With the recent economic downturn, many people in the area have become unemployed. Unfortunately, many of the jobs that were lost are not coming back. I have met many people in their forties and fifties who never thought they’d be unemployed at this stage of life. Sometimes the skills they have are not the skills employers are looking for. So, what is a person supposed to do in this changing environment? Maybe you want to go back to school to learn new skills. Perhaps you are not in a position to retrain, but aren’t sure what skills you can transfer into a new position.
There are resources that can help and one of the best I’ve found is CareerOneStop . It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, and it has almost all the information one would need to make a career or job change.
Today, let’s start with finding a new career that matches the skills you already have. This site has a great tool to help with just such a scenario. If you click on the link above, you will find a menu listed on the right side of the webpage. In the middle of the list is a link called “Skills Center”. The first section of the skills center is “Asses Your Skills”, and you can identify what skills you currently have and what jobs need those skills. Just click on the “Identify Your Skills Using The Skills Profiler” and then you can either start with a job or start with the skills assessment. Take some time to measure what skills you already have and what the demand is for those skills.
Don’t be discouraged if it says there are no jobs that match your skills. (That’s what happened to me when I tried.) If it says this, you can look at the various jobs and it will list the skills needed and those you have. If you think a little more, you may realize you missed some of your skills. At any rate, it is a useful research tool and can give you some very useful information.
Tip: When determining what skills you already have, be sure to think of non-employment related skills that may help you. If you’ve done any volunteer work or served in the military, be sure to consider the skills you’ve gained there.
You can use all the skills you’ve developed over your lifetime, not just skills related directly to your previous employment. Perhaps you volunteer as a coach for your child’s sports team. There are skills you develop there like leadership. If you are in charge of the equipment inventory, you can use that skill (inventory control) on your resume. Think outside the box and use everything you’ve learned through your lifetime. It might help to make a list of all of your skills and where you acquired them.
If you scroll to the bottom of the page, there is a section called “Skills Shortage”. Take a look to see if you have any of the skills needed. If you have some of the needed skills, but need training for some, it may be in your best interest to go back to school. We’ll talk more about retraining next time.
For now, I encourage to you visit the website and asses the skills you have and compare them to the skills area employers need.
Reference:
http://www.careeronestop.org/lmi/lmihome.asp - Labor Market Information
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