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

The Importance of Time Management

The Importance of Time Management

 

            Time plays a crucial role in our lives. Time is an important factor in life. It's critically important to start challenging anything that waste time and effort to control how much time is spent on different activities, Prioritizing daily tasks is crucial.

            By looking for ways to manage time proficiently, consider information about Maslow’s time management theory. Time management is the ability to plan and control how you spend the hours in your day to effectively accomplish your goals. (Psychology Today, 2015)

            In consonance with Maslow’s theory, it is very substantial to match individual time with special needs. The efficient use of time should help encounter higher objectives of fulfillment, spirituality and well-being. On the other hand, in the interests of greater efficiency, if we sacrifice bigger things like purpose, meaning and satisfaction with our lives, then it is a moot victory.

            Maslow’s theory stresses understanding of personal needs, differentiates them, and set time limits on getting tasks done. As soon as an individual understands personal needs, the person can differentiate between them and set a time period to fulfil them. (Time Management Toa, 2015)

              Ralph W. Emerson said: “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” Knowing what to do means creating to do list, be viciously realistic and stick only to those tasks you will do. Thinking about a task, not time it takes to complete, help to devote time to critical chores daily. Much recent neuroscience research tells us that the brain doesn’t really do tasks simultaneously.  Each switch uses a cognitive cost and a lot of time. It takes time to get mentally back into the task, as a consequence making us less efficient.

            In accordance with Pickle Jar theory, filling a day with small trivial tasks that are not important prevents one from using that time to complete larger or more important tasks and projects. The inside of a pickle jar symbolizes somebody’s time. All individual’s commitments and tasks are represented by rocks, pebbles, sand and water that are placed in the jar. Based on this theory, rocks are the important things that required immediate attention and produce a colossal benefit when they accomplished. Pebbles producing benefits but they are not as essential as larger rocks. Grains of sand characterizes small, time - consuming tasks that are easy to do but are all of little importance. Finally, water presents the tasks and idle moments that fill all the remaining space.

            The main repetition for this theory is necessitating to know which tasks are rocks and which are sand, and which task is requiring immediate attention. For example, the key responsibilities or goals are represented by the rocks that occupy most of the space. This infers dedication of more time to such goals.  The pebbles symbolize hobbies that require comparatively less significant amount of time than the important goals. Last but not least, the daily chores are the sand particles that get placed perfectly between goals and hobbies. The distractive force in life that takes away individual’s attention from the path of success is the water.

              Time management is a valued factor in daily life. By studying time management theories, practices and techniques to organize, plan and schedule different activities and even achieve some personal goals. You need time to get what you want out of life. If you wait for extra time to appear, you might lose the game of life. Through perfecting time management, it is possible to “create” the time needed, and not just wait for it to come. By planning your time wisely, its possible to have more time to do more things. (Rob, 2015)

References

Psychology Today. (2015). Retrieved from Time Management: https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/time-management

Rob, D. B. (2015). My Time Management Secrets. Retrieved from Take Back Control of Your Time and Life: http://www.mytimemanagementsecrets.com

Time Management Toa. (2015). Retrieved from Time Management : http://timemanagementtao.com/