Programa de formación
EXAMPLE 1
The 60% Match Rule
Nadia, a 41‑year‑old professional, encountered a familiar inner hurdle: after reviewing a job advertisement, she felt underqualified, estimating that she met only around 60% of the listed requirements.
Nadia reframed the job advertisement as a “wish list” rather than a binding contract. She then carried out a three-part skills review, grouping her abilities into three categories: existing strengths (green); skills she could learn within two to six weeks (yellow); and skills she was not currently aiming to develop (red). She found that most of the 'must have' requirements fell into the green or yellow categories, while the red items were largely optional. Consequently, she created a simple learning plan, updated her CV to emphasise her achievements, and added a short 'learning in progress' section. She then applied for three roles where she matched the criteria between 60% and 70%. As a result, Nadia soon received an interview invitation, which she felt was a result of showing her willingness to grow rather than needing to meet every requirement perfectly.
In this case, Nadia seized the opportunity by shifting her mindset during the application process from 'I'm missing things' to 'I'm building the missing pieces'. Having the right mentality is important for spotting opportunities.
EXAMPLE 2
Only Sky is the Limit
Mila is a young professional in her thirties. She has a master's degree in service and experience design. However, when she graduated, the job market was poor, so she took a position as a project manager in a non-profit cultural organisation. Years went by, and one day Mila started thinking about her work and whether she would still have a chance in the design sector.
Blind to her own experience, she asked a friend to help her see opportunities over a cup of coffee. “All right,” said her friend. 'You'd better take something to write on, because here they come.' Mila's friend spotted plenty of opportunities for her. Thanks to her project management experience, Mila could land a job in any project management or leadership role. Having learnt about management and administration over the years, she could also work as an entrepreneur or freelancer. She could teach her subjects, work in social media using her experience, or work as a journalist. She could also help organisations obtain funding. Mila's friend went on and on with loads of ideas, without mentioning service design at all. In just 30 minutes, Mila had come up with more than enough ideas for potential careers. Not bad for the price of a cup of coffee!
Programa de formación
EXERCISE 1
Job Opportunity Radar
In this exercise you will spot opportunities in job applications. For this exercise, you will need a pen or marker, something to write on, and sticky notes.
Step1
Choose a career direction that interests you. This could be working in administration, customer support or healthcare, for example. Write this down as a heading in a notebook, on a piece of paper or in an electronic file.
Step 2
Search for ten different job postings for this position. These should differ from each other to provide a wider spectrum.
Step 3
For each job ad identified, write down the following on your file or sticky notes:
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What tasks are involved in the job?
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What skills and characteristics are required for the job?
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What experience and knowledge are required for the job?
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What tools are you expected to use in the job?
Step 4
If you have not used them yet, move your findings on sticky notes and group together similar skills, knowledge, characteristics, experience, and tools.
Step 5
Look at the findings. Which skills, knowledge and other areas are the most important? Which are less obvious but could create new opportunities?
Step 6
Circle all the skills, knowledge and experiences that you have.
Step 7
Review the results and identify three potential careers.
EXERCISE 2
Opportunities and Tea Time
In this exercise, you will explore potential careers and job opportunities. You will need pens and markers in different colours, sticky notes, a surface to write on and a wall or another surface to stick the notes to.
Step 1
Have a cup of tea or coffee with one to three people you know, or by yourself.
Step 2
Start identifying job and career opportunities for yourself through an informal chat. First, talk about what you can and could do in general, the experiences you have had outside of the workplace, your hobbies and interests, and anything else that comes to mind. Write down your ideas on sticky notes, one idea on each.
Step 3
Organise the sticky notes into categories and identify 5–7 main career possibilities.
Step 4
Next, discuss the environment in which you are or want to be. What opportunities are available there? Remember to keep this informal, too. This will help you come up with the best ideas. Write the most interesting ones on sticky notes.
Step 5
Finally, compare the opportunities available in the environment with your own. What career options could arise from this? Keep this general and avoid focusing on specific organisations or job positions. This will allow the opportunities to develop further. Save the findings.
Step 6
This time, you can either take it in turns or have another tea time where you look out for opportunities for someone else.