If you are a job seeker looking for a continuation in your already established career, you’ve got skills. You’ve got skills, you’ve got knowledge, you’ve got experience, you’ve got innovations, and you’ve got a whole host of other things. Your ability to perform is not really up for debate, but your ability to show that might be. Convincing potential employers that you can walk the walk to the extent that you know you can is not always easy. However, if you follow our tips you will be having them begging for your time in no time.
Brainstorm- This is always the place to start. Sit down with a blank pad or word document and just write for an hour. Write down skills, anecdotes, facts and figures. Spend an hour creating a hodge-podge collection of everything that you know about your field. By the end of this you should have all the information necessary to show future employers everything you know.
Note all training sessions- It is easy for us to forget about training sessions. Often you get trained for an aspect of a job that you already know a lot about, so it seems redundant. However, training sessions are fantastic for CVs, because they prove to your employer that you have learned the skills that you say you have. If you didn’t address these in your brainstorming session, go back and make a list of any training sessions you’ve attended.
Re-write- chances are your CV is lacking at least a few of the things you found in your brainstorming session. Maybe you forgot a training seminar, or a couple hard or soft skills that really need to be on there. Update your CV to account for all of this information you’ve dug up.
If you follow these steps your CV will be dynamite, and you will likely move on to round 2- ‘the interview.’ An interview is another great place to show how much you know, again, follow these tips and you will nail it.
Talk the talk- Every field has jargon, and though you don’t want to overdo it by speaking only in platitudes, you want to make sure you show that you know the jargon. Make sure to drop a couple words here and there, to subtly show that you know what really goes on in the field.
Tell stories- Don’t just talk about how much you know, talk about how you used that knowledge to create change in previous jobs. Talk about how you grew departments, or increased sales, etc. Providing evidence of how you put your knowledge to work will go a long way.
Ask away- A thoughtful question can be more telling than a thoughtful answer. If you ask a question that only someone in your field would think to ask, it will seal the deal in terms of proving your knowledge. Before every interview write out a number of questions that show your knowledge of your field, and are specific to the company interviewing you. Do this and you will stand out as outstanding in your field.
Knowing is, of course, only half the battle. In our case the other half is showing that you know. Follow these tips and you will amaze the world with your knowledge!