USE YOUR KSA’S (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES) TO FULFILL YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS

If you have ever worked for the federal government in the United States, or a corporate human resources position then you are familiar with the term KSA. 

KSA stands for knowledge, skills, and abilities and is usually used to define the requirements of a job and compare potential candidates. I can remember in my previous professional life writing my own KSA’s for employment.

The task seemed so daunting at the time, having to actually think through what I had done in my past, what I had learned, and what I could offer to a company. However, now I realize that knowing your KSA’s is a great way to not only pursue a career but also your life purpose.

DEFINING KSA

So what exactly is the difference between knowledge, skills, and abilities?

•  Knowledge is the theoretical understanding of a topic, concept, or field. So for example, you may have heard of the term “book smart”. Meaning a person has read about a topic extensively, taken classes about the topic, or gotten a formal degree (s) in the concept. They have a deep awareness of ideas, philosophies, and very knowledgeable about the understanding of the subject matter.
• Skill is taking the theoretical knowledge and applying it to “real life” scenarios. For example, if a person were to go to nursing school and learn the concept of taking blood from a patient, that would be knowledge. Once the person takes an internship and starts practicing successfully using a needle on a patient to attain blood, they have now developed skills. Skill shows that you have training, practice, and experience in the given field.
• Ability is the capacity to perform your skillset. For example, a person may have the skill of opera singing but due to severe stage fright, they don’t have the ability to perform this skill on a stage in front of 200 people. Sometimes skills and abilities are similar, but ability is asking if you are really capable of performing this skill in the context of effectiveness, timeliness, or in coordination with other people.

BENEFITS OF KNOWING YOUR KSA’S    

Clearly defining your KSA’s helps you to see all the talents that you have in your “life toolbox”, meaning that it helps you to

• Define your value and worth to yourself.
• Build your confidence when it comes to pursuing your goals.
• Clearly see all that you can offer in a career, business, relationship or partnership.
• Start creating a plan to pursue the things that may bring you joy.
• Help decide if you need to invest in yourself to improve your KSA in a new or different subject matter.

Understanding my personal KSA’s helped me see how much I enjoyed working with people, communicating ideas, impacting lives through digital media and supporting women. 

If you are in need of digging deeper on what your KSA’s are and how they can benefit you, then be sure to download this week’s free resource, “THE KSA (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES) INVENTORY” in my free resource vault at https://cccwomensempowerment.com/

This free exercise will help you get clear on what your KSA’s are and how you may be able to use them to start mapping out ideas around new goals.

Tiffiny J. Fambro, M.P.H.

Women's Empowerment Coach

https://cccwomensempowerment.com

Creator of Clarity, Confidence and Courage: Step Into Your Power and Love Your Life? Program.

Schedule free breakthrough call https://bit.ly/TFBreakthroughcall