Skills to mention in a resume to emphasize your benefits

Having faced a fiasco when participating in a competition for a promising vacancy, each person turns on self-analysis of what was done wrong. A resume is a primary tool for job search, both from the employer and the applicant. Often, having selected a couple of worthy candidates, the interviewer stops at a resume in which advantages of a particular candidate prevail. So how to present yourself correctly?

What should definitely be written in a resume?

To have a perfect CV, try to answer and highlight the following:

• What are the best professional knowledge and skills I have?
• What makes you stand out among other specialists?
• What is so special about this job and company for you?
• Emphasize the identical experience or the fulfillment of duties;
• Examples of own developments, innovative ideas;
• Trends of the initiative, speed of execution of instructions;
• Ability to work ahead of the curve;
• Especially important or responsible tasks that were performed during the career;
• Incentive thanks and awards;
• Additional education (courses, seminars, pieces of training, master classes, etc.).

You can also specify this information in the column ‘Additional information’ or highlight ‘My advantages’. The most important thing here is not to overdo it. The resume should be realistic and relevant.

Preparing for an interview

As a rule, after being selected based on a resume, the applicant is invited to an in-person interview. There he/she might be first offered to fill out an employer questionnaire. With the help of the survey, information about a potential employee can be disclosed and confirmed. In other words, the candidate should draw up a resume once again and prove all the data stated previously. The applicant has to write everything down, and then verbally during the interview, to reveal his/her strengths and weaknesses.

What is not worth writing?

The tricky question ‘Describe your weaknesses’ should not indicate their absence because they are inherent in each. But you do not need to speak out as in confession. Some people use the neutral answer: ‘Yes, I have them too, but they don’t interfere with work at all’, or ‘I’m working on fixing them’. You can ‘turn the pros into cons’, for example: ‘My meticulousness, thoroughness, only helps in the work of an accountant’.

Indeed, in each resume or questionnaire, the employer wants to see a motivated individual who is interested in a vacancy, with professional skills, and not an employee stupidly burning labor hours.

Follow all the critical vacancy skills requirements

The easiest way is to apply to the vacancy requirements. Before the interview, open and print the job description again, carefully study it. Pay attention to the list of conditions and their sequence. As a rule, the most critical competencies and characteristics will be listed at the beginning.

Write down a list of requirements separately and try to compare each of them with your skills, achievements, and professional experience. Illustrate each ability or personal quality with an example from your professional experience.

What should I say at the interview?

Introduce your strengths. It is important to list not the entire list of your positive qualities but to select the 2-3 most significant in the light of a specific job. Show that you fit into the organizational culture of the company. If the company is small, then state the advantages that you see for yourself in a small organization:

• The opportunity to take the initiative;
• Take a direct part in the development of a company;
• Variability of tasks, etc.

And vice versa, show how attractive the work in a large structure is for you:

• Stability;
• Career opportunities;
• Prestige, etc.

Demonstrate your experience in a specific field: Show yourself as an expert

Mention your so-called soft skills — ‘flexible’ skills — general, non-specialized skills that help you be useful in your workflow.

Soft skills include:

• Time management;
• Responsibility;
• Ability to resolve conflict situations;
• Communication skills.

Mind your goals

Do not confuse the question, ‘Why should we hire you?’ With the question ‘Why do you need a job?’

Often, the candidates answer to the question ‘Why should we hire you’: ‘Because I need work’, ‘Because I like fashion/sports/ working with people’, ‘Because I have psychological/economic education’. Thus you talk more about yourself and your needs than about the benefits of the employer.

The person who hires you wants to understand how hiring you will affect the company’s profit. The fact that you have the appropriate experience or education does not mean by default that you were an effective employee, and are suitable for this area. An employer needs evidence from your past to help predict your future performance. An employer needs details, something that makes you a unique candidate.

Additional recommendations

Always keep control of time for an answer. The answer to any question should not take more than 1-2 minutes. Detailed explanations may give the impression that you are making excuses, trying to prove to yourself that you are suitable for this position. When you are confident in something, you do not need to convince others.

Motivation is often more important than experience. This is another point why it is imperative to correctly formulate the answer to the question, ‘Why should we hire you?’ If the employer has to choose between a slightly less experienced, but more interested candidate, and more experienced but less motivated, most employers will choose the first option. A motivated employee is likely to gain the necessary experience, but it is unlikely that the employer will be able to interest an uninterested employee, albeit with extensive experience.