Here’s how to highlight your skills and stand out from other job seekers

Topics

• Competence development
• Job seeking
• Member benefit

How can you identify your skills and describe them in a way that sets you apart from other job seekers? And what should you do if it’s hard to pinpoint your skills and your descriptions feel like clichés? Read the advice from psychologist and coach Hanna Siefen.

For many people, identifying their own skills becomes a key issue during the job search. For example, articulating one’s skills and strengths in a resume or job application is essential.

“It is also important to understand what skills you possess in terms of professional development and making the most of your abilities. Without that, it’s easy to feel inadequate, fear failure, and experience a decline in professional self-esteem,” says Hanna Siefen.

She explains that recognizing one’s skills strengthens our self-image, professional self-esteem, and well-being.

“Our peace of mind is supported by the fact that we know what we’re capable of and what we’re in control of.”

On the other hand, the reverse is also true: our well-being influences how well we recognize our skills and how we view ourselves and our abilities in general.

“For example, when we’re stressed or exhausted, we see more threats and negativity is amplified. At such times, we also view our own competence more critically and narrowly,” says Siefen.

The key lies in the balance between competence and learning – that is, between existing skills and new challenges. We need both a sense of control and new, motivating challenges.

Why can it be difficult to identify one’s skills?

Many of us know that we have a wide range of skills. In practice, everything we do helps develop our skills. But when it comes to putting that expertise into words, the situation is often more difficult: we may not fully grasp what skills we possess, or we may struggle to find the right words.

“A large part of our expertise is tacit knowledge. It shows in our actions, but we don’t necessarily actively realize that we’re using it to help us. Tacit knowledge accumulates little by little,” says Hanna Siefen.

Underestimating one’s skills is common among job seekers

It is particularly common for job seekers to underestimate their own skills. Factors that contribute to underestimating one’s skills include:

• Social comparison. When there are no actual metrics or standards, we often compare ourselves to others.

• Self-criticism. Self-criticism helps us stay motivated, achieve goals, and learn from mistakes. However, excessive self-criticism can make it difficult to recognize and appreciate our existing skills.

• Imposter syndrome. Someone suffering from imposter syndrome believes that their achievements are due to good luck or timing, or that they have simply tricked others into thinking they are more capable than they really are. The person may experience constant insecurity, anxiety, and fear of being exposed as incompetent. 

“In these situations, simply talking to someone can often help. It could be a colleague, a friend, or a family member. The most important thing is to be able to openly share your thoughts,” advises Siefen.

We may also overestimate our abilities

In addition to underestimating ourselves, we may sometimes also overestimate our abilities. However, this is not as common.

“Overestimation may stem, for example, from the fact that we are unaware of the gaps in our own knowledge, leading us to imagine that we are more skilled and knowledgeable than we actually are.”

We tend to believe most strongly in what reinforces our views

Recognizing expertise is further complicated by what is known as the confirmation bias.

“Human perception is limited, and a large portion of information goes unnoticed. In confirmation bias, our brains quickly form patterns and seek confirmation for the ideas we believe to be correct or familiar.”

In practice, confirmation bias or selective thinking manifests itself, for example, in the way we focus on feedback that aligns with our own views or perspectives. Similarly, we may have a strong preconception about what kind of work suits us. This can sometimes make our job search unnecessarily narrow, among other things.

Identifying competencies through reflection and feedback

Each of us possesses diverse and comprehensive competencies. Break down your competencies into smaller parts as you begin to understand what they consist of. It’s also a good idea to break down individual substantive or meta-skills into smaller parts.

• Substantive or professional expertise
• Education, work experience, technical skills, methods
• Meta-skills
• Personal strengths and abilities (distinctive ways of thinking, interaction style, problem-solving and learning abilities)
• Contextual skills (ability to operate in a specific environment)
• Networks
• Motivation
• Personality

 
“Avoid clichés when searching for the right words to describe your skills and strengths in your resume or job application. Strive to genuinely identify words that describe you and your situation,” advises Hanna Siefen.

Don’t hesitate to ask for feedback!

Feedback can be a great and effective way to identify your strengths. It can also help you combat “imposter syndrome” and build your self-confidence.

“Through feedback, we gain new perspectives that we might not have noticed on our own. So don’t hesitate to ask for feedback.”

Start by asking, for example:

• How would you describe me?
• What do you consider my strengths to be?
• What kind of skills do you see in me?
• In what kinds of situations have you seen me at my best?
• Where could I improve?

Also ask for more details. Why are you good at something, or why are you at your best in a certain situation?

Feedback is always dependent on the person and the situation. Therefore, consider who is worth listening to. What kind of experience does the person giving feedback have with the matter or with you? And what kind of motives might the person giving feedback have? Does the environment or situation influence the feedback in any way?

Tools for identifying your skills

What aspects of identifying your skills do you find particularly challenging? Start by reflecting on this question as you consider which tool to try. That way, you’ll be able to make the most of the tool or tools that are most helpful to you.

• Learning Journey Table: Identify your competencies and development through practical work tasks. What kinds of responsibilities have you had in different roles, and what kind of skills have been required of you? What successes have you experienced, and what have you accomplished? What did you like about the work, and what didn’t you like?
• Competency Map: Reflect on a single chosen work role to identify all the competencies you have needed or will need in that role. 
• Competency Traffic Lights: What is your level of competence in different subject areas? Where are you an expert, and where are you a beginner? What kind of skills will you need in the future?

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