BA 623 Human Resource Issues

1
If you cant say why you actually make your
company a better place, YOURE OUT. -
Cynthia Kellams (quoted in The Circle of
Innovation by Tom Peters)
Chapter 4 WHAT IS IN YOUR PACK?
2
What is in Your Pack?(Learning Objectives)

• Identify Strengths Weaknesses
• Talents
• Skills
• Traits
• Weaknesses
• Recognize What Employers Want
• Learn the SAR Process

3
What is in Your Pack? (Defining Talent)
Talent is a recurring pattern of thought,
feeling, or behavior that can be productively
applied. Marcus Buckingham
Curt Coffman

• Key Points
• Patterns that come Naturally
• Can the Patterns be Productively Applied?
• Match Talents with Work Roles
• Additional Talents Revealed Over Time
• Distinctions with Skills Traits
• Talent vs. Skill
• The Accountants Tale

4
What is in Your Pack? (Identifying Specific
Talents)

• 3 Categories
• Striving motivation
• (e.g., competition, competence, service, vision)
• Thinking cognition
• (e.g., focus, strategic, numerical, creativity)
• Relating interaction
• (e.g., empathy, developer, persuasion, courage)
• What Are Your Talents?

Although not every coach can win consistently
with talent, no coach can win without it.
John Wooden
Source Marcus Buckingham Curt Coffman,
First, Break All the Rules New York Simon
Schuster.
5
What is in Your Pack?(What Employers Want)

• Top 10 Qualities/Skills
• 1. Communication skills 6. Analytical skills
• 2. Honesty/Integrity 7. Motivation/Initiative
• 3. Interpersonal skills 8. Flexibility/Adaptabilit
  y
• 4. Strong work ethic 9. Computer skills
• 5. Teamwork skills 10. Detail-oriented

TREK ADVICE p. 46 employers placed integrity
as their most desired trait. Let me stress this
again, and if you get nothing else from this
book, get this YOUR PERSONAL INTEGRITY IS
EVERYTHING! Never lie on a resume. Never perform
unethically in a company to expand your personal
wealth. You cant cheat your way to the top of
the mountain!
6
What is in Your Pack?(What Employers Want Part
2)

• Characteristics of the New American Professional
• Distinctive (Towering) Competence
• (something you do better than anybody else)
• Project Mentality
• (work in teams, work with phases and deadlines)
• Client-Service Obsessed
• (focus on quality, who are my clients?)
• Networker Extraordinaire
• (spreading my reputation, enhancing visibility,
  helping others)
• Me, Inc.
• (self-awareness, in charge of career)

Source Tom Peters, The Circle of Innovation
New York Vintage.
7
What is in Your Pack?(SAR Stories)

• Situation
• Impact of the situation
• Problem/ opportunity facing you
• Your role and involvement
• Action
• What were your actions (2-3 specific actions)
• Connect those actions to specific skills/traits
• Rationale and intended results for those actions
• Result
• Quantify, time frame, measurable
• Contribution to the organization (if possible)
• Specific outcome
• Can you give me an example of how you handled
• 2-3 minutes to relate
• Logical flow
• Relevant Information

8
What is in Your Pack? (Trek Activity)
TREK TASK 10 SAR PRACTICE In the handout
provided by your instructor, practice the SAR
process. Create a story for one of your strongest
skills or qualities, or for one of your
meaningful accomplishments. Discuss each of the
three steps (S, A, and R). Which of the steps was
the toughest to develop? What questions do you
have about the SAR process?
9
What is in Your Pack?(KTA Principle)

• Not only do you need to clearly know your
  strengths and limitations, you need to be able to
  articulate them effectively on paper and in job
  interviews.

10
What is in Your Pack?(Summary)

• TREK LIST
• Identify Strengths
• I can articulate (concisely) my best talents,
  skills, and traits.
• Marketable Qualities
• I know better what employers want and areas for
  improvement that will enhance my marketability.
• SAR Stories
• I have learned the SAR framework and have begun
  to develop SAR stories that support my strengths.