In an increasingly competitive world of work, skills that are out of the ordinary are more and more necessary to stand out. It's these “Mad Skills”, unique, unusual, and often surprising skills that can catch the attention of employers.
But what exactly are they? How do you identify them and take advantage of them? We'll tell you more about these special skills in this article!
Definition of mad skills
(Again) a concept that comes to us from Silicon Valley: mad skills are the rare, original and atypical skills of an individual.
The main mad skills include:
- Life experiences (failures/successes/ life accidents/professional rebounds)
- An entrepreneurial experience
- Associative/voluntary commitments
- Hobbies, passions, trips, sports practiced.
If we go into more detail:
- Practice of a team sport: Participation in a team sport can demonstrate the ability to work in a team, a sense of solidarity, adaptability and the will to compete.
- Volunteering: Regular involvement in volunteer activities can reflect a strong spirit of solidarity and emotional intelligence at the service of others.
- Creative activity: Whether artistic or creative, an activity of this type reveals an inventive spirit, curiosity, an ability to question things, and an ability to think differently.
The impact of Mad Skills in recruitment
The return to a certain authenticity has encouraged the emergence of mad skills in the recruitment process. New collaborators in the world of work no longer hesitate to “show themselves as they are” and to highlight their particularities, beyond a diploma or a certified skill.
To properly identify the “mad skills” of candidates, it is essential to adopt innovative approaches in the recruitment process.
It may be:
- specific case studies that highlight the atypical skills in demand or for which candidates will have to propose original and innovative ideas.
- group exercises where candidates will have to collaborate to achieve a common goal.
- creative presentations: encourage candidates to use so-called unconventional formats: videos, illustrations, demos, etc.
Mad skills and training
Skills development is not only limited to the transmission of knowledge, but also to the promotion of creative, original and atypical skills among learners. Mad skills can thus be linked to vocational training.
The mission of training is therefore no longer just to deliver knowledge, but to to bring out this ability of everyone to think outside the box.
To encourage the emergence and strengthening of these “mad skills”, here are some ideas for educational devices:
- Explorer : Give learners opportunities to explore their own life experiences, passions, hobbies, and interests. This can be done through self-reflection activities, group discussions, or personal projects.
- Collaborate : Promote group projects where learners can combine their skills. Encourage the diversity and originality of ideas and approaches in the delivery of projects. We can all pass on knowledge and receive knowledge from others on a daily basis.
- Get inspired : Present situations that highlight people who have been able to succeed, in particular thanks to their atypical skills. They can be entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, etc. This shows that others have capitalized on these mad skills!
- Experiment : Offer activities that allow learners to experience and practice their atypical skills: role-playing games, creative challenges, simulations, etc.
- Focus on mentoring : Set up mentoring or coaching programs with experts or professionals who can guide learners in identifying and developing their atypical skills. Once again, it means encouraging the sharing of experiences.
Be careful to keep in mind that a balance is needed between the different types of skills, i.e. both hard skills (technical skills), soft skills (human dimension) and mad skills (passions).
