[2022-12-02] Articulating experience and skills

Over the course of my career, I've helped many people collect and articulate their experience and skills when applying for new positions or preparing for interviews.

Here's some of the advice I've provided when coaching people trying to advance in their careers:

  1. Keep track of your accomplishments. Maintain a running list of work you've done that helped you acquire and demonstrate sought-after skills.
  2. Draw from this list when applying for jobs or preparing for interviews. To explain how you meet the essential and asset qualifications outlined in a job posting, select relevant examples from your list to include in your application, cover letter or resume or to use in responding to interview questions. Don't have such a list? Start creating one today. Pull out old appraisals or the notes you provided to your manager to summarize your annual achievements. Look at previous job applications. Talk with someone about your career—you may remember forgotten achievements when you reflect with a friend, colleague, former boss or family member on what you do in your current position or did in past jobs.
  3. Give each story a title, focusing on the skill acquired or demonstrated. An example would be "Initiative: implemented the take-me-with-you campaign in my department." If you're asked in an interview to talk about a time when you demonstrated initiative, you can pull the "take-me-with-you campaign" card out of your mental Rolodex to respond.
  4. For each story, identify the situation, action and result (SAR). First, describe the situation associated with your example. What was the context, problem, opportunity or client need that you addressed? Second, talk about what you did. Did you gather and analyze data, engage stakeholders, make recommendations? Third, explain the outcome of your efforts. Did you decrease costs, increase participation, exceed your client's expectations? Using the SAR method will help you to succinctly describe your experience and skills, especially in an interview, where it can be easy to ramble.
  5. Consider not just work achievements, but academic, volunteer and personal successes as well. Draw on examples from all aspects of your life, not just paid employment. Think about significant projects you undertook in school, a difference you made while volunteering, a skill you developed through a hobby.
  6. Don't forget to say "I." If you work as part of a team, you might be accustomed to saying "we." There's nothing wrong with saying "we" in a job application or interview, as there is merit in acknowledging the contribution of teammates to a given success. However, you also need to specify what you did—personally. You don't want the members of the selection committee to be left wondering what you did after reading your application or interviewing you because you overused "we."

It's easy to forget the skills you've built up over your career, particularly if you haven't been systematically writing them down. As you build your list, have a place—for example, on your phone or in a notebook—where you write down your work accomplishments as they pop into your head or as you talk to a trusted person about your career. Some questions that might help, along with examples for guidance:

  1. What are you good at and what do you love to do? Do you love chairing meetings because you can put your consensus-building skills into practice?
  2. What do you do on a typical day, both professionally and personally? Do you do outreach to gather information to consolidate into a report? Do you write as a hobby?
  3. In what areas do you naturally excel? Are you good at figuring out how systems work and how to optimize their use?
  4. What do you find energizing and motivating? Do you love developing strategies?
  5. What training have you taken and applied? Did you take a course on how to use pivot tables in Excel, which enabled you to do better analysis?
  6. What have you learned on the job? Did you learn how to manage financial resources?
  7. What competencies are you known for? Are you good at organizing events?
  8. What recognition have you received? Did your boss highlight your success in figuring out a new system?
  9. What expertise have you shared with others? Did you do a presentation to colleagues on a new law?
  10. What skills have helped you overcome hurdles? What problems have you solved thanks to your talents that others struggled with?

You probably have more skills, talents, competencies and strengths than you realize. Knowing what these are can give you the confidence to apply to a job that, on first blush, might have felt beyond your current competencies, and to put your best foot forward in an interview.
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