Many people can easily tell you their weaknesses and flaws but stumble when asked, what are your strengths? Marianne Williamson said, &ldquo;Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?&rdquo;
I couldn&rsquo;t agree more; understanding our light, our natural strengths, is an important part of professional (and personal) development. We enjoy doing what we&rsquo;re great at, so shouldn&rsquo;t we focus on finding a career path that allows us to do those things? You may be wondering; how do I do that? Great question! The first step in the process is to identify what you&rsquo;re already great at.
Here are some ways to inventory your skills and uncover your natural strengths:
Personality Assessments Not sure where to start, personality assessments can help! CareerCircle partnered with Traitify for a 90 second assessment to offer insight into your personality. After taking the assessment, you&rsquo;ll learn more about your unique personality blend as well as your most represented and least represented traits. 
Ask for Feedback Asking current or former colleagues, managers, and teachers can be a great way to get insight into how others view you and your strengths. What do you get complimented most on? Or ask them directly, what are you great at? 
Use LinkedIn What skills have been endorsed on your LinkedIn profile? If you&rsquo;re not seeing the strengths you would like to see listed, you can add new skills and ask for endorsements from your connections. Make sure the skills listed on your profile align with what skills are needed for the next step you want to take in your career. Not sure what skills are needed for that next step? LinkedIn can be a great resource for that too! Look up profiles of people in the jobs that you want to explore to see what skills they have listed &ndash; maybe those are strengths that you already have but need to add to your profile.

Many people can easily tell you their weaknesses and flaws but stumble when asked, what are your strengths?

How To Inventory Your Skills

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We are currently experiencing an unemployment rate of 3.7% and simultaneously are seeing the demand for technical talent increasing.&nbsp; In data provided by CompTIA, the technology sector was shown to have expanded by 135,000 jobs in June nationwide. &nbsp;How is it that I stand in front of rooms of wildly capable people who have recently completed curriculum and certifications, yet are unemployed?&nbsp; I hear their struggles of not being able to secure employment because of their lack of experience.&nbsp; They continue to take course after course demonstrating their thirst for knowledge, desire to improve themselves and their commitment to finding a job.&nbsp; I am seeing them demonstrate the key things most employers look for:&nbsp; persistence, determination, responsibility and positive attitude.&nbsp; Most often these interactions are followed by calls with employers who are actively trying to fill roles and at times have had the respective opening for 3-9 months.&nbsp;From a surface level it doesn&rsquo;t seem to align.&nbsp; How can we marry a candidate who is so desperate to prove themselves with the employer?&nbsp; It all starts with changing the way we, as an industry, view building talent pipelines and the stories we are living by.
I can&rsquo;t hire someone without experience because I have no one to train them.
This is true AND it is also your truth that for every moment the role isn&rsquo;t filled, you are negatively impacting your ability to get product out or launch the idea that could be a game changer in your space.&nbsp; While some of these candidates have not worked for a specific employer leveraging the skills they recently obtained, they have done projects and other creative tasks to practice what they have learned.&nbsp; Retrospect is a beast because if we had known then what we know now, our decision criteria might have been altered.&nbsp; For example, if we had known it was going to take 6 months and we still wouldn&rsquo;t have found someone, we potentially could have had them trained by now.
We require a 4 year degree requirement.
In no way am I down playing the value of a 4 year degree but it is worth evaluating why organizations like Google and Apple have transitioned away from this requirement.&nbsp; In addition to historically low unemployment rates, the pace of technology is changing rapidly.&nbsp; Have you considered that the technology the student learns their freshman year could be obsolete by the time they graduate?&nbsp; What is it about the 4 year degree you value and is there another way to test if the person has the aptitude beyond the degree?
I can&rsquo;t take on new hires that have to be fully trained
The talent pipelines we are seeing aren&rsquo;t always someone looking for their first job with limited career experience.&nbsp; We are seeing veterans, women returning to the workforce and candidates looking for a career change.&nbsp; While their raw technical skills might be new, their contribution to the workforce is extensive.&nbsp; How do we value the work they have done against the roles currently available?
Now I recognize we are talking about a massive shift in mindset and policies.&nbsp; Most of our salary bands and job descriptions reflect years of experience and degrees as their foundation.&nbsp; It will take consideration to determine how salaries are adjusted and the models to help them gain the experience they need so they are productive.&nbsp;All of this is true.&nbsp; What I am asking us to consider are the following:
<ol>
<li>What do you value in a hire and what are ways to validate those strengths?</li>
<li>In addition to performance on course work for technical skills, what assessments would you consider for the soft skills and aptitude?</li>
<li>What is the makeup of your current team and how could you integrate someone with less practical experience?</li>
<li>Are programs like internships and apprenticeships a vehicle to help you accomplish your hiring goals while the candidate gains experience?</li>
<li>What is the risk of not exploring new strategies to build talent pools for your organization?</li>
</ol>

Tech sector growth vs. hiring challenges. Bridging the gap between skilled candidates and job openings.

Changing The Way The Industry Views Talent

Interviewing can be stressful, especially if you are just starting in your career, if you are re-joining the workforce after a long period or if you are just interested in seeking a different role. Below are five tips you should think about as you begin your journey.
Prepare Do your research. Understand the company you are interviewing with. Spend a few hours learning anything and everything about the company you want to work for by reviewing the company website, social media, and news releases. Talk to friends or contacts that can give you a sense of &ldquo;who&rdquo; the company is and how they operate. Also, look to see if the person(s) you are interviewing with is on LinkedIn. Review their profile to get a brief understanding of their background and experience so you have an idea of who you are talking too, and how you may relate to them.
Practice Review typical job interview questions employers ask and practice your answers. Strong answers are specific and concise that highlight your skills and experience that back up your resume. Your answer should highlight the skills that are most relevant to the position you are applying for. It is also important to listen during the interview to ensure your responses give the interviewer the information they are seeking. Role-play the interview with a friend or family member. Do it as many times as you can until you feel confident.
Be on time As an interviewer, this is a big pet peeve of mine. Never&hellip;be&hellip;late. I always follow the mantra, to be early is to be on time&hellip;to be on time is to be late. Always arrive five to ten minutes early for the interview. Know the location and how long it will take to get there. Give yourself extra time to pull yourself together, gather your thoughts, and calm your nerves. You don&rsquo;t want to show up disheveled and appear to be disorganized. You want to portray yourself as calm, poised, and confident.
Relax Interviews can be daunting, especially if you are in front of a panel of people. Always remember to make eye contact with the interviewer asking the questions. Your eyes are the windows of the soul. They show trust, distrust, fear, and uncertainty, but can also convey strength, thoughtfulness, and happiness. Employers are looking for unspoken clues about you as the candidate through all various means. Also, be aware of your body language. Body language speaks volumes and can help communicate a positive message to your interviewer. You don&rsquo;t want to come off as sloppy or stiff. Think about your posture. Sitting straight conveys you are comfortable and confident while slouching or being hunched over may give an impression of nervousness or low self-esteem.
Engage Know your audience and carefully read the room. Be energetic but not overconfident. Make sure to pay attention to all questions being asked using active listening techniques. Tips for active listening include interrupting a question, summarizing and repeating back what you heard, and just simply concentrating on what is being said rather than just &ldquo;hearing&rdquo; what is being said. Remember, believe in yourself&hellip;and smile.

Interviewing can be stressful, especially if you are just starting in your career. Here are some tips for interview success!

Five Tips for Interview Success

Interviewing can be stressful, especially if you are just starting in your career, if you are re-joining the workforce after a long period or if you are just interested in seeking a different role. Below are five tips you should think about as you begin your journey.