{"id":2058,"date":"2020-05-07T19:09:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T23:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/?page_id=2058"},"modified":"2026-03-11T13:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:33:18","slug":"marketable-skills","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketable Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lead\">More Marketable Skills = More Employable<\/div>\n<p>The more relevant and effective skills we have, the more versatile, resilient, and employable we will be.<br \/>\n<div class=\"su-accordion su-u-trim gcc\">\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>What Skills Are Needed<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Figure out what skills will be required or preferred in occupations you are interested in by reviewing and comparing information in the following resources.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/occupational-research\/\">Occupation Research<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>Use the following resources to find out what skills are needed for the occupations you are most interested in.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/self-assessment\">Career Assessments<\/a> that focus on skills, can help you identify current skill set(s) and find jobs that match them.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.philadelphiafed.org\/surveys-and-data\/community-development-data\/occupational-mobility-explorer\">Occupational Mobility Explorer<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; This tool helps people identify how current skills can transfer into another field which is similar but higher paying.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/occupational-research\/\">Occupation Research<\/a> &#8211; Use occupation research tools to find out what skills are associated with careers or industries you are interested in.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/job-openings\/\">Job Postings<\/a> &#8211; Review the qualifications regional employers include in their job postings.<\/li>\n<li>ChatGPT and Google Gemini &#8211; The free and paid version of these AI tools can be used to gather information. However, all information should be compared to legitimate and current sources of information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Marketable Skill Sets<\/h4>\n<p>Review skills sets that are relevant to most work places, as well as those required or valued within specific industries or sectors.<\/p>\n<p>To increase your career readiness, notice the skills you have and the ones that you need to develop. Then identify how and when you will develop the skills you&#8217;ll need to qualify for positions you are most interested in.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/transferable-skills-list-525490\">Transferable Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cew.georgetown.edu\/cew-reports\/competencies\/\">Competencies Employers Want<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/what-is-a-skill-set-2062103\">Skills Set Definition and Examples<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/327310\">Robot-Proof\/Humanics Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/positivepsychology.com\/resilience-skills\/\">Resilience Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/social-media-skills\">Social Media Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/your.yale.edu\/work-yale\/learn-and-grow\/training\/clerical-technical-training-and-development\/microsoft-office\">Microsoft Office Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/career-advice\/resumes-cover-letters\/computer-coding-skills\">Top Computer Coding Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/what-are-soft-skills-2060852\">Soft (aka Employability or Durable) Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/what-are-hard-skills-2060829\">Hard Skills<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Click on the toggles below to find out more.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Hard &amp; Soft Skills<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<h4>Soft\/Employability Skills<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/what-are-soft-skills-2060852\">Soft skills<\/a> are a set of skills, which most employers value <em>tremendously<\/em>.\u00a0 Individuals are ultimately responsible to develop, maintain, and strengthen these skills, in order to get hired, meet basic workplace expectations, and succeed in the world of work.<\/p>\n<p>In this region, soft skills are often referred to as &#8220;employability skills&#8221;, because people can&#8217;t get or stay employed without them. Sometimes, they are also referred to as essential (workplace) skills,\u00a0\u00a0foundational skills, and durable skills.<\/p>\n<h4>Hard\/Technical Skills<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/what-are-hard-skills-2060829\">The Top Hard Skills Employers Seek<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Career Assessments to Gain Objectivity<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/self-assessment\">Career assessments<\/a> will help you identify your current skill set(s) and identify occupations that match them.<\/p>\n<p>However, don&#8217;t limit yourself to the jobs you are currently qualified for, if these jobs do not represent your ultimate career goal. Instead, look for jobs that you could get now that would help you gain the skills and experience needed to qualify for better and higher-level jobs later. Having relevant skills and experience opens the path to more satisfying and supportive job opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus su-spoiler-closed\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Documenting Your Skills<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Taking assessments and reflecting on what you have done likely helped you become aware of skills you haven&#8217;t documented before. Whenever you remember or gain a skill, consider taking a moment to write it down &#8211; in a list format or resume.\u00a0 Then this information will be easier to retrieve, when you need it &#8211; for the job search, job evaluations, networking pitch development, etc.<\/p>\n<h4>Resumes<\/h4>\n<p>Create and continually update your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/document-prep\/resumes-cvs\">resume<\/a>. In the future, you will be very glad to have these details on file, especially when you are applying for internships, jobs, or a college\/university.<\/p>\n<h4>Electronic Portfolio \/ Profile<\/h4>\n<p>At minimum, take the time to create a LinkedIn profile &#8211; whether you are actively searching for a job or not.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/get-a-job\/strategies\/social-media-eportfolios\/\">using social media<\/a> (like LinkedIn) to engage in the job search, we can use it to create important professional connections, learn about cutting edge developments in fields of interest, learn about professional development (PD) opportunities, and more.\u00a0 A well-written profile will serve as the foundation for communication that happens through social media platforms that are designed for professional networking.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The more relevant and effective skills we have, the more versatile, resilient, and employable we will be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3709,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2058","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Marketable Skills - Career Readiness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marketable Skills - Career Readiness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The more relevant and effective skills we have, the more versatile, resilient, and employable we will be.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Career Readiness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T17:33:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/\",\"name\":\"Marketable Skills - Career Readiness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-07T23:09:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-11T17:33:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Career Exploration\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Marketable Skills\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/\",\"name\":\"Career Readiness\",\"description\":\"and Internships!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marketable Skills - Career Readiness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marketable Skills - Career Readiness","og_description":"The more relevant and effective skills we have, the more versatile, resilient, and employable we will be.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/","og_site_name":"Career Readiness","article_modified_time":"2026-03-11T17:33:18+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/","name":"Marketable Skills - Career Readiness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-05-07T23:09:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-11T17:33:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/marketable-skills\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Career Exploration","item":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/exploration\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Marketable Skills"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/","name":"Career Readiness","description":"and Internships!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3709"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2058"}],"version-history":[{"count":78,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6327,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2058\/revisions\/6327"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}