Hallie was honored to be featured in a recent eFinancial article about how to spin your experience to get a job you’re not exactly qualified for on paper. As a follow up to this article, we wanted to share some additional tips with you.
While you cannot lie on your resume, you do want to “sell” your experience to a possible employer more than you would in a typical conversation with a friend, for example. That is what a resume is for. To do so in a job you aren’t exactly qualified for:
- Identify the ways you have used the skills the job position asks for previously, even if it’s not something you do regularly or if you haven’t used those skills in the industry you’re applying for. Remember the concept of transferable skills. If you’ve done something in one area, you can most likely do the same thing in another area or field.
- Ask yourself if there any measurable results that you can show either on your resume or in your interview to show that you would do a good job in the particular position.
Another thing to keep in mind is that employer’s highly value soft skills over hard skills. Hard skills (perhaps a skill set that this job requires that you don’t exactly have) can be taught, but soft skills (such as a hard work ethic, getting along with others, etc.) can not be taught. So make sure to include the soft skills you possess that would make you a great fit for the job position on your resume.
