Life skills and employability

December 16, 2011

Why You Need Life Skills

Job seekers often believe that job specific or technical skills, such as using a computer or fixing a car, are most important when looking for work. To some extent that is true. You won’t be hired as a mechanic if you don’t have the job-specific skills necessary to do the job. However, even a highly skilled mechanic will be unemployed if he can’t get to work on time, doesn’t get along with other people, and is rude to customers. Those are examples of life skills, and if you don’t have them, you will be seriously disadvantaged in the job market.

Life skills are called transferable skills because they are used in many types of jobs and in many different situations and settings in life. Job-specific skills are used only in one type of industry or company. Cutting hair is job specific because it is used only by barbers, hair stylists or people in related industries. Greeting customers and handling money is a transferable skill used in a wide variety of workplaces.

Life skills are grouped into three categories. Fundamental skills allow you to learn, communicate with other people, think, solve problems and make decisions. Personal management skills include having a positive attitude, being honest, adapting to change, and managing your time and money. Team work skills include getting along with others and planning and carrying out assigned tasks.

You need basic life skills to find and keep an entry-level position, but as you move up the ladder, your skills must advance as well. A young person working in a fast food restaurant should be on time, demonstrate basic customer service skills, and get along with co-workers. A manager in that restaurant needs more advanced skills such as planning and organizing, calming down upset patrons, and providing leadership and direction to staff.

Life skills are primarily learned through experience. You’ve been developing them since you were a baby, and you continue to hone them as you move through life. As you interact with others in the workplace or in your private life, you use your transferable skills, observe the results and adjust your behavior. Learning and demonstrating good life skills makes you more valuable to an employer.

One Comment