Beyond the Buzzwords How Do You Show Soft Skills on Your Resume

Beyond the Buzzwords How Do You Show Soft Skills on Your ResumeLast week I was reading through LinkedIns recent 2017 Global Trends Survey and was intrigued to see that 35% of recruiters stated soft skills assessment as one of the leading factors affecting future recruiting trends. With a mora competitive job market, employers are saying that culture fit and soft skills are becoming big game changers in the kontrolle and hiring process. With this in mind, the challenge then becomes how do you show and substantiate culture fit and soft skills on a resume? How do you go beyond the buzzwords to actually prove you possess the soft skills the company desires?LETS LOOK AT THE CHALLENGESbedrngnis Easily Proven First, lets address the fact that inserting a soft skill on a resume doesnt mean the person actually has a strength in that area. People can say theyre proactive, problem solvers, team players, and have excellent communication skillsbut it doesnt take long to figure out that not everyo ne actually possesses those soft skills.Does Not Play Well With ATS Second, employers arent hopping on their computers and searching for candidates with the terms detail-oriented, deadline-driven, or takes initiative.What the Employer Wants? Lets say you want to include a few soft skills interspersed throughout your resume. How do you know which ones are the most important and which the employer would value?THE SOLUTION TO PROOFThe burden of proof How do you solve the problem of proving you possess the soft skills you claim? I advise my clients to incorporate the related keyword within the context of an accomplishment that demonstrates that soft skill. An exampleRecovered $1,000,000 s-lost revenue through attention to detail and meticulous review of 750 client accounts. Notice how it includes attention to detail and meticulous? These are soft skills, but possessing them as a strength enabled this person to find a critical error resulting is recovering more than $1 million in previou sly lost revenue. Without her attention to detail she would have overlooked the hidden error. You can do the same with any soft skill that you possesssimply insert the soft skill within the context of the accomplishment.THE SOLUTION TO ATSIts true that employers arent searching for candidates by using soft skills as search terms. Theyre using industry-specific keywords and reviewing accomplishments. Two great alternatives to still ensure your soft skills are seen by employers who are assessing them are to include them on your cover letter and within your LinkedIn profile.On your cover letter Link the soft skills to culture fit. Theres a definite connection between soft skills and culture fit. What does the culture look like at the company? What do they value? Find the connection between your strengths and those values, and then point out that connection within your cover letter.Soft skills in your LinkedIn Profile One of the wonderful attributes of your LinkedIn profile is that it p rovides an additional avenue for employers to learn more about you. Thats exactly what theyll do too. Once theyve decided they want to learn more about you, the first place theyre going to go is to your LinkedIn profile. It offers more flexibility than the rigid targeting and focus that a resume requires to get through the screening process. Use the opportunity to incorporate a few soft skill strengths within your profile. Be selective and choose those that truly represent a strength you possess that you can validate, and share examples of results that those soft skills contributed to.BONUS TIP Ask a few colleagues to offer a recommendation focused specifically on one or two soft skills that you want to draw attention to. This is a great way to offer validation and PROOF that you possess those specific soft skills.FINDING OUT WHAT THE EMPLOYER REALLY WANTSSo, if soft skills are becoming an important factor in the hiring decision so much so that employers are seeking tools to assess them in candidates, and if its driving future recruiting trends, then you need to figure out what they want to see. My advice? Do your researchWHERE DO YOU GO?The position announcement The first and most obvious place to go is the job ad. Employers include culture values and desired soft skills in the position announcement. This is your first stop.Other job ads Find other positions the company has posted and review what the company has to say about what they offer employees. You can usually find great insight into culture fit, values, beliefs, and desired soft skills here.Use social media Check out the companys Facebook and LinkedIn profile to further research the companys culture and values. The more information you find, the better idea youll have about the soft skills they value in their employees.Company website Companies include information about their mission, beliefs, values, company culture, all on their website. Research here to find more information to help you choose the right soft skills.Company reviews I recommend visiting Glassdoor.com to find employee reviews of companies you want to target. The advantage here is twofold. You could find a wealth of information about the soft skills the employer wants, plus the culture and management style of the company. Great information to help you choose the right soft skills that align with your strengths. The other advantage is that based on these reviews youre going to have a better idea of whether you want to target that company or not.So weve addressed the three challenges with soft skills on a resume and in a job search and how to best tackle them. If youd like to see examples of soft skills in action here are several 2017 executive resume samples you can review for inspiration.If youre one of the 74% of people open to new opportunities this year, and youre searching for help with your resume, contact me on LinkedIn or visit my website to find help now.

How to Promote Yourself at Work

How to Promote Yourself at Work How to Shamelessly Self-Promote at WorkSometimes you have to toot your own horn.We all know that one rolle at work the one who never misses an opportunity to pump up his own work. Did you binnensee that I landed the Jennings account? Boom A braggart, a blowhard, and annoyingly successful. Meanwhile, you keep your head down, work hard, and keep the faith that your accomplishments will get elendiced and youll get the recognition you deserve.Unfortunately, unless youre hoping to build up a stash of karma points, youre not doing yourself any favors by keeping quiet. Like it or not, promoting yourself at work is a necessary part of your career. You dont have to be a blowhard like the Jennings account guy, but you do need to be able to let your co-workers and your anfhreres know what you do, what you excel in, and what you accomplish in your job.If youre not sure how to start, here are some tips to help you promote yourself at work without annoying your ent ire geschftszimmer.1. Change how you think about self-promotingIf the very idea of self-promotion makes you cringe, you need to change your perception entirely. You probably think it means bragging and pumping yourself up above others, but it doesnt have to be like that. In fact, it shouldnt be like that.First, accept self-promotion as a part of your career. Just like the tasks you do on a daily basis, promoting yourself is a necessity. Think of yourself as a great product you may be amazing, but if you dont advertise to the right crowd, no one will know. If you think its your boss job to take note of who is kicking butt and performing at a high level, youre kidding yourself. Your boss has a lot on his or her plate and a lot of employees to handle, and thus simply cant see everything that goes on. In that light, youre not bragging, youre simply keeping your boss in the loop. Simple, right?2. Understand your best skills and accomplishmentsThis may seem like one of those things that go without saying, but it really needs to be said. Before you can actively promote yourself within your work environment, you need to take note of what it is that you do best. Do you excel at training new employees? Have you developed new methods or procedures? Are you a deadline beater extraordinaire? Make a list of your strengths and then think about the successful projects that youve worked on. How did your skills help create that success?3. Focus on the projectsNow that youve done your personal inventory, its time to let your schreibstube know just how much you contribute. To make this easier, dont focus on yourself, but on the successful projects that youve been a part of recently. By providing updates at kollektiv meetings and commenting on the success of your projects, you can demonstrate your successes without hammering the team with I did this and I accomplished that. Instead of being boastful, youll come across as a team player who is only concerned about the success of th e company, but youll also make your part in things clearly known.RelatedHow to Successfully Track Your Work Wins Throughout the Year4. Share kudos with your teamVery few successes come from working alone. You probably had help, right? Take time to recognize those who helped make your accomplishments happen. Even if you have to dip into your own pocket to reward them with free lunch or a simple card, the benefits will outweigh the cost tremendously. Here are a few suggestionsGive your helpers recognition during an office meeting or even a private meeting with your boss. Youll come off as gracious, endear yourself to your team, and casually promote your success on that project.Have a party (even if its just a lunch date) to celebrate successes. Your team will love you for it and the rest of the office will notice.Not the team lead? No worries. Talk to the team lead to see how the project came out and give some kudos to those who helped you do your part. The team lead will notice your interest and your ability to notice the efforts of others.5. Make yourself an industry expertIf you are serious about building your career, youre probably already on LinkedIn and some other social media sites. Take the time to do more than just create a profile. Post blogs about your profession and share your insights. Welcome connections from others in your field. If you consistently pop up on other peoples screens as a resource of information in your field, youll quickly brand yourself as an industry expert. How cool is that?Are there people who you consistently see on your Linkedin or Twitter feed who are providing valuable tips and information? Dont just read their posts, comment on them and start dialogues. Then, create your own posts and add your name to the field. Its an easy task and, frankly, its kind of fun to get out there and discuss the tips and tricks that you have learned.Think your boss wont notice? Think again.6. Reach out to other departmentsIf you find yourself wi th a little downtime, even if its in the break room, talk with the people in your company who work in other departments. Try to get a feel for what they do well and where they may need a helping hand. If you are able to provide that help, youll quickly become a resource for that department and build a name for yourself outside of your own team.The bonus to this strategy is that youll also learn new skills while working with other departments, adding even more to your resume.7. Be ready for chit chatWhat does office chit chat have to do with self-promotion? Everything If you wind up at the coffee machine with your boss who says, Whats new? you may be inclined to blurt out the typical Nothing much.Opportunity wasted.Casual office conversations comprise a large percentage of the communication you have at work every day. Dont miss this opportunity to discuss a project that you are working on and how it will impact the company. Again, make sure to focus on the project and the team, not y ourself. Show your enthusiasm for the project and its potential. These little conversations serve to build a positive reputation for you throughout the office.Learning to promote yourself at work comes much more naturally to some people than others, and thats okay. The fact is that you need to think of it as another part of your job if you want to further your career. Does that mean you need to become the office braggart? Not at all. Just continue to find little ways to let your peers and your bosses know what youve been up to and how successful youve been. Its not bragging, its simply keeping them in the loop.When you learn to change the way you think about self-promoting, youll learn that its not as hard as you think. If all else fails, look at someone you admire in your office and pay attention to how they do it. Just like the skills you learned in school that trained you to be good at your job, the skill of self-promotion is essential for being successful in your career.Your res ume is another opportunity for self-promotion. Make sure youre doing it right with a free resume critique.Recommended Reading6 Ways to Impress Your baboHow to Brag on Your Resume Without Sounding Like a Jerk7 Questions to Ask Your Boss on a Regular BasisRelated Articles