What My Skills and Professional Identity Looks Like

My name is Arianna Lentini. I am an English major who has a minor in professional writing and I am currently working in retail. When working, I tend to focus on my communication skills, organizational skills, and time management skills. I can learn new tasks quickly, communicate effectively, and strive to do tasks to the best of my ability.

After using several of the different transferable skills checklists provided in class, I’ve found that I have several skills such as above average listening skills, organizational skills, adaptability skills, and the ability to work under pressure. While these are only a few of the many skills I’ve found that I have, they seem to be some of the most important skills. All of these important skills can easily be used in any career field I choose to go in with my English degree and can also help me in my courses now.

I’ve spent many months looking for internships on LinkedIn and careers in general. The keywords I typically have used are creative writing, writing, content creator, and social media marketing. Looking for jobs outside of retail, I have noticed that I really need to work on my teamwork skills, which I have been working on throughout my professional writing course. I am a very independent person who loves to work alone, but I recognize that working in a team is typically more effective. That is the largest skill I feel that I need to work on. I also feel that I need much more experience to truly be the best I can be at my given career path.

One of the websites I used to assess myself was located at SkillsYouNeed.com. I discovered that my listenings skills were above average, which means that I am more likely to enjoy more meaningful relationships and are less likely to misunderstand what others are communicating – I don’t just hear what is being said, but bring together the verbal and non-verbal signals to gain an accurate interpretation of other people’s views and opinions.  I also learned that my verbal communication was also above average, which means I normally use appropriate language and know when to talk, and when not to talk.  Having good verbal communication means that I can express yourself well to others – explaining my ideas and opinions in such a way that they are usually understood by others.

However, not all of my scores were as great. My skills in communication in groups was well below average, which means I am not particularly confident about communicating in group situations. I learned that working on my verbal communication and listening skills will help to boost my confidence. My emotional intelligence was simply average, which means that my measure of how well I understand and deal with my emotions and the emotions of others is average. I learned that I should take time to understand and improve my own emotional intelligence since it can help with my personal development and in engaging with those around me.

This exercise also allowed me to understand some of my marketable skills. Some of which were my abilities to think on my feet, set realistic goals, use media to present ideas creatively and keep to a schedule. I also realized that I follow through on plans, handle many tasks at once and get projects done on time. Lastly, I learned that I am adaptable, creative, empathetic, energetic, and well spoken. All of these examples are great when applying for jobs.