Employers are looking for employees that have the specific skills sets required for a position. The best way to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills is to state them as accomplishments on your resume. So what steps should you take to identify your accomplishments? Start by identifying your skills sets. Skills sets are comprised of skills that can be grouped together. For example, Communication skills is a broad category ranging from writing business reports to making presentations. These skills sets can be used with a variety of resumes to increase your chances of landing on the short list for an interview.
Skill sets can include those direct skills that you have learned on a related job or the skills you have acquired during any activity in your life that can be easily applied from one job to another.
In resumes, you should always portray your skills as applicable to the job you seek. If you have related experience and you’re seeking a job in the same field or industry you’ve worked in during the past, portraying your skills is easy. But if you are undergoing a career transformation that is different from what you’ve done in the past, you must identify the transferrable skills you have gained in another position and demonstrate how they relate to the job for which you are applying. A general reference to transferrable skills won’t work. You must be more specific if you want to gain an interview.
Be sure to include the soft skills that you have in addition to technical skills…Employers consistently rate the following soft skills in their top 10 most desirable skills: Communications, Analytical & Research skills, Adaptability and ability to multitask assignments. Interpersonal Abilities, Leadership&Management Skills, Cross-generational and multicultural understanding, teamwork and reliability. For more information about soft skills and how to use them see my article on careerwindowsonline.com. This article tells you how to answer interview questions related to each of these skills. Practice making them into accomplishment-based statements for your resume.
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Dumont
Dumont Gerken Owen, Ph.D
Career Windows
careerwindowsonline.com
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Cleveland, OH
November 9, 2010
2:49 am
It is indeed important for people who are moving from one industry to another to convince the potential employers that they indeed have the transferable soft skills that will make then successful workers. However, everyone is not born with these skills and it is often worthwhile to go for a soft skills course.
December 18, 2010
2:54 pm
How true… We all have our talents, but we need to keep learning new skills in order to keep relevant.
Thanks for the “heads up”.
Dumont
January 5, 2013
5:27 am
When you go for any interview, the first thing that makes your impression is your resume. Resume is used to represent a person’s education and talents. For making perfect resume you have use some rules or the best and easy option is to use resume templates.