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Taking Your Transferable Skills to the Interview

During these uncertain economic times, many workers may find themselves looking at job opportunities that do not fit their expertise...exactly. What many workers do not realize is that although they may not have an exact skills set to fit a job description to a "T", they may have enough to give them the leverage to be hired.

I came across this great article that outlines how employees should market their transferable skills during an interview. It offers advice about how to position your skills to interviewers and show your qualifications for the job.

What's important to remember is to prepare for your interview. You should always prepare ahead of time for any interview, but when you are entering into a situation where you may need to "sell" your skills a little more than usual, preparation is the key.

This is also an opportunity to gain additional experience that you may not have. So emphasize your desire to learn while pointing out the fact that you have the skills necessary to contribute to the company.

Keep in mind that you may also have skills that are unique to the position, or even unique to the company. So during your preparation, make a mental note of your unique skills, such as foreign language or experience organizing affinity groups.

So don't shy away from job opportunities just because you may not have all of the skills outlined in the job description. You may just have the perfect skills to compliment the responsibilities of the position.

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Filed under: Hot Topics, Job Search Guidance, Steve Wajda

Posted by Steve Wajda on March 16, 2009 at 11:57 AM

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Comments

I would definitely agree with this post. I think that a lot of skills one learns from previous jobs can be helpful for any job even if it is not the exact skills that they will be using at their next job. It is important to relate how those skills will be helpful for your next job.

Posted by Julie on March 16, 2009 11:23 PM

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