When a prospective employer says “tell me a little bit about your skills and why you are the best person for this job?”
Are you prepared to answer that question?
Don’t think this will never happen to me…job turnover rates and the increasing number of redundancies mean everyone needs to be prepared.
So, when the time comes, how can you make them sit up and listen?
Don’t rehash a list of training courses you have been on….
Or the software that you have used in the past…
Yes, computer literacy is a skill, most people these days can work their way around most computers and programs. So is Project Management, Financial Management and all those other things you list on your resume. They have read this for you to be sitting there already. That is how you got an interview in the first place, you have the know how, now is the only time to show your point of difference.
Tell them about you…
They will more likely be inclined to listen to and remember you if you don’t rehash a list activities you have been trained in or projects you have worked on, instead provide them with your traits that make you stand out from the crowd and then use examples from your work to provide further clarity.
Be prepared to sell yourself.
What is is that makes you great at your job?
It’s not as easy as you think to just come up with these…no one really likes to blow their own trumpet. Yet working through your behind the scenes reasoning why people have thought you were a great employee in the past will shed light on the answers that will impress the most.
If you can’t work these out for yourself, maybe ask some of your co-workers or past bosses.
Some examples that come to mind of one of the best employees I have ever had. She stood out because she had the following skills that not everyone else has and most definitely used them to place herself within my team as a go to person.
Logic…she used this to sort out problems and provide answers when everyone else just wanted to complain they had a problem.When people had issues, rather than bother me, she helped them work through the problem and come out with a logical solution.
Creativity…given a project, she was not afraid to think innovatively and outside the box. Even with system limitations she found unusual ways to give a better level of service.
Determination…no job was too big. How many people you have worked with stretched themselves to make their mark. Timeframes were always met, projects were always completed. Her organisational skills were amazing.
Dedication…rain, hail or shine, she was there making a difference. There were no excuses given, she was truthful and forthright in everything.
Patience….really taking the time to listen, sort through her thoughts and not just rush into things helped her succeed.
She is the person that I would employ any day because she made my life easier.
So how are you going to work out what your special skills are that will make you an invaluable employee?
Think of a few examples of when you were successful in solving an issue, when both you and a past boss were really happy with your work. Why were you both happy? What skills did you employ? What were the problems and how did you solve them? People who can solve their own problems at work are invaluable, they allow the boss to do their own job instead of micro managing you.
Come up with a few sentences that you can use in a job interview to help sell yourself from these.
Here are some examples:
I believe I am logical which was shown when I had to design better forms to collect missing data. I used my logic to work through the process and decide what areas we needed further information on.
I like to think I am creative, I successfully managed a project where I had to ensure staff across all areas of the business were informed of changes coming to their systems of work. I used my creativity to give them as much information as I could through multiple formats, so everyone could understand whether they worked in an office or out in the field.
I am a good communicator, I recently provided training to a large group of people through a series of leadership workshops to allow them to go back and manage their staff more effectively. The feedback I received from strategies they employed has been exciting and validating.
All of these answers will lead to further discussion about your abilities and how you shine above the rest.
Creating a point of difference will ensure you are the one walking away with the job and not the other guy.
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