Aligning your current skills with a new career
Moving to a new career or starting a business begins with understanding your current skills and how they can be used in new ways.
This means matching your abilities with your values and passions to create a satisfying career path.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What are my values?
Think about what’s important to you.
Your values will guide your choices and could help ensure your career matches your life goals.
What are my motivations and interests?
Consider what excites you and what you love doing.
For example, are you driven by helping others or solving problems? Do you love sports or technology?
Knowing this can lead you to opportunities that fit with who you are.
What are my transferable skills?
Transferable skills are those that can be applied across different jobs and industries.
They include both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills.
Hard skills
Are technical abilities or professional competencies such as project management or carpentry.
Soft skills
Are personal traits such as communication, teamwork, and time management skills.
Recognising these skills can open up various career options.
For example, if you have skills in:
Plumbing
Consider offering eco-friendly plumbing solutions, maintenance services, or emergency repairs
Graphic design
Consider starting a freelance design agency offering branding and marketing materials, social media content, or design workshops.
Accountancy
Consider starting a bookkeeping service for small businesses and freelancers, payroll services, or a tax consultancy.
Dealing with people
You could launch a team-building business, corporate training, or offer leadership coaching.
Time management
You might offer productivity coaching or start a virtual assistant business
Problem-solving
Consider starting a consultancy to help companies improve efficiency or host workshops on problem-solving techniques.
Did you know?
Free in-depth courses on topics like digital skills, innovation, and accounting are available via Learn with Start Up Loans.
Try self-reflection
Try self-reflection to better understand your skills and how others see you.
This exercise, inspired by the Johari Window from 1955 may help you uncover hidden strengths.
Try these steps:
- Self-assessment – list a few strengths and skills you feel you have
- Feedback – ask a friend or peer to list a few of your strengths
- Comparison – look for similarities and differences between your lists #
- Reflect – consider areas where you can grow personally and professionally
Go further with start up loans
Your previously read articles
Chapter 5
Common costs of setting up a business
Understand start-up costs so you can budget wisely and avoid financial surprises.
Learn more about the common costs of setting up a businessDisclaimer: The Start -Up Loans Company makes reasonable efforts to keep the content of this article up to date, but we do not guarantee or warrant (implied or otherwise) that it is current, accurate or complete. This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind, including legal, financial, tax or other professional advice. You should always seek professional or specialist advice or support before doing anything on the basis of the content of this article.
The Start-Up Loans Company is not liable for any loss or damage (foreseeable or not) that may come from relying on this article, whether as a result of our negligence, breach of contract or otherwise. “Loss” includes (but is not limited to) any direct, indirect or consequential loss, loss of income, revenue, benefits, profits, opportunity, anticipated savings, or data. We do not exclude liability for any liability which cannot be excluded or limited under English law. Reference to any person, organisation, business, or event does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation from The Start-Up Loans Company, its parent company British Business Bank plc, or the UK Government.
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