2012

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite. All rights reserved.

Survey: Skills Based Approach

best way to build expertise with a skill is to take on a project at work 87.2% of the respondents reported it as very effective most respondents (68.90%) have searched on a skill set and the largest segment (47.1%) think a skill set is somewhat effective in summarizing a professional background a sample of work (1.83) is the best indicator of your level of expertise of a skill clear majority of the respondents strongly agree that you can learn a skill if you work on developing it and am determined to learn it properly

[SURVEY: SKILLS BASED APPROACH]

This study includes the results of a survey sent to 119 human resource professionals in the United States. The objective of the study was to understand the effectiveness of a skill set as a summary of a professional background, what are ways to learn and build an expertise with skills, and the best ways to validate skills.

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite Overview A Skills Based Approach
I decided to take my skills based approach to the streets with a survey. My objective is to get a better understanding whether my proposed methodology is practical and effective, and can be facilitated with the use of a professional website. I distributed the survey to 119 Human Resource professionals from various industries and services; I chose Human Resource professionals because of their close proximity to employment evaluations and their interpersonal interactions with employees (the study could be expanded to include professionals in education and psychology as well). I broke down the survey results into 5 sections, including: effectiveness of a skill set as a summary of a professional background; best ways to plan the development of a skill set; what are ways to learn and build an expertise with a skill; what is a good assessment for a level of expertise of a skill; and how a professional website works with a skills based approach. Here are some of the summary statistics: There is a very strong response that you can learn a skill if you work on developing it and am determined to learn it properly; 69.7% of the respondents strongly agree. And 49.6% of the respondents disagree that you should only develop skills based on your strengths. Taking these two stats to together, there is a message that if you are passionate about something, whether or not it is in line with your competencies, you should still dedicate time and effort to learn the skills properly. The best way to build expertise with a skill is to take on a project at work 87.2% of the respondents reported it as very effective; volunteering and taking a class also had high rankings. All of these approaches suggest being proactive to learn and develop your skills. Most of the respondents (68.90%) have searched on a skill set and the largest segment (47.1%) think a skill set is somewhat effective in summarizing a professional background. This indicates there is familiarity with a skill set among human resource professionals. The respondents think a sample of work (1.83) is the best indicator of your level of expertise of a skill they want to take an unbiased evaluation of something you have created. This is followed by years of experience (2.28), references (2.77), and certificate from a third-party (3.12); although 21.0% of the respondents ranked certificate from a third-party first or second. Validating a skill is a difficult thing to measure across different services and industries. For example, in the IT world, a certificate is a very common way to evaluate a professionals experience in a technology or application, however, in the marketing world, a sample of your work is much more relevant. There will be more discussion on the survey results about validating a skill in a later blog. On the next page is a diagram that illustrates the four steps of the Skills Based Approach:

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 1

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 2

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite

Here is some information about my sample. 119 Human Resource professionals, all from the United States 82.7% of the respondents are over 30 years old and the largest segment (41.8%) is between 45 and 60. 60.9% of the respondents are women 65.4% have a college degree Over 20 different industries and services are represented There were 9 respondents who did not report their demographic information

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 3

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite Use of a Skill Set
Using skill sets is becoming more common in employment web services: LinkedIn has a search engine where recruiters can target skill sets and an interface where users connections can endorse their skills; and MonsterJobs has a sophisticated search engine to retrieve online resumes based on a skill set. One of the objectives of the survey is to understand whether searching on a skill set is a standardized, common procedure, and if a skill set is an effective way to summarize a professional background. According to survey, most of the respondents (68.91%) have searched for candidates based on a skill set. Almost all of the respondents think a skill set is an effective way to summarize a professional background the average ranking was 3.42 out of 5; only 2.52% of the respondents thought a skill set is ineffective in representing a professional background. The results of the survey indicate skill sets are a standardized way to summarize professional backgrounds across most services and industries. This means there is utility in creating a plan to acquire skills to reach you career aspirations; planning your skill set is the first step in a skills based approach.

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 4

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite Planning Stage

According to a recent LinkedIn study1, one in three adults claim to have actually achieved their childhood dream job. You can improve your chances of landing your dream job by creating a well, thought out plan to acquire the necessary skill set. A professional website has functionality to support the planning stage of developing your skill set. The planning stage in developing your skill set is a two-step process. First, you identify your strengths, personality traits, and inner motivations (passions) and then leverage them in selecting a career path and related skill set. Second, you plan concrete ways to learn each skill in the skill set such as taking a course or accepting a project at work. In the survey, one objective is to understand how much weight a professional should put on each influence strengths, personality traits, and inner motivations when planning their future.

A clear majority of the respondents strongly agree that you can learn a skill if you work on developing it and am determined to learn it properly; moreover, 49.58% of the respondents disagree that you should only develop skills based on your strengths. Dont be discouraged if you need to learn a skill and it is challenging to you, work hard and do your best to learn it properly. The survey did not address the advantages in planning your career based on an evaluation of your strengths. Although, according to the Gallup website, there are a few advantages in utilizing your strengths: people who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job; teams that focus on strengths every day have 12.5% greater productivity.

http://linkedin.presscentre.com/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=150&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=1

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 5

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite

Many of the respondents the largest segment (44.54%) somewhat agree that you should pursue a career and develop skills based on the results of a personality test. This indicates that you should consider taking a personality test and evaluate the results as you plan out your career. As the results of the survey unfolded, I was surprised by the response of a significant majority regarding how strengths, personality traits, and inner motivations should influence your career decisions; I was expecting the opposite. My opinion is that you should take a strengths and personality test, find out your competencies and how you work, and then find careers that follow these results and consider your inner motivations as you narrow down the list. Maybe this is my over-analytical mind spinning, but I figure you should build your career around your core-competencies. The clear message from the survey, however, is to follow your inner-motivations when you plan out your career; according to the same LinkedIn study, the most important characteristic of a dream job is taking pleasure in your work.

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 6

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite How to Learn Skills
There are many ways to learn and build an expertise with skills in your skill set; this is what I call the building stage in a skills based approach. In the survey, I posed a question regarding the effectiveness of learning a skill with various methods: taking a class; joining an organization; volunteering; reading a book; and taking on a project at work. My objective is to understand the best ways to learn a skill, so a professional can properly plan, learn, and build an expertise with a desired skill set.

Taking on a project at work is by far the best way to build a skill according to the survey; in fact, only one respondent reported it ineffective and 87.18% reported it as very effective. This has two implications. First, if you are currently looking for employment, you should consider seeking a job that can build your desired skills and perhaps your only objective is to learn skills so the job is a stepping stone to a more long term job in the future. Second, if you are already employed, you may want to be assertive and take a role on a project that can help you build your desired skills; Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite Page 7

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite

talk to your supervisors and tell them why you want to make a presentation or be the lead developer on a project, for example. The effectiveness of taking a class and volunteering also elicited a strong favorable response; only a few respondents thought taking a class or volunteering were ineffective (1.71% and 5.08% respectively). An advantage with these methods is that they can often be addressed with few prerequisites; you do not have to get hired for a job or be accepted to take on a project. Although the disadvantages are both require a commitment of time outside of your paying job, and you usually have to pay for classes. Most of the respondents thought joining an organization or reading a book are somewhat effective. Personally, I can think of many times where I have used a book to learn a new skill especially learning a new programming language or technology. I also think about the famous series of books, For Dummies, which has become a staple for learning a skill with no prior experience. Thankfully some of the respondents pointed out that I missed a very important way to build an expertise with a skill: finding a mentor. And, drawing from my own experiences, this is a very powerful way to learn skills. I had an excellent mentor in my second job, and the things I learned from him have had a lasting impact throughout my career. I strongly suggest seeking out a mentor to help build your skill set.

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 8

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite Verifying Skills

During every employment evaluation, a potential employer has to verify your skills based on what you report on your resume. The most common probe is through references by asking them about their experiences with you. In addition, years of experience with a skill is another commonly used indicator. However, with a professional website, it is much easier to share samples of your work coursework, publications, or a portfolio. With a skills based approach, the last step is to find ways to validate your skills and then present them. According to the survey, the highest ranked way to validate a skill is through a sample of work (1.81) and this not surprising for a couple of reasons. First, evaluating a sample of work is completely unbiased. It is possible to review a sample of work and draw your own conclusions; there is no circumstantial evaluation by a reference or professor. Second, samples of work add dimensions to an employment evaluation not available with a standard resume. I can think of a few examples: a linguist can share a video while they are conversing; an artist or graphic designer can share a portfolio of their work; and a financial analyst can share a catalogue of papers they wrote. And there are many more examples, almost every type of professional career creates some type of work sample.

Many respondents (21%) ranked certificate from a third-party first or second. Before the survey, I thought this would be the highest ranked method of verifying a skill set. However, after going through the results of the survey, I realized that the use of certifications is concentrated in certain areas: IT, finance, and accounting. This explains why some respondents ranked it high, but most respondents ranked it low. Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite Page 9

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite

In one question on the survey, I asked whether years of experience or application of a skill is a better indication of someones level of expertise of a skill. Most of the respondents (70.94%) favored the application of skill over years of experience, though a few respondents (16.24%) strongly favor years of experience.

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 10

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite A Professional Website

In the early stages of development, I recognized the necessity of including skill sets into the framework of a professional website. I created the Skills Based Approach method, which is a four step process to develop a skill set; the four steps are: planning; building; presenting; and validating. The main objective of the survey is to understand the effectiveness of this method and how a professional website can be used to facilitate its application. Through the GroupShare communications platform, a professional can reach out to support channels and get counseling on what skills they will need for their career path and how to learn and gain an expertise with a desired skill set. The survey confirmed that skill sets are an effective way to summarize a background. According to the survey, the best way to build an expertise with a skill is to take on a project at work followed by taking a class and volunteering. Other ways to learn a skill include joining an organization and reading a book. In open ended responses, respondents mentioned finding a mentor is also an effective way to develop an expertise with a skill (and it clearly should have been included on the survey). This suggests that someone can counsel you with concrete steps to build expertise with a skill set. For example, here is a hypothetical plan someone could have suggested to me to become a free-lance web developer (using Counsel Review in GroupShare with a professional website).

Most of the respondents (68.91%) have searched on a skill set and think a skill set is an effective way to summarize a professional background. Skills are integrated into the fabric of a professional website. Once you have acquired some expertise with a skill, you can present them by linking them to your professional experiences employment, Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite Page 11

Survey: Skills Based Approach Published 12/14/2012 by TheProfessionalWebsite

educational, and interests. Anyone reviewing your website can view your skills by reviewing the related section on your website, or searching on them from a search page. As you validate your expertise with skills (the validation stage of a skill based approach), you can use a professional website to present the most common ways to validate a skill: a sample of work; years of experience; use of references; and certificate, license, or award from a third-party. There are two ways to share a sample of work. First, you can upload a file that relates to a specific experience. For example, in the education section, you can upload a paper you wrote in an economics class. Second, you can share a body of work as a standalone section here you can provide many samples of work. According the survey, sharing a sample of work was by far the highest ranked way of validating a skill. When you add skills to your professional website, there is a field that captures years of experience and when you last used the skill. These factors appear when someone searches on the skill from your professional website. Using references might be the most common way to validate skills; almost every job application requires you to share a list of references. A problem with the current approach is it does not provide context that can be used in a conversation. With a professional website, it is possible to link your references to particular professional experiences in the same way you link skills to professional experiences. It is clear precisely what experiences and skills a reference is expected to verify. With a professional website, there is a separate section dedicated for presenting content regarding certifications, awards, or licenses. This method of verifying a skill ranked last in the survey, though 21% of the respondents ranked it first or second which indicates it is more relevant for particular industry/service types like IT, accounting, and finance. Currently, a professional website has the functionality to present a certificate and there are plans to incorporate a verifying mechanism; we call the presentation and verification of a certificate a badge. The survey results confirm: a skill set is an effective way to summarize a professional background; it is possible to plan the development of a skill set; and there are certain ways to present and validate a skill. A professional website is built to support a skill based approach, where you plan, build, present, and validate a skill set throughout your career.

Copyright 2012 TheProfessionalWebsite

Page 12