Skills Assessment Best PRactices

Skills Assessment

The skills assessment is a good activity to complete. This activity only allows a person to select three skills out of a possible thirty. The skills I chose are speaking, helping, and reasoning for various reasons. Other skills I also took some time to consider were managing time, troubleshooting, decision making, writing and authoring, reading comprehension, and listening. I believe I have all of the skills mentioned, but speaking, helping, and reasoning would have to be my top skills.

Speaking

            The assessment defines speaking as “talking, giving speeches, or speaking in a group to convey information, explain ideas, or give instructions.” Admittedly, speaking to a group and giving speeches is not something I am fond of doing as I get nervous, but I have been told many times that I have a very nice speaking voice and should consider speaking professionally. That is why I considered it one of my top skills in this assessment.

            Speaking will be essential to my future in the marketing industry. If I expect to move up in the marketing world, then I would need to become more comfortable in my presentation skills, and continue to develop those skills. In the marketing world, a person will constantly be presenting and speaking with people.

Helping

            The assessment defines helping as “actively looking for ways to help people.” I am a person who likes to help, encourage, build, comfort, and provide for people. I have been this way as long as I can remember. I like the opportunities to help people and provide for a need they have but cannot fulfill themselves.

            I think helping is an essential skill to every career field. Remembering that other people might require help and that you should provide it to them because you have the means will keep you grounded and humble. Doing good for the right reasons is important and will make you a better person, doing good for the wrong reasons will not make you a better person.

Reasoning

The assessment defines reasoning as “using logic to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.” My mind is pretty quick to think through ideas, solutions, problems, etc. There are time when a person identifies their problem to me, and I will be quick to think it through, come up with ideas, think about the potential results, and suggest one or two potential solutions to the person.

            Reasoning is also essential, because there will always be challenges and problems to be solved. If a customer or client does not like a solution, then it is important to identify the weaknesses of that solution and ensure the same weaknesses are not present in other solutions.

Troubleshooting

            Troubleshooting is described, as “the practice of analyzing the symptoms of a problem and deciding what actions should be taken to resolve the problem.” Troubleshooting can be performed in any situation such as the analysis of a defective device (refrigerator, microwave, TV, etc.), or in the analysis of a conflict between two people or groups, and in the analysis of a business issue of falling profits, rising costs etc.

            I have previous experience in troubleshooting home appliances throughout my day. The troubleshooting process is the same no matter what the situation is, the only difference is the problem and the solution. Peachpit Press (2005) identifies two stages in the troubleshooting process: identifying the issue and repairing or fixing the issue. My troubleshooting skills are within the first stage of the process.

            There are seven steps in stage 1:

1.     Gather information about the issue—will be provided or questions need to be asked

2.     Verify the issue—repeat the issue back or verify the original issue statement is still true

3.     Try quick fixes—is there a power issue, do job descriptions have some crossover causing conflict

4.     Use appropriate diagnostics/ask more probing questions—a person will need to dig in to the issue a little deeper to find out more information

5.     Perform a split-half search—process by which a person begins eliminating potential causes by checking out items within the defined problem (Peachpit Press, 2005).

6.     Use additional resources to research the issue—use program guides, descriptions, specifications, etc.

7.     Escalate the issue (if necessary)—if necessary, send a repair technician to work on the appliance, get assistance from another manager, etc.

Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the understanding of complex written paragraphs, instructions, or reports. I chose this skill as well, because I enjoy reading instructions, reports, etc. When I am finished reading, I feel exhilarated that I finished reading, understood the content, and can put it in to practice or my own words. If I do not understand something I have read, I will read it over until I understand it. I am also comfortable asking questions if I did not understand something.

Reading seems like it is becoming a think of the past due to the popularity of audiobooks and digital information, but reading is not going anywhere. No matter what words, reports, instructions, etc. will always be present. Reading comprehension is going to be an essential part of my life to read and understand business reports, financial reports, customer inquiries, etc.

References:

Peachpit Press. (2005). General troubleshooting theory. Retrieved from http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=420908&seqNum=2

Peachpit Press. (2005). Split-Half Search. Retrieved from http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=420908&seqNum=3

Personal Skills Reflection

Skills Assessment

            When we take a look at what we can offer a company and how to improve ourselves it is always a great place to start with looking at your skill set.  By improving your skill set and working on your week areas allows you to become a better employee and manager.  So as I took the assessment not only did I find the skills I would use but the ones that I could improve on.  By the time I am done writing this paper I hope you hae a feel for what skills I possess and what needs to be improved do that I can succeed.

            Probably the biggest skill that I will have to rely on for this internship is time

Management.  While working a full time job already, spending time with my daughters, my other school work, and the internship time will be tight.  Balancing the time will be a challenge but, one that is manageable and it necessary so I can complete a life goal to graduate college. This will aid me in the future as I further my career and take on more responsibilities.

            Decision Making is also a big one that will be used over the next eight weeks.  Right now the decisions are when and how to do the work asked of me but, in the upcoming weeks it will impact those interns that are placed under my leadership.  The ensuing challenge here is to make decisions that favor all those involved and not just use my own needs as the basis of the decision. The decision making process will aid me in the understanding of how to make a decision that affects those that work for me not just who I work for.

            Communication to say the least is going be huge and it is always one of the keys to success.  I am presented with communication that is more challenging than we encounter within most of our jobs.  I do not have the option of face to face communication but, have to rely on technology to assist me.  And that is not the only barrier to good communication in the internship.  With interns spread out all over the nation and in some cases world, I will have to deal with time zone differences.  Email will aid in the time zone barrier but, something are needed to be communicated using the phone.  So where communication does come with its natural barriers there are added barriers to this skill.

            Reading comprehension with be key to my success in the internship as well.  With email being the primary mode of communication I will need to be able to comprehend what the sender is needing and is needed of me.  Within the meetings sometimes there is a lot of information on the slides that will need to be understood as well.  Being able to read and understand these things properly will make the transition through the program smoother.

            As I think of where this internship may take me, I feel that Service Orientation could turn into a great skill to display.  Thinking about how I can help others and acting on it could help a fellow intern learn easier or be able to complete a challenging task.  This skill will work closing alongside Social Perceptiveness.  Being able to read people and understand what is going on with them will aid me in the endeavor to help them.  Sometimes people are reluctant to ask for help so if I sense they need help and offer it then maybe the person will be able to complete a task that is confusing them.

            So as I start to get deeply involved with this internship and now have talked about the skills that I feel I will need to the most and their role in the scheme of things, I will push myself to put all these into practice.  Sometimes I may come across something new that I need help with and it is my duty as a student and a seeker of knowledge to not be afraid to search out the help and answer.  If I sit still and do nothing to better myself then I will not only fail myself but, fail those around me that depend on my strength, knowledge, and leadership. 

             

Self Actualization Skills Assessment

Skills Assessment

Assessing your skills is important because you will have a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. After completing the skills assessment, five skills that are important to the success of future goals will be judgment and decision making, management of financial resources, critical thinking, active listening, and management of personnel resources. Even though there are several more I feel that would be beneficial, these five I feel are the most important.

Judgment and decision making skills are important in not only in your professional life, but it is also important in your personal life. Decisions are made every day and having the skills to make good decisions is extremely important if you want to be successful. “Decision making can be hard. Almost any decision involves some conflicts or dissatisfaction. The difficult part is to pick one solution where the positive outcome can outweigh possible losses. Avoiding decisions often seems easier. Yet, making your own decisions and accepting the consequences is the only way to stay in control of your time, your success, and your life” (Time-Management-Guide, 2002, para. 1.) Good decisions can be made by determining simple steps. First, determine what the problem is and why it needs to be solved. Next it is important to gather information to determine what the problem involves. After you determine the problem you should create a list of possible solutions to the problem. When you get several different solutions, you should figure out the consequences of each solution. After you evaluate the consequences you should determine the best decision based on the best outcome. After you have determined the solution to the problem it’s important to implement the decision and evaluate the outcome of your decision. Making good decisions are not always easy but it’s important to understand the process so good decisions can be made.

Management of financial resources is another critical skill needed in business and it includes more than just budgets. “Managing financial resources is about getting the most from the resources you have available. It involves implementing resource management procedures and controls and can include managing costs and maximizing opportunities” (Founding Central, n.d., para. 1.) Managing a company’s financial resources will help a company strategically meet their goals while ensuring their budgets are realistic and achievable. This skill will help ensure the company is resourceful, has longevity and maintains their profitability.

Critical thinking is an important skill because it provides an approach to information that allows you to think clearly and rationally. Critical thinking is not just about being able to accumulating information and knowing facts. A good critical thinker understands consequences and knows how to solve problems with relevant information to problems. In business, good critical thinking skills can play a critical role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks as well as enhance work processes.

Active listening skills are very important because it will help you be more productive and successful in your career. Good listening skills allow you to make sense and understand information that is being given by others. Active listening skills are extremely important in a group environment because it helps resolve problems and you have a better understanding of what others are really saying. A good active listener will maintain eye contact when listening to someone speaks. This will force you to pay attention to the person talking. You also never want to interrupt the speaker, save your questions and comments till the speaker is finished. When active listening, repeating information and instructions is a good way to ensure you understand the message the speaker was giving. This way if you did not understand what the speaker was saying they can give the message again in a way that you do understand.

            Finally, management of personnel resources is important because it helps establish rules, policies, procedures, and contracts. Management personnel are the link to the organizations core process. Personnel management is the administrative record keeping function that establishes and maintains terms and conditions of employment. This includes the appraisals of employees and keeping employees motivated to ensure the success of the organization.

Assessing your skills is important because you will have a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. After completing the skills assessment, five skills that are important to the success of future goals will be judgment and decision making, management of financial resources, critical thinking, active listening, and management of personnel resources. Even though there are several more I feel that would be beneficial, these five I feel are very important.

References

Funding Central. (n.d.). Why is Managing Financial Resources Key to Your Organization? Retrieved from http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/Page.aspx?SP=6237

Time-Management-Guide.com. (2002). Decision Making Skills and Techniques. Retrieved from http://www.time-management-guide.com/decision-making-skills.html