In a recent LinkedIn post, someone mentioned the beauty of being 'undefinable', and I think that's a great way of explaining the content of this post.
I’ve recently been pondering over how many skills I’ve unintentionally gained from being chronically ill. Since high school I've always been told I think 'differently' and that my thought process is 'interesting'; I’ve never fully understood what people meant by this until a few years ago, but now I have really come to like it.
It is a weird space to be in because you don't any special degrees for all of this, or have any professional experience. It's just things you've picked up on while trying to expand your knowledge. Personally, it's all things I've had to learn to advocate for myself and to help others on their journey. The one thing that makes it difficult is, because there's no certificate to show, it's hard to demonstrate these skills unless someone is paying attention, especially for jobs.
Let's get into it then. Here are some skills (pretty random) I've picked up over the years:
Research - Particularly medical research. I have spent years learning how to properly research for medical things. It is so important to know HOW to conduct research online because there is so much out there that can get lost in translation.
Medical jargon and things - This is still something I'm learning as I'm not a professional. There's just a lot to learn, but for a non professional there's a lot I know medically, for example how to interpret blood tests and how NHS bloods work etc.
All things admin - Again, I have no professional admin experience, but I spend a lot of time doing life admin. Things like booking appointments, chasing appointments and referrals, chasing tests, interpreting tests and emailing doctors with result summaries and how that impacts me (you'd be surprised at how much of the doctor side of things I do), sorting medicines, health tracking, symptom tracking when needed, and so much more, just on the patient side, not including general life things.
Content creation - This one would be from my online advocacy and awareness work as well as work I've done for charities and companies. I am in no way a professional when it comes to this either, but I think I do a good job.
Time management and prioritisation has been a fun one to juggle. Between work, all things medical, social life and other life things, it gets to be a lot sometimes but again, so far, I've kept my head on straight (with some shutting down moments because I'm still human). It is a fun one to explain as well in past interviews because it sounds like A LOT and, yeah, it is but I prioritise and plan well so it's not overwhelming. When people hear about it they either love it or they are worried that I wouldn't be able to prioritise their work.
The ability to think outside the box and think differently. To be able to empathise and be understanding different perspectives.
I am not sure how to properly explain this one and it is not to be offensive or downplay other people's efforts and the way they work. Ever since I started my job I have noticed how much easier it is for me to work through pain and feeling poorly in general than it is for an able bodied person. By this I mean, I am constantly in pain, but if I am having a meh day or if I'm in more pain than usual, I find myself still carrying on with work. Maybe I take extra rest breaks or painkillers and find other ways to cope but I still get on with it. This is not to say that if i'm feeling too bad I would still continue because I know not to push myself too hard otherwise I will just end up more poorly than I was to start with. However, I cannot stop working because I'm having a slightly bad day because if I did that I would barely ever work; as someone whose normal is being in pain, working through this on a daily basis is important. I think this would point towards strength, determination, and adaptability.
I feel as though there is so much more to this and it is really about seeing the person and not the criteria or box you can fit them in because people can and will surprise you. Just because I don't fit into your professional box doesn't mean I wouldn't be an asset to you.
Maybe we should all rethink professional tick boxes.
Comments