Skills vs Values
Skills describe capabilities.
Values describe priorities.
Good career decisions consider both — and confusing the two can lead to choices that look right on paper but feel wrong in practice.
Skills
Describe what you have developed the ability to do. They answer the question: what can I do? Skills can often be applied in many different contexts and roles.
Values
Describe what matters to you — the priorities, principles and outcomes that make work feel meaningful. They answer the question: what is important to me?
When they point in different directions
A person may be highly skilled at financial analysis but not want a career environment where financial performance is the dominant measure of success. Someone may be skilled at sales but value work that provides greater social impact. Someone may have excellent technical ability but value autonomy more than promotion.
The key principle
Being able to do something does not automatically mean you want to build your life around it. Skills help answer what you can do. Values help answer what matters to you. Good career decisions consider both.
Connect Your Skills With What Matters to You
Penagix helps you understand the interaction between your natural abilities, developed skills and core values.
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