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Assessing
your Skills
by Rachel Goldstein owner of Allfreelancework.com
- 1000s of freelance jobs
Now
that you have tested yourself with the self-evaluation
test in the previous article, you should have a high
level of self-awareness. Did you choose yes for self-confidence?
I hope that you did, because you are going to need it
as a freelancer. You see, as a freelancer you must demonstrate
an expertise in your field. You will need to demonstrate
self-confidence of your abilities in order to land a
gig.
In
order to realize what all of your skills and talents
are, you will need to evaluate yourself once again.
I bet I know what you are thinking … "Again?" Even if
you have been working for years, there are probably
many skills that you don't even recognize that you have.
One-way to find out what all of your skills are is to
list you're past achievements. Think back on school,
activities, work, and other similar environments. How
did you get out of sticky situations at work? How did
you raise your company's profit levels? How did you
make sales? Even little achievements count here. Don't
feel bad if you cannot remember anything, just keep
trying. Don't skip this important step; this is how
you are going to find out what your central theme of
your freelancing business is going to be.
| ACHIEVEMENTS |
ASSESS
SKILLS |
| 1. |
|
| 2. |
|
| 3. |
|
| 4. |
|
| |
TALENTS: |
On
the left side of the above chart you will need to list
your achievements. Write down what the problems and
solutions were. On the right side of the chart you should
translate your achievements into skills that you hone.
Take a look at the below example.
EX1.
| ACHIEVEMENTS |
ASSESS
SKILLS |
|
Problem:
Need to Increase Sales
Solution
: Give away a freebie
|
Marketing
Skills
Innovative
|
Problem:
Employees in company kept to themselves
Solution: Organized a birthday pool…everyone picked
name out of hat and had to bring in cake for birthday
person for small parties. |
Organization
Skills
Human
Relations Skills
Creative
Thinker
|
|
Problem:
Department was always behind deadline
Solution:
Set smaller inner-department deadlines
|
Good
Planner
Creative-Thinker
|
For
example:
The
Problem: You need to increase sales
The Solution: Give away a freebie to entice customers.
Skills: Your skills in this situation are promotional
and marketing skills. In addition, you are very innovative.
The
Problem: People in your office don't communicate or
acknowledge each other
The Solution: Organization of a birthday poll. When
it was time for someone's birthday, everyone congregated
for cake and drinks.
Skills: Your skills in this situation are organizational
skills, human relations skills, and creativity.
The
Problem: Department always misses deadlines.
The Solution: Set smaller inner-departmental deadlines
in order to meet bigger deadlines.
Skills: Good planning skills and creativity.
If
these were all of your skills, I would tell you that
you would be a great event planner. Organizing and planning
seem to be your strongest skills, and along with your
marketing and creative thinking skills, promotion of
your company will come easily for you.
Go
thru your achievements, and break them down into solid
skills. Write all of your skills down on the provided
chart. But, wait you aren't done here. If you have any
talents, (special abilities that you are born with)
write them down on the provided chart. Some examples
of talent are illustration, writing,design, etc. If
you cannot think of any talents that you have, ask people
that you are close to if they know of any talents that
you might have. Sometime individuals are unaware of
their talents. If you aren't sure ask.
After
reviewing all of your talents and skills….Brainstorm.
What would be a good field for you to be in? If you
already have a field, for example: graphic design, pick
a specialty for yourself, for example: promotional design.
If
the choice for your freelance business is still not
clear, take the following steps:
1.
Look around for services that are right for you. Try
looking in the yellow pages.
2. Go to the small business aisle in your local bookstore
and do some research.
3. Examine your hobbies and interests; are any of these
good for a home business?
4. Subscribe to the following magazine ( ). These magazines
have great information for a home business owner, and
they have great ideas for new startups.
5. Is your current job something that you could do from
home?
6. Check the business section of your local newspaper
for business opportunities
7. List of Freelance Home Business Ideas
What
you have done today is summarize what you can offer
as a consultant. Keep this list; you will need this
later when creating your promotional items for your
business.
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- 1000s of freelance jobs, articles, and resources.
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