of the paper.
When you write all of the things that you are interested in, you may notice that they are related or connected in some way. Many career coaches say that knowing your interests or hobbies often helps you to identify your skills.
What are skills?
So, what exactly are skills and how are they different from interests?
First, a skill is the ability to do something well. Some skills are natural, meaning that we are born with these skills. Other skills are learned, and we develop these skills over time. Skills can also be divided into more categories. Functional skills are things you can do, like driving. Subject skills are things you know, for example, Japanese history. And personal trait skills are ways that you act, such as being on time.
For example, let’s look at John’s skills. We know that John likes to read about computer programming and play online computer games. When he plays games online, he is able to watch the screen and type quickly at the same time. John is also very good in all of his math classes, and he asks many questions. So, we can say that he has strong math skills, and he is curious. Using this example, we can see that John has functional skills (typing quickly), subject skills (math), and personal trait skills (curiosity).
ow that John knows his interests and skills, he might begin looking for jobs that are related to technology or computer programming. Like John, once other job-seekers identify their interests and skills, they are more likely to choose a job or career path that is best for them.
Summary
Let’s review what we’ve learned about interests and skills. Interests are things we want to know about or activities that we like. Skills are the ability, natural or learned, to do things well. Our skills are often divided by functional skills (things you do), subject skills (things you know), and personal trait skills (ways that you act).
