• 29 Oct 2022

Why we should value building skills over having a job


The work culture is constantly changing, and we are experiencing another shift in recent years.  

As Deloitte points out, for years, organizations used to build their structure and inform their decision-making procedures around the concept of jobs. However, this idea proved outdated, and it is time to focus on a different approach: building skills. They can be hard skills like coding, data analysis, and accounting; human capabilities, namely critical thinking and emotional intelligence; and potential such as latent qualities, abilities, or adjacent skills that may be developed and lead to future success.


Emphasizing developing skills over having a job may enable work to be organized in a way that allows for developing skills to keep pace with the evolving work environment. It is also essential to how organizations deploy talent, manage careers, and value employees.

Such a shift in the concept of work can also help job seekers.


At the moment, experience seems to be one of the most valuable assets one can provide to a company; in fact, most CVs revolve around job history. We suggest that, instead, the knacks acquired should be the protagonists of a resume. For instance, one should not limit to listing their skills without clarifying them (i.e., the famous "good knowledge of the Office package"). 


Rather, they should be identified according to the categorization mentioned above (hard skillshuman capabilities, and potential), and one should dive deep into them: how did you acquire them? How can they be transferred? How can they contribute to the role one is applying for? Etc. 



Employers and employees will gain greater agility, a better understanding of each worker's true potential, and confidence that the organization has the right talent to meet ever-changing business needs and outperform the competition if they begin valuing skills and making them a pivotal part of the work culture.


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