Understanding Competence

From a career development standpoint, I suggest that the most important thing to keep in mind about competence is that it is learned over time. Therefore, a gap in competence today does not need to keep you from qualifying for a particular role tomorrow, nor should it stop you from pursuing a particular Occupational Direction if you’re willing to do the work to plug that gap over time. From a Best-Fit standpoint, it’s important to keep that reality in mind. Don't give up on a dream simply because you're not competence YET.

So, what is competence? ?Over the years, both as an employer and a consultant, I have asked people from all different levels of organizations to tell me about their competence. Sadly, I’ve witnessed all kinds of strange answers. These experiences have taught me that the most impactful consequence of a lack of clarity around your competence is that you’ll be less effective communicating with potential employers around what you’re good at doing. This will negatively impact your ability to align yourself with the job openings you're discussing with a potential employer.

So, let’s help you avoid learning the hard way by bringing more clarity to this often elusive element of your Best-Fit that we call competence.

First of all, competence is not just one thing. It actually shows up as five different things:

1. Experience: What You’ve Done: Active involvement in an activity, or exposure to events or people, over a period of time that leads to an increase in knowledge and/or skill.

2. Track Record: What Results You’ve Produced: The pattern of results produced over a period of time.

3. Knowledge: What You Know: The awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles.

4. Skills: What You’ve Learned to be Good at Doing: An acquired ability to reliably and consistently produce a quality result. A skill can be enhanced through experience, training, and especially by talent.

5. Natural Abilities/Talents: What You’re Naturally Good at Doing: An unusual natural (not acquired) ability to do something well without experience or training. A talent can be developed into a phenomenal level of skill by training.

When you're dealing with competence in an interview situation, it's important for you to relate your competence directly to the needs of the job you're interviewing for. Don't spend time elaborating on competencies that don't relate to the job. It's important to understand that the interviewer is also looking for your ability to succinctly encapsulate who you are and relate yourself directly to the job they're trying to fill. They're not just there to hear your life story.

So, be concise, be accurate, and be responsive to the needs of the job. This shows them you understand at least the basics of the job you're applying for, know how you fit, and can manage your communication appropriately.

Here's a link to a video about competence on my YouTube Channel you might find helpful:? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwKrjLnVSBM

This post is taken from the eBook,? How To CRUSH That Career Thing, by Kirk Anderson, available at: www.sfcsuite.com

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KirkAnderson-SFCSUITE/featured

ActionPointe LLC Website:? www.actionpointe.net??

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