What value do you bring to work?
When people think of the value that they bring to their work, it’s often a fairly narrow list of technical and soft skills.
The reality is that every human brings a wide range of skills, context and understanding to all the ways they contribute, whether that’s at work, as a volunteer or via hobbies and other interests.
Even more than your work skills and experience, what you bring is you; your character, your history and aspirations, your lived experience, what you’ve learnt and done and overcome.
In 2019, I completed a Masters degree looking at ways to support people in tech to navigate their career journeys. As part of my study I created a mental model to make it easier to reflect on and understand the value that people bring to their work. It was based on my primary and secondary research as well as my experiences working in the tech industry for my whole career, being a multiple time immigrant and serial job changer!
This model of value has eight areas: six categories of skill or understanding, you at the centre, and external influences.
Let’s look at each of them in a bit more detail.
1. Technical skills
How to do a specific job
Tools and processes needed to perform a technical task. For example, software testers would need different technical skills than those used by UX designers, even if some of those technical skills may overlap. You’ll have skills suited to your current role but also skills from previous roles and from things you do outside of work.
2. Work essentials
How to do a good job
Foundation skills help you stand out, no matter your role. These would include things like one-on-ones and performance reviews, being able to get stuff done, good meetings, status reporting, and team/company/industry knowledge.
3. Human skills
Skills to work with other people
These skills include the soft skills we are familiar with, but also social and interpersonal skills. Human skills are essential when working with other people, which is really what technology is about. And, like all other skills, we can learn these human skills.
4. Business basics
The fundamentals of business
These are things you only usually get exposed to when you're senior but we can learn them now! It is beneficial to have some understanding of the different areas of a business: strategy, finance, sales, marketing, technology, operations. And then there is how to drive good business via diversity and inclusion, being an ally, advocacy, executive leadership, boards and legislation.
5. Career growth
Your career journey
Modern career approaches support us to adapt to changes in our workplaces, to grow our employability, to keep learning and to feel equipped to create a fulfilling career to meet our needs. These skills include how to craft a career in the digital world, understanding your value at work, job searches, expanding your influence, and being part of the tech community.
6. Self-awareness
Your needs and wants
Ultimately, a career needs to work for you. This means bringing together all the building blocks to support what you need and want. Self-awareness include understanding your goals and interests, self-care, and your individual habits and approaches.
7. You
Who are you?
You are at the centre of this. Your work journey, life experience, hobbies and interests. Your unique history, described beautifully in te reo Māori as whakapapa. All of these shape the context you bring to work.
8. The wider context
External considerations
These influences, represented by the green circle, come from the work and social communities you are situated within, from wider society and the environment. Your experience of them has a bearing on what you want and need from work.
Quick exercise for self-insight
Take a few moments to reflect on your areas of value, or scroll down for a longer exercise to go into more depth.
Look over those areas for yourself. Which section stands out to you.
What abilities, experience and context do you have? How might those factors be of value in your current/future workplace?
Which areas are you most curious about? Maybe you could start to look at small steps to grow those skills.
What do you value about the people you work with? (Often, what you value in others is something you already have or want to strengthen.)
Full Exercise - Take stock of your value
>> Look at the sections below and make notes for yourself at this moment in time.
1. Technical skills
What ‘technical’ skills and experience do you have? (Could be for specific jobs / tasks at work, study, hobbies, or in life). Put the ones at the top that you feel most confident about.
2. Work essentials
What ‘essential’ work skills do you have (from a workplace of any kind)? Put your best/favourite ones at the top.
3. Human skills
List the human skills you have: soft skills, social, interpersonal. The middle columns on the image on this page has ideas of skills for working with others. Put the ones at the top that you enjoy the most.
4. Business basics
Do you have any business skills, perhaps from a side gig or project, study or work experience or training?
5. Career growth
What do you know how to do in relation to managing and growing your own career?
6. Self-awareness
What are your goals, interests and desires for life and work? What are your current and near-future needs (financial, location, visa etc)?
7. You
What are the key life events and experiences that contributed to who you are today? What things have been a challenge? What’s your study/work journey? What do you know or care about that not everyone does?
8. The wider context
What is happening in your wider context that might influence your decision or options?
9. Any other thoughts?
Reflect back on your answers. Does anything in particular stand out to you as interesting, surprising, still uncertain? You can ask family, friends or workmates what they think you bring.
Apply your insights
Perhaps this has helped identify an area of growth, a future career pathway or new ways to describe what you bring. Maybe it’s helped you identify skills, experience or context for your CV, LinkedIn or cover letter.
If this has spurred you to action, decide on a few things you’d like to do and book a time to do them.