Latest / Career Skills with Fexingo: Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and Future-Proofing Your Career / Skill Audits That Actually Boost Your Career
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, I was talking to a friend last week who's a product manager, and she told me she spent her entire weekend learning a new coding framework because a colleague mentioned it. She didn't even use it in her job. And I thought, that's exactly the kind of reactive learning that keeps us busy but gets us nowhere. Luna: Right, it's like we're always adding skills but never stepping back to evaluate what we actually have. When was the last time you did an inventory? Lucas: That's the thing — most people never do. And that's why today I want to talk about the skill audit, a structured way to review your skills, figure out which ones are worth doubling down on, and which ones you can safely let go. It's a tool that career coaches swear by, but it's rarely talked about outside of that circle. Luna: I love that. So what does a skill audit actually look like in practice? I imagine it's more than just listing your skills on a piece of paper. Lucas: Exactly. The framework I like has three steps. First, you list every skill you have, even the ones you might not think of as 'professional.' Second, you score each skill on two dimensions: your proficiency level and the market demand for that skill in your industry. And third, you plot those scores on a simple grid to see where your sweet spots are. Luna: Okay, the grid sounds interesting. What does the grid look like? Is it like the classic two-by-two matrix? Lucas: Yeah, it's a simple two-by-two. On one axis you've got your proficiency, from low to high. On the other, you've got market demand, also low to high. That gives you four quadrants: high demand and high proficiency — those are your core strengths, your money-makers. High demand but low proficiency — those are your growth opportunities, the skills you should be investing in. Low demand but high proficiency — those are your hidden gems, maybe they're niche but still valuable. And low demand and low proficiency — those are the ones you can probably drop without much regret. Luna: So the goal is to focus on the high-demand, high-proficiency quadrant, and then pick a few skills in the high-demand, low-proficiency quadrant to develop. Lucas: Exactly. But here's where it gets interesting. The market demand part is the hardest to assess because it changes so quickly. That's why you need to look at job postings in your field, talk to people in roles you aspire to, and keep an eye on where the industry is heading. For example, a few years ago, knowing how to use basic spreadsheet functions was a nice to have. Now, for many roles, it's a baseline requirement. Luna: Yeah, and I've seen that shift in marketing too. It used to be that you could get by with great copywriting skills alone, but now employers expect you to understand data analytics, even if it's just the basics. So if you're a marketer who's been ignoring analytics, that's a high-demand, low-proficiency skill for you. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the kind of insight a skill audit surfaces. But the audit isn't just about what to learn next. It's also about knowing what you can stop doing. There's a real opportunity cost to spending time on skills that are becoming less relevant. I remember talking to a recruiter who said she sees so many resumes still listing things like 'proficient in Microsoft Word' — that's not a differentiator anymore, it's just table stakes. Luna: So how do you actually conduct a skill audit in a practical way? I mean, do you sit down with a notebook for an afternoon, or is it more involved than that? Lucas: You can do a solid first pass in about two hours. Start by brainstorming every skill you have, and don't filter yourself. Think about skills from past jobs, hobbies, even volunteer work. Then for each one, give yourself a proficiency score from one to five, and then assign a market demand score based on your research. Be honest with yourself on the proficiency — most of us overestimate our skills, especially in areas we're passionate about. Luna: I think I'm guilty of that. I always think I'm better at public speaking than I probably am. But how do you research market demand? Like, what's the actual method? Lucas: A few ways. First, look at job postings for roles you're interested in. If you see the same skill mentioned over and over, that's a signal. Second, use LinkedIn's skill assessments or look at the skills listed on profiles of people in your target roles. Third, talk to people — mentors, colleagues in other departments, even people in your network who work in different industries. They can give you a sense of what's becoming important. Luna: And once you've done that, what's the next step? You've got your grid filled out. Now what? Lucas: Now you turn it into a plan. Pick one or two skills from the high-demand, low-proficiency quadrant and set a 90-day learning goal. And be specific. Instead of 'learn Python,' say 'build a small project that automates my weekly reporting by the end of the quarter.' That way you have a tangible outcome to aim for. Luna: That makes sense. But what about the skills in the low-demand, high-proficiency quadrant? You said they're hidden gems. Should you always keep them? Lucas: Not always. Sometimes you can repurpose them into a new context. For example, let's say you're a teacher with excellent curriculum design skills, but you're moving into corporate training. That skill is still highly relevant, just in a different setting. But if a skill has truly low demand and you have no desire to use it in the future, you can let it go. That's freeing, actually. It frees up mental space and time. Luna: I like that. It's like decluttering your professional life. I actually did a mini version of this when I was thinking about leaving my last job, and it helped me see that my storytelling skills were more valuable than my advanced Excel skills, which I thought were my top asset. That realization changed my whole career trajectory. Lucas: That's a perfect example. And it's why I think the skill audit is so powerful — it forces you to make your assumptions explicit and test them against reality. But there's another layer to this. It's not just about your current skills. It's also about anticipating what skills you'll need in the future. That's where you look at trends in your industry and think about what the job will look like in five years. Luna: That's the part that feels overwhelming to me. How do you possibly predict what's going to be in demand in five years? I mean, things change so fast. Lucas: You don't need a crystal ball. You just need to look at the direction things are moving. For instance, in finance, the shift toward digital and data-driven decision-making is pretty clear. So if you're in finance and you don't have any data literacy, that's a safe bet to add to your growth quadrant. Similarly, in marketing, the rise of AI tools means that understanding how to work with AI, not against it, is becoming crucial. Luna: So it's about reading the tea leaves, but also about being adaptable enough to pivot when things change. And that's where the audit comes in again — you can do it annually, or even quarterly, to stay on top of shifts. Lucas: Exactly. I recommend doing a deep skill audit at least once a year, and then a lighter check-in every quarter. That way you're not reacting to every new trend, but you're also not blind to changes. And the best part is, the audit is a skill in itself. The more you practice it, the better you get at assessing your own abilities and the market. Luna: That's a nice meta point. I also think it's important to get input from other people in your audit. I mean, we're not always the best judges of our own skills. Lucas: Absolutely. That's a great tip. After you do your self-assessment, reach out to two or three people who know your work well — a manager, a peer, maybe a mentor — and ask them to rate your skills on the same dimensions. Their perspectives will often surprise you. Sometimes they'll rate you higher in areas you undervalue, and sometimes they'll highlight blind spots you didn't even think about. Luna: I have a friend who did that, and she found out that her team really valued her ability to translate technical jargon into plain language, something she never even listed as a skill. That became a cornerstone of her personal brand after that. Lucas: See, that's the hidden gem quadrant at work. And that reminds me — if you're listening and you've ever wondered how to make your skills more visible to employers, this audit is a great first step. It gives you a clear inventory to draw from when you're updating your resume or preparing for interviews. You'll be able to talk about your skills with confidence and specificity, rather than just listing generic buzzwords. Luna: Yeah, and that's something we talk about a lot on this show — making your skills obvious. A skill audit is the foundation for that. And honestly, if this episode has helped you think about your career in a more structured way, that's great. We love knowing that we're helping our listeners make smarter moves. And if you ever feel like supporting the show, there's a link in the description where you can buy us a coffee. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just if you find value in what we do. Lucas: Yeah, that's a low-key way to keep this going ad-free. We appreciate anyone who does that. But back to the audit — one more thing I want to mention is the importance of tracking your progress. After you set your 90-day goal, put reminders in your calendar to check in on it. The audit isn't a one-and-done exercise; it's an ongoing cycle of assessment, action, and reassessment. Luna: So it's like a feedback loop. I like that. And I think it's also useful to document your audit results, maybe in a simple spreadsheet or a journal, so you can look back and see how your skills have evolved over time. That's motivating, to see the progress. Lucas: Definitely. And on that note, I want to leave you with a practical challenge. This week, set aside two hours, grab a notebook or a spreadsheet, and do your first skill audit. Use the grid we talked about, be honest with yourself, and then pick one skill to develop over the next 90 days. It could be the most valuable two hours you spend on your career this year. Luna: And if you do it, come back and tell us how it went. We'd love to hear about your experience and any insights you gained. You can reach us on social media or via the contact form on our website. Until next time, keep learning.