We all see this time and time again in job postings:
- Must have B2G experience to be considered.
- Deep B2B marketing experience in a technology company.
- 10+ years’ experience preferably in an enterprise focused B2B technology company.
- Minimum eight (8) years engineering in managing aerospace manufacturing operations.
- 5 years in Healthcare Services.
Before you get to the industry experience requirement, you’re thinking you’re well- qualified and that the posting was written directly to you. But then the hammer falls, your enthusiasm falters and you’re now going to the next job posting.
But, hold on a second. Should you reconsider that job posting if you thought it was written directly to you? You’re thinking that your experience matches up well. That their culture and values, as presented either in the job posting or on their website, matches up well with what’s important to you. And, maybe you know someone who works there or someone who knows someone who works there.
So, now you’re perplexed. Should you spend the next hour going through the application process, slightly adjusting your resume with the right keywords, and creating a cover letter that talks to the value you bring, etc.? Or, do you assume that, regardless, you’ll be kicked out of any review process because that one checkpoint, direct industry experience, is marked red.
(Author’s note: see below for a better solution to this.)
What are “Transferable Job Skills”
Before you give up, think about your transferrable skills and accomplishments. First place to start is to understand hard and soft transferable skills as that can guide you into thinking how to present your accomplishments and expertise.
• Hard Skills – These are the skills that you’ve applied time and time again to manage job-specific duties and responsibilities.
- Technical skills
- Computer skills
- Microsoft Office skills
- Analytical skills
- Marketing skills
- Presentation skills
- Management skills
- Proejct management skills
- Writing skills
- Language skills
- Design skills
- Certifications
You can go even further under any one of the above “hard” skills. For example, under “Analytic Skills,” you may very well be experienced with Research, Forecasting, Data mining, Data presentation, Resource management, Data engineering or more.
• Soft Skills – These are your traits, your personality, your abilities to contribute. This is the person who you are that is not job specific but which makes you an invaluable member of the company. Think integrity, team, work ethic, collaboration, organization, creativity, communication, leadership, problem solving, empathy.
What to do next
Now you can construct a resume by reading and re-reading the job posting and underlining the hard and soft skills directly noted or implied in the posting. Then, simply adjust your accomplishments using the hard and soft skills you’ve noted.
So, all of a sudden, while you may not have “5 years in Healthcare Services,” you can present, if the job posting references, for example, expertise in customer service, “Delivered +X% time management improvement in addressing customer service issues by instituting a collaborative team approach…”
Author’s note:
We know that filling job app after job app, even if you have the industry experience that is referenced in the posting, can be tiresome. It may also be a challenge to identify all the hard and soft skills that you offer. We can help expedite and efficiently reduce the time and effort in job applications, resume development and the like and get you connected to vetted recruiters. See more here.
At vCandidates.com we are changing the way career transitions happen by creating a positive connection between technology and the human touch.
We’re here to help. Reach out to us if you’d like to talk.
