Essential Tools to Have in a Career Treasure Chest
As career professionals, we strive to equip our clients with the knowledge, tools, strategies, and tactics necessary to survive and thrive in the world of work. Just imagine if our clients were able to access a unique, secure repository of work-related tools whenever they needed to — a “career treasure chest” that would be full of resources to help with their career development and growth. Whether employed or unemployed, this treasure chest would remind them of their goals, reflect their values and moral compass, and serve as a valuable source of inspiration for their career growth. Four practitioners weigh in on the tools they believe are essential for a well-stocked career treasure chest.
Know Yourself: A Valuable Treasure – Conny Lee
Most people are looking for purpose and meaning in their work — they want to make a valuable difference to humanity. To achieve this, I believe a foundational step is to know who we are and realize our innate character strengths — so, the best tool in a career treasure chest is knowledge and understanding about our value. When we know our value, we can make better decisions. For instance, CPC’s Career Development Model is an effective tool to help clients understand their strengths, explore their options, plan their actions, and create their future.
Some strategies and exercises to help clients better understand their value include the following:
- Coach clients to consider these questions and record their answers in a journal to help with self-reflection:
- What makes you tick? Where do you thrive best?
- If money and time were not an issue, how would you spend your time?
- What do you love doing so much that time just flies by?
- What makes you angry? Anger signals passion. It is often viewed negatively, but it can fuel change and creativity.
- What qualities do people compliment you on? For example, perhaps you are known as a strong leader, a skilled project coordinator, a great listener, or a creative problem solver.
- Encourage clients to meditate in silence and tap into the subconscious — exercising mindfulness helps us tap into our inner wisdom and gain valuable insights about our path.
- Motivate clients to take personality assessments or explore their astrological or Human Design chart. Online assessments such as Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, DISC, Jungian Personality Test, and others are popular. My favourite cost-free options include High5Test and 16 Personalities.
Getting to know who we are is the foundation to finding fulfilling work and uncovering a greater sense of purpose.
Critical, Yet Often Overlooked, Career Treasure Chest Tools – Skye Berry
A career treasure chest is an indispensable tool for every professional. Beyond the standard résumé and LinkedIn presence, some essential — but often neglected — tools should always be among the “treasures.” Performance reviews and work email snippets attest to a client’s accomplishments — as examples, a project completed on time and on budget, or top sales results that exceeded expectations. Within both performance reviews and emails, you can find small testimonials that convey the client’s story, strengthen credibility, and enrich accomplishments. These tools can elevate one’s career brand and remind the individual of their value within an organization. Consider adding small quotes to a client’s résumé, cover letter, or online presence.
Imagine a unique networking business card that is separate from an employer-provided business card! This networking business card can contain personal contact information and a tagline or three keywords that speak to a person’s career brand — it’s an elevator pitch in paper form! Following an interview or networking meeting, these little cards can be left behind to reinforce personal and professional strengths.
Add Tools From Job Search Vault and Career Courses – Lori Jazvac
In 2020, I launched a Job Search Vault so all jobseekers could access free career resources, trends, tip sheets, and motivational podcasts — all on one platform. If clients ever have a burning career-related question or need a resource, they can easily download these tools.
A beneficial resource that clients can use in the Job Search Vault is the Career Milestones Journal to record and track their accomplishments using the CAR Method (Challenge – Action – Results). This tool helps clients prepare for the résumé building process, understand their value, and track certain themes and patterns throughout their career journey.
Another tool to enhance clients’ knowledge is through career development. I have launched brief career courses on Salary Negotiations Using NLP Principles, the LinkedIn Success Kit, and my personally designed Job Search Action Program/Kit using my A-B-C-D Method (Affirm-Brainstorm-Create-Discover A New Career Horizon). These tools aid clients in gaining a greater competitive advantage in tackling their next career transition.
A Skills Inventory Adds Richness to a Career Treasure Chest – Ksenia Lazoukova
Diversity is the spice of life and the fuel for creative ideas. Motivating clients to take a skills inventory will shed light on their true potential, strengths, and areas for improvement. The inventory is an invaluable addition to a career treasure chest.
Randstad Canada identified 10 in-demand skills Canadian employers want in 2022.
- Customer Service
- Scheduling
- Sales
- Cleaning
- Repair
- Budgeting
- Project Management
- Quality Control
- Administrative Support
- Accounting
In 2021, Forbes identified 10 top soft skills being sought by leading recruiters:
- Growth Mindset
- Continuous Learning
- Critical Thinking
- Resilience and Curiosity
- Survival Skills
- Flexibility
- Dedication
- Coaching Mindset
- Comfort with Ambiguity
- Thriving in a Virtual Environment
A few of these skills can be grouped into five key areas, each of which is essential for success:
Growth Mindset and Continuous Learning
A growth mindset relates to our commitment to life-long learning. We can show initiative to learn new skills through online learning (i.e., LinkedIn, Coursera, EdX), showcase these skills in our résumé, and highlight them at an interview. Training can bridge employment gaps, demonstrate professional commitment, and refine soft skills and hard skills. For example, the Mental Health Commission of Canada teaches Mental Health First Aid, a critical skill toward achieving resilience. Investing in professional development builds confidence and can lead to job advancement and better career prospects.
Resilience and Survival Skills
Our private and professional lives can be stressful due to multi-tasking, meeting constant deadlines, facing the unknown, juggling financial stresses, and dealing with the unexpected. Resilience is the best gift we can give ourselves. Work-life integration has replaced work-life balance. Self-care enables us to endure stress, overcome challenges, and thrive despite adversity. Making wellness a priority boosts workplace productivity, ensures safety, and creates a healthy society.
Optimism and Positivity Paired with Empathy, Compassion, and a Coaching Mindset
These attributes make us desirable colleagues, mentors, leaders, and professionals. Such qualities drive meaningful goal achievement. These skills are especially important since many people now work remotely, sometimes facing isolation. Professionals who master the above qualities are people that others want to connect and work with.
Change Management — The Ability to Thrive in an Ambiguous Environment
Our workplaces are ever-changing. We are often unable to predict circumstances and must be able to navigate the unknown at a moment’s notice using our locus of control, sphere of influence, and adaptability. Many job postings call for change management skills to help employers manage complex projects. We need to help clients embrace flexibility and drive greater accountability for their career journey by becoming careerpreneurs.
Digital Skills in the Virtual Environment
Technology surrounds our world of work and drives progress. We need to keep up with software updates, new digital platforms, and remote work practices. Networking, professional meetings, and job interviews continue to take place virtually. Many experts, including Bill Gates, say the trend will continue to grow as new technology evolves. Building relationships while working remotely is even more important to cultivate a culture of trust, empowerment, and productivity.
Careerpros — What’s in Your Career Treasure Chest?
The best things to add to a career treasure chest are the intangible tools that are simply priceless! Discover how to position your clients for growth and continued success. Register for CPC’s courses and earn your credentials. The commitment to higher learning is one of the most valuable tools to keep in your own career treasure chest!
Conny Lee is a Certified Holistic Narrative Career Practitioner, Online Business Manager for coaches, Certified Career Strategist, Certified Employment Strategist, and Certified Résumé Strategist. She is focused on supporting people to create the career, business, and life they truly desire and love. To learn more, visit Conny’s website at thevisionaryva.com. When she isn’t working, Conny enjoys reading, listening, learning anything related to personal development, spending time with her family, and working out.
Ksenia Lazoukova is a dynamic Certified Work-Life Strategist (CWS). She also proudly holds CPC certifications as a Résumé (CRS), Career (CCS), Employment (CES), and Interview (CIS) Strategist. In her role as an Employment Specialist at Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, Ksenia helps newcomers to Nova Scotia with their employment goals. In her past role as a Job Coach with Easter Seals Nova Scotia/New Leaf Enterprises, she provided a wide range of employment services to people with disabilities. Ksenia has over 14 years of experience serving people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Her passion is helping people of various backgrounds overcome multiple barriers, fulfill their life and career goals, and become more fully integrated into their communities.
Lori Jazvac is a passionate, award-winning Master Certified Résumé Strategist and Certified Employment Strategist through Career Professionals of Canada. As a multi-certified Master Résumé Writer and Certified Career Transition Coach, she specializes in helping clients navigate challenging career transitions. In 2013, an empowering vision inspired Lori to launch Creative Horizons Communications, a holistic career services firm where she virtually supports jobseekers around the globe to embrace their next career milestone. In her spare time, Lori enjoys dance, blogging, watching comedies and reality shows, yoga, and taking long walks in nature.
Skye Berry is the founder of Skye Is The Limit Resume & Career Solutions. As a multi-award winning and multi-certified résumé writer and career coach, she has over 14 years in the career development industry. Skye has gained a reputation for helping her clients tell their career story in such a powerful way that they soar to new heights. She specializes in breathing vivid life into résumés so they are not only read but responded to. In her spare time, Skye enjoys spending time with her partner, two young children, and a house full of fur-babies.
Photo by Ashin K. Suresh on Unsplash