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Can’t get a job because you have no experience? Just because you’ve never worked in that role before doesn’t mean you don’t have the necessary skills already. Many life skills can actually make great work skills. Here are 10 life skills – some of which you may already have – which can be used to succeed in a work environment and may even be able to be used to persuade an employer into hiring you.
Having a creative hobby
Creativity can be a key asset in many jobs. A hobby may be proof that you can put your creativity to practical use. This could anything from the ability to crochet a blanket to owning a vlog to being a brilliant maker of children’s cakes. A creative hobby can look even better if you’ve been able to turn it into financial profit such as making money from a blog or selling handmade jewellery – even if it’s just a one of occasions it’s still worth putting on your CV.
Being a member of a club or sports team
Being a member of a club shows that you’re social and a team player. This could be anything from a dance club to a martial arts club to being a member of a local political group. You may have been able to reach a leadership position within a club which could look even more attractive on a CV. This guide How To Use Activities And Clubs To Improve A Resume offers more information on how to use this experience when applying to a job.
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Caring for the sick and elderly
If you’ve had to care for a sick or disabled parent or grandparent, this could be evidence that you are great at caring for others. This could help you when getting into careers such as home care or even nursing as this guide The Best Places To Work If You’re A Nurse shows. Many courses and apprenticeships look highly upon these kind of life skills – so don’t forget to mention this experience on your application.
Caring for children and animals
If you’re a parent or a pet owner, you may also be able to use these skills when working with children and animals. Even looking after a younger sibling or dogsitting for somebody else may be enough. Such work shows that you can take on responsibility and could be used to help persuade employers that you’re capable for the job.
Being DIY savvy
Are you a dab hand at DIY? When it comes to many trades such as plumbing, electrics and decorating, showing that you’ve taken on your own DIY projects in the past can be valuable. These practical skills can translate well in many jobs and make you a good hands-on problem solver. Make sure to give an example of such DIY jobs when applying to these roles or apprenticeships.
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Splitting the bill
Are you the one that’s often left in charge of splitting the bill? This shows a mathematical approach to problem solving that could be handy in many admin roles, accountancy jobs and even hospitality roles where you may need to work with change. It also shows a level of delegation and negotiation skills. It might not be something you want to put on your CV, but could be a small quip to throw out in an interview to show evidence of being a good problem solver.
Being a social media success
Many businesses are now seeing the advantage of social media as a marketing method. If you’ve got a large following on social media, employers may see this as a skill – particularly older employers who aren’t as savvy when it comes to these mediums and may want to someone to show them the ropes or even take control of their social media for them. This guide Your Twitter Address: Should You Stick It On Your CV? gives more information on when you should and shouldn’t show off about your social media following. Successful blogs and Youtube accounts could also be worth mentioning on your application, especially if they show an enthusiasm for the job area.
Handling multiple group chats
If you’re used to juggling multiple group conversations and are able to text and message back swiftly on all occasions, you may already have a key multi-tasking skill essential in many of today’s businesses. Many jobs now involve heavy use of email, which may involve having to keep on top of an overflowing inbox in which different requests are constantly coming through from different people. Again, saying that you’re the ‘group chat master’ might not be appropriate on many CVs. However, you could use it as a quip during an interview to show that you can multitask and deal with the quick relaying of communication needed in many of today’s jobs.
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Having good culinary skills
Do you like cooking home-made meals? Showing a passion for food will clearly help when applying to a role as a chef, but it could also help in other jobs – showing other skills. Being a good cook requires multi-tasking, time management, creativity and an attention to detail. This could be another attribute worth putting on your CV, or something that could be worth mentioning when giving examples of soft skills relevant to the job in hand.
Being good at puzzles or video games
That gaming talent could actually be proof that you’re a good problem solver. Research is continuously finding that those that are fast puzzle solvers or pro gamers are also great at fast creative problem solving necessary to many careers. Don’t consider this an irrelevant interest as it could help in an application – so long as you’re able to show proof of the job-related skills that it provides.