Identify Your Professional Strengths in 3 Steps

Recognizing your strengths is an essential part of being self-aware and taking control of your career. Understanding your strengths and knowing how to grow them can help you find a job that you will enjoy. Additionally, it will empower you to utilize your skills in the areas most relevant to your career path. By reflecting on your strengths and learning how you can use them in your day-to-day life, you can make career choices that will enable you to succeed and continue to develop those strengths.

It can be challenging to know what your professional strengths are because everyone’s strengths are different. It is important to be honest with yourself when figuring out your strengths because this is the key to pursuing a career path that is right for you. Your professional strengths are the skills that you are good at and enjoy implementing. Identifying your professional strengths will help you identify what your passions are, which will help you find a career that will make you happy in the long-term.

The best direction to follow for your career is where your strengths and passions meet. In this post, you will learn a quick exercise of 3 steps that can help you determine your strengths and apply those strengths to build your career.

1. Request Feedback

In order to grow as a professional, it is important to get feedback from peers. They can give you honest and constructive feedback about your strengths and weaknesses. It is essential to find a group of people who know you well, both at work and in your personal life. You can also ask your manager or mentor for feedback if they are more experienced than you. Tell them that you want to learn about your professional strengths, and ask them to tell you about a time when you were at your best. This exercise will help you know what you are good at, so you can focus on a career path that will utilize your strengths optimally.

Here is an example of how to ask for feedback:

“Hey Buddy,

I need a favour… I am working on identifying my professional strengths to advance my career, and would love your feedback. You know me well and I would appreciate if you could give me your input, describing a time when I was at my best.

Thanks 🙂”

2. Recognize Patterns

After you get feedback from your peers, look for the commonalities that appear multiple times. List the common themes, some examples that support each of the themes, and what they portray about your strengths. For example, if the feedback mentions how efficiently you organized an event and scheduled all activities in detail, one of your strengths could be planning and logistics.

Here is an example of feedback that you could receive:

“Thanks for asking for my feedback! It’s awesome to see you grow in your career. A time when you were at your best was when you planned my graduation celebration. You paid attention to every detail and the party was so organized and fun!”

3. Implement Your Strengths

Now that you have received feedback and identified the common patterns, you need to find opportunities to apply your strengths. After all, your strengths emerge from your passions, and doing what you are passionate about will bring you the most happiness and satisfaction. Look for opportunities in your current role where you can use your strengths. For example, if your strength is planning and logistics, sign up to be involved with planning corporate events or department meetings.

Are you ready to identify your professional strengths? Take the first step and reach out to your friends and co-workers for feedback. Remember that you are the driver of your career, so take action now in the direction of your strengths by looking for strategic opportunities that will enable you to advance in your career and achieve your goals.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

How did you identify your professional strengths? Is your current job giving you opportunities to grow your strengths and advance your career? Share your thoughts in the comments below.