3: IDENTIFYING YOUR SKILLS
Highlighting your skills in resumes, cover letters and interviews is the foundation of a successful job search.
Employers want to know more information than just your past job titles. They want to know your talents and what you have done with them. Think of it this way: if you were to purchase a product that would cost thousands of dollars annually, you would want to know how its features could benefit you. Employers want to do the same before they hire a person. Many people have a hard time identifying their skills. Don’t think of a skill as solely something that requires years of formal education and experience to develop. A skill is something you are doing right now in your life. Studies have shown that average person has between 500 and 800 identifiable skills. While this is an impressive figure, no employer will want to hear every one of them. Instead, you need to identify at least 10 to 20 employer- attracting skills you possess that are worthy of mention. The next step is to offer proof of those skills by creating impactful accomplishment statements on your resume. (Learn how to create these statements in chapter 4) . There’s a method for identifying, describing, and effectively communicating your skills to your employers. In this chapter we’ll focus on the first two steps in that method: identifying and describing your skills.
25 Creative Job Search | CareerForceMN.com/CreativeJobSearch
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