How Can Making Things Help Me Get a Job?

Crafting, making things, creating things are great ways to spend your free time. But did you know you are building skills at the same time?

Adaptation – How many times have you started a project, only to discover you don’t have all the materials you need? Did you go ahead and use what you had? Or, have you done a project intentionally using what you have vs. going out and getting more stuff? That is adaptation! And it is a great skill to be able to look at what you need and why, and be able to identify alternatives.

Community – Many people who make things find their tribe. Knitters may have circles while bladesmiths may do shows. Building that community takes effort and commitment and gives you a sense of belonging. Bringing that skill to a company can help retain employees and companies want to keep their good people.

Creativity – Making things is a creative process. Determining where something goes or how something should look requires creative thinking. A quilter once said, “it needed 12 buttons” but couldn’t explain how she knew that or how she knew it wasn’t 13. That’s being creative!

Follow Directions – The average person cannot look at something and see how it was made. So, people who like to make things generally follow someone else’s directions. That isn’t to say you follow it to the letter – creativity can come into play where you will change the directions, and that is great too. And if something goes wrong, makers need to be able to adapt to the situation and find a solution.

Goal-Setting – Obviously seeing a craft video on YouTube or seeing a product somewhere and thinking, “I can make that” means you are setting a goal. At the end of the project, you want to have something tangible that you made.

History – People who knit / crochet, sew, and other fabric arts, form metal, blow glass, and other hobbies are often aware and enjoy the history behind what they do. Understanding what came before and how it relates to what you are doing is a unique business skill in that being willing to learn the history of the company helps maintain and build the culture.

Problem-Solving – Any time you try to make something you will run into challenges. They might not be big challenges – a thread breaks, you needed one item but only have another, etc. But you still have to recognize the problem, determine your options, and select how you will solve it. Employees with that skill are very helpful as when something comes up, they don’t just wait for someone else to solve it or tell them what to do.

Self-Management – Usually people who like to make things do so by themselves and are not directed to do so. In those cases, you are managing yourself and don’t need someone to tell you what to do. You can imagine how helpful this is in a business setting!

Sense of Accomplishment – Work can be challenging and for some people, they need external validation to determine if they have done a good job. And while any good company will provide that, being able to find your own sense of accomplishment is very important to companies. Your ability to see your own value helps them reward you in ways you want and recognize you for doing what was needed.