Power skills | Development
Spotting gaps in your skillset
Working on your competences is vital for staying effective in your role and for career advancement. But where do you start?
Words Sophie Cross Illustration iStock
Continually developing your personal and professional skills is essential for career progression, but knowing where to focus your efforts can feel overwhelming. Here, we have put together a mini guide to help you systematically identify your skill gaps and prioritise which areas deserve most of your attention.
Where are you now?
Before you can identify which skills to develop, you need to understand where you stand today. Start by conducting an honest self-assessment of your current capabilities across technical, professional and interpersonal areas.
Consider the skills you use regularly in your current role and write down a list: which tasks do you complete confidently and efficiently? Where do you hesitate, feel anxious or need to ask for help? Keep a work diary for a week or two, noting situations where you felt uncertain or struggled to meet expectations. By doing this, you will have a true grasp on where you need to develop instead of imagining you aren’t good at something.
Have a look at your recent performance appraisals or feedback from managers and colleagues. External perspectives frequently highlight blind spots you might not recognise in yourself. Pay particular attention to recurring themes; if multiple people have mentioned the same area, it’s likely a priority for development.
Map out career aspirations
Your skill development should align with your career goals, not just address current weaknesses. Take time to think about where you want to be in one, three and five years. Are you aiming for a management position? Do you want to specialise in a particular area such as taxation or audit? Perhaps you are interested in moving into industry rather than practice?
Once you have established your direction, research the skills required for your target roles. You can do this by looking at job descriptions for positions you aspire to and noting the essential and desirable skills listed. Connect with people already working in those roles through professional networks or LinkedIn, tell them about your aspirations and ask them which skills prove most valuable in their day-to-day work.
The gap between your current skills and those required for your target role is your development roadmap. Some gaps will be small, perhaps requiring just a short course or some self-study; others might need more substantial investment through formal qualifications or extended practical experience.
Analysing industry and market demands
The finance industry is constantly evolving (and never more quickly than it is now), with new technologies, regulations and working practices emerging all the time. Identifying which skills to develop means looking beyond your current situation to understand what the market will demand in the coming years. Skills in data analytics, cloud-based software and AI tools are increasingly valuable across all accounting roles. Even if these don’t seem relevant to your work at the moment, they are likely to become central to future positions.
You can stay informed about industry trends through professional publications, AAT’s resources and sector news. Pay attention to the skills that appear repeatedly in discussions about the profession’s future. Areas such as sustainability reporting, cyber-security awareness and advisory skills are gaining prominence alongside traditional technical competencies, and the rise of AI is also drawing attention to the need for people to maintain and improve their cognitive skills.
Regulatory changes such as Brexit, tax reforms and financial reporting standards can also drive skill requirements. They all create demand for updated knowledge and capabilities, so if you can demonstrate you are keeping up to speed with developments in areas relevant to your specialism, you will be sure to impress.
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How to prioritise your development areas
Once you have identified potential skill gaps, you need to prioritise which to address first and how you’re going to do it.
Start by categorising skills into three groups:
- Critical gaps that prevent you from performing your current role effectively
- Important gaps that limit your progression potential
- Aspirational gaps that would enhance your long-term career prospects.
Critical gaps demand immediate attention because, if you’re struggling with fundamental aspects of your current responsibilities, they affect your performance, confidence and potentially your job security.
Important gaps come next, as these are capabilities you need for the next step in your career. If you are working towards a promotion or planning to move roles within the next year, focus on skills that will make you a strong candidate when opportunities arise.
Aspirational gaps can be addressed over a longer timeframe. These might include advanced technical knowledge or leadership skills you will need several years from now. While necessary for long-term success, they should not overshadow your more immediate development needs.
Create your development plan
Get creative — it’s your action plan. Make it visually appealing, in a format you will use and put it somewhere you’ll look at it.
Prioritise two or three skills to address over the next six months rather than attempting to tackle everything simultaneously. For each skill, think about what you think will be the most effective development method — courses, on-the-job learning, reading or shadowing colleagues.
Set SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable goals with realistic timelines). Instead of the vague “improve Excel skills”, use the clearer and more concrete “complete advanced Excel training and use pivot tables confidently in monthly reporting by December”.
Regularly review your plan to ensure your development stays on track, remains relevant as your circumstances change and celebrate your achievements
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Seek feedback
You don’t have to wait for a performance review to gather feedback. At any time, you should be able to request a specific, actionable critique from your manager about your skill levels. Rather than asking “How am I doing?”, try “Which technical skills do you think I should focus on developing this quarter?” or “What would make me ready for more senior responsibilities?”
Consider finding a mentor within your organisation or through AAT’s mentoring programmes. An experienced professional can help you identify which skills will prove most valuable for your specific career path and suggest practical approaches to developing them.
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Spotting gaps in your skillset
Working on your competences is vital for staying effective in your role and for career advancement. But where do you start?
Words Sophie Cross Illustration iStock