An audit of an individual's 21st Century Skills, which are also commonly referred to as Soft Skills, Baseline Skills, Essential Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Foundational Skills, Non-Cognitive Skills, can be beneficial in the career development process. Please refer to the latest 21st Century Employability Skills for a detailed report on what skills are important in San Diego/Imperial County, amongst other resources on the subject, HERE

Hard skills are what many commonly refer to when they talk about technical skills. For example, if you have successfully completed a technical training as a CNA, that would mean you learned many hard skills.

In combination, 21st Century Skills with the appropriate hard skills can result in successful transferable skills.

What are Soft Skills: 2 minute video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tiy2LONr050 2 minute video

Soft Skills in the Workplace: 3 minute video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mANeBjv_azA

The New World of Work Top 10 21st Century Skills:

Adaptability, Analysis/Solution Mindset, Collaboration, Digital Fluency, Empathy

Entrepreneurial Mindset, Resilience, Self Awareness, Social/Diversity Awareness

Other important soft skills include:

Accountability, Courtesy, Honesty, Reliability, Flexibility, Collaboration, Eye contact, Cooperation, Following instructions, Self-direction, Positive Attitude, Dependability, Personal energy, Integrity, Work ethic, Punctuality, Wanting to do the job

What Skills Do You Have that Can Transfer Over?

A great place to start is tool that LinkedIn created designed to answer that question. To explore the tool, click HERE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Portable or TRANSFERABLE skills are those HARD and SOFT skills that relate to many occupations, i.e., proficiency with MS Office Suite applications, or the ability to manage time using Outlook, etc. Some skills are more transferable than others so you need to determine how your skills relate to each new job opportunity. The challenge is to calculate the degree in which your HARD and SOFT skills transfer.

Task: Compare your customized resume with the job announcement and see how they match up...do your HARD and SOFT skills transfer? How many of them relate to the requirements listed in the job announcement? 20% 50% 100%? The higher the percentage of matching transferable skills, the higher the likelihood of you getting called for an interview!

Senior Moment: For many 50+ workers, it's not your age that hinders your job search, it's you lacking current skills (which are often computer related) that keeps you from being a top contender for an open position. This makes it crucial that you research what skills are needed and where you can obtain the training prior to entering the job market.