The idea of 'identifying your strengths; capitalising on your interests' seemed new to me when I first read the introduction to Thing 21. As I read further, and began to make some notes, the link between the two became clear! The things we enjoy doing are the things we have the skills to be able to do well. By looking at what we do well in our personal lives we can transfer the skills to our working lives, ensuring we enjoy our time at work as well.
Fifth on my list of 'likes' is running a home! At first this may surprise you; the fact that it's there at all, not it's ranking! What soon becomes apparent, however, is that the skills I need to achieve that successfully are the main skills I use at work! Organising, keeping it fresh and up-to-date, balancing a budget, ensuring a safe environment...these are key points in my job description!
So I went to the top of my list to further test the theory!
I love visiting new places, home and abroad. I'm a member of the National Trust and try to support their work as much as possible. I also try to support events in my local area. In order to do any of these activities I need to do planning and research. Internet skills are vital to ensure best deals on travel and hotels. Reading up on places, maps, recommendations etc are all available via Google. Checking for events, dates, times etc can be achieved by joining emailing lists. Bookmarking favourite sites ensures further searches are quick and easy.
Hang on...isn't this what I help students with every day? Researching for information, evaluating what they find, saving links to enable them to be cited and referenced properly etc etc. So, once again, the skills I need to ensure I enjoy my leisure time are also used every day at work to enhance the student experience.
Even going to the theatre, gardening and reading require organisational skills just to fit them into a busy life! So, again, time management is a useful skill I can pass on at work...to students, and to staff I line manage.
Hey...I'm getting the hang of this!
I hadn't thought of the 'tools' I use every day as strengths...but of course they are. How else would I achieve what I do?
1 comment:
I used to volunteer for the National Trust and always made sure it was on my CV. I certainly learnt a lot from it. It's surprising what you can get from your experiences if you look hard enough!
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