Leveraging Life Skills And Marketing Yourself As A Generalist

Episode Transcript

S: Got Skills? Of course, you do! But can you talk about the skills you have and how you use them? Whether it’s with your cousin, your potential new boss, or the mentor who has 20+ years in your dream role, skills talk is hard, but it doesn’t have to be.

M: As a spinoff to the Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby Podcast, each week on Got Skills the Skills Baby team is taking a deep dive into a key takeaway from an episode of the podcast, focused on actionable ways for professionals to Skill Up.

S: I’m your host, Sari Weinerman and with me is Michelle Smith. We’re here to help you breeze through the next family reunion, interview, or mentorship opportunity by better understanding the skills you have and how to talk about them!

M: Today we’re taking a closer look at Season 2, Episode 5 of Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby and I have to say I LOVED this episode! Kelly spoke to Omer Molad, who is the co-founder and CEO of Vervoe a computer software company that helps organizations make great hiring decisions based on how well candidates can do a job, rather than how good they look on paper. 

S: This might be the single most important thing jobseekers wish existed when they’re looking for a job! The worry of not having the credentials to tout in order to standout to the hiring team is real, but at the end of the day, those credentials are a poor predictor of what you will actually be like on the job. Relying on algorithms and key words can lead companies to miss out on terrific hires, and Vervoe is working to change that!

M: Exactly! They also happen to be based in Australia – one of my favorite places and home of the best coffee, but what makes Omer’s perspective particularly valuable isn’t his role as company founder or his home base in Australia – it’s the background that got him there. 

S: Omer wasn’t climbing up the ladder like most traditional CEOs. He was a generalist and takes a pretty strong stance against specializing too early in your career. It’s so easy to want to specialize when you’re young, but Omer argues that because of his less linear career trajectory, he was able to become a stronger executive once he found his niche. M: Let’s listen to how Omer talks about this concept by citing the work of David Epstein, author of the book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.

OMER QUOTE 1

you don’t have to have worked in the same thing, in the same field,  in the same place in order to be good at X. That there are other paths. And that thinking then leads to an openness around, okay, well, let’s actually focus on the skills and what someone can do not the chronological history. Because that’s why it’s this belief that if people have done all these things in the past, you know, past performance predicts future performance. But actually, that’s incorrect,

S: Let’s talk through that one more time. Omer is saying – someone’s past performance isn’t necessarily a predictor of their future success. Rather, it’s the collection of skills they’ve honed over time and how apply them to a new role that determines their success.

1. Yes. So many of us, myself included, can get in our own way when we limit our career path based exclusively on what we studied in school, what we have the greatest level of experience in, or what we’ve succeeded (or failed in) in the past.

S: It’s the combination of skills and experiences you’ve built up over the course of your life so far that not only make you uniquely you, but uniquely valuable in the next role you take on. As humans, we’re wired to be systems-thinkers, and it’s when we can cross pollinate ideas across experiences that we unlock our power to innovate.

M: Absolutely. Here at Skills Baby, we celebrate the zigs and zags in all career stories, and how those moments can shape us into better leaders, and better people. Embracing being an office generalist can even create new learning and growth opportunities. Like celebrating that the bulk of your sales negotiations training comes from the hours you’ve logged in stand-offs with your toddler who refuses to eat their food every single night at dinner.

S: When we think of those personal aspects of our lives as transferable to our general skills arsenal, the multitude of tools available to us in the workplace increases exponentially! Omer tells us a bit about that too, let’s hear what he had to say about valuing the growth and skills learned through our personal lives

OMER QUOTE 2: 
You know, between us, I think we’ve learned a little bit about ourselves and about negotiation skills and the whole range of skills you learn as a parent. That doesn’t mean that if you’re not a parent, you’re not going to be good at, but why aren’t we valuing these things? There’s more to a human than just what they did at a university or you know, what they studied or what they did in their last job.

M: I love this concept – it highlights all the skills that go into things in life that aren’t just, work, and Omer recommends that we leverage those life skills in a professional setting to level up our careers.

S: While leveraging life skills and marketing yourself as a generalist could be new to some employers, its more common than you think. Any time you’ve cited volunteer or co-curricular experience on a resume that is not strictly related to a paycheck – you’ve shared how you’ve grown and developed your life skills.

M: Yes, and life skills can always be applicable to a new job opportunity! For me, I spent a semester in Ghana as an undergraduate university student for an internship. I learned a lot of formal skills during the professional office time, but the most valuable skills I gained weren’t in curriculum development or program management … instead, the skills from that experience that have served me the most in my career so far were life skills. Like learning how to thrive in an unfamiliar environment, trusting my instincts when getting lost (in that case, literally lost in a foreign country on public transit not knowing the language), and understanding the value of clear and concise communication when sharing information across cultural lines.

S: Those all sound like skills an employer would be lucky to find in a new employee. Integrating life skills into your interview or resume, or sharing how your diverse background makes you a Generalist and a valuable asset to any company, are both great ways to stand out in a candidate pool, at your high school reunion, or during a networking event. Give it a try the next time you edit your resume, and remember, you’ve Got Skills.

**Outro Text**

S:  Thanks for joining us on this episode of Got Skills. The podcast where we explore how to understand the skills you’ve got, and more importantly, how to talk about them. Got Skills is a Growth Network Podcasts production. “To learn more about the hosts of Got Skills head to skillsbaby.com/gotskills. Find out what we’re up to, the latest news in the skills world, and what events are coming up that you should keep an eye on! Last but not least, make sure to follow Growth Network Podcasts on LinkedIn for more awesome shows to add to your podcast feed.  We’ll see you next time on Got Skills.”