Credit Management March 2024

CAREERS
SUPERCHARGE
YOUR CAREER
Three steps to succeed in an era of skills-based hiring.
BY NATASCHA WHITEHEAD
SKILLS-based hiring, where more emphasis is
placed on the skills a candidate has rather than
their experience or qualifications, has become
a buzzword in the world of work, but how can
we respond to this trend to boost our careers?
Whether you’re looking for a new role, or striving
to progress in your current organisation, tapping
into the rise of skills-based hiring will allow you to enhance your
entire career. Here are three ways you can prioritise your skillset
to support your professional development:
1. Keep upskilling
It’s important to continuously build on your skillset to improve
your employability and your chance of receiving promotions.
Identify if there are any core skills you are lacking and research
the training courses and qualifications that are out there to
help you fill these gaps. As well as seeking out external courses
to expand your knowledge, find out if your organisation offers
internal learning and development opportunities, which are
likely to be free of charge.
You could set aside a couple of hours each week in your spare time
to complete relevant training courses or speak to your manager
about blocking out some time during your working hours. It’s
crucial that you don’t just complete an additional qualification
for the sake of putting it on your CV, but with the intention of
upskilling yourself to move forward in the career you want.
Having a learning mindset is a core skill that employers prioritise
in their teams today, and you can demonstrate your willingness
to progress by learning from your colleagues in your day-to-day
working life. Whether members of your team can support you
to improve your technical skills, such as feeling confident using
a particular credit control software, or soft skills, such as being
able to negotiate effectively with clients, the opportunities to
learn are endless.
2. Track your skillset
Whilst qualifications on your CV can certainly enhance your
credibility, what employers are really interested in nowadays is
what you learnt during that experience and the specific skills
you developed as a result. Keep track of the steps you took to
acquire certain skills, so you can reflect on how far you’ve come,
as well as demonstrate your proactive approach to upskilling
to a current or prospective employer. You should also keep a
record of times when you have pushed yourself out of your
comfort zone to develop particular skills, such as getting involved
in additional projects.
Similarly, to thrive in an era of skills-based hiring, it’s important
to keep a record of examples where you utilised your skills and
how your skills have helped you overcome any challenges. For
instance, your strong communication skills may have enabled you
to solve a difficult dispute with a client, so make a note detailing
this event and how your skills led you to a desired outcome,
thus contributing to the success of the business. As you build
an extensive list of examples, you can then include these on your
CV, discuss them in an interview and use them to pitch to your
employer why you deserve a promotion.
You need to be able to illustrate your capabilities coming to
life. Anyone can list an impressive set of skills on their CV for
example, so having a record to hand that is specific to you and
your skills journey is essential to stand out from the crowd and
take advantage of skills-based hiring.
3. The relevance of your skills
Once you’ve acquired a toolbox of skills, it’s vital to ask yourself:
how is my skillset invaluable for my career? When applying for a
new role, always be specific about why the skills you have under
your belt make you a suitable candidate. In any job application,
emphasise each skill you’ve mastered and exactly why it is
transferable to the position in question. Whether that’s managing
your time well or having strong numeracy skills, be specific about
the tangible ways you plan to put these skills to good use in your
day-to-day responsibilities to facilitate success.
When it comes to utilising your skills to enhance your career
development, you could look at the job description for the role
above you in terms of seniority and show that you tick lots
of the required skills, to prove you are ready for that level of
responsibility. Let’s say you’ve increased a business’ profits by
reducing debt, use this as evidence of your skills and articulate
that these skills lay the groundwork for you to continue meeting
and exceeding targets in the role you’re striving to secure.
Ultimately, as the skills-based approach to hiring is here to stay,
skills are the fuel you need to supercharge your career in credit,
so ensure you adopt a thirst for knowledge, illustrate your skills
in practice and communicate why they matter.
Author: Natascha Whitehead is Senior Business Director at Hays
specialising in Credit Management.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / March 2024 / PAGE 20