How to Let Your Skills Guide Your Job Search

Identifying your soft, hard, and transferable skills is just one step during a job search. Leading with those skills to find jobs can boost the process too. Be intentional about the job you want, incorporate your skills into your resume, LinkedIn profile, and cover letter, and mention your skills when you network.?

By Brandi Fowler

Some job seekers start job searches by strengthening their resumes and then looking for jobs they want.?

But, it can also be advantageous to begin the process by identifying your soft skills, hard skills , and transferable skills and focusing on jobs that match them.?

“It can take the pressure off of the title and sometimes the intimidation,” said career coach and The Grio contributor Letisha Bereola . “Especially for women and people of color, the intimidation we face sometimes when we see big job titles at a big company turns people away. They don't have seven to 10 years experience, so they just flip onto the next job post.?

“It's beneficial to lean into the skills and look at what the skills are required first. Because we're hearing that's where companies are shifting to, that's what managers and leaders are looking for. So, it would behoove us to start moving away from experience and job title and go straight [to skills] first. A lot of the skills that we have cross over to industries we probably have never considered before.”

Start by being intentional about the job you want.?

“[Instead of] just looking at a job description and trying to fit [yourself] into it, [focus] on the value you can bring,” said CEO of LBF Strategies Lisa Frank . “What are the components of a role, what's the value that you can bring to an organization, and how might that align with some of the voids that they're feeling?”?

“How can using keywords and having a good sense of your own criteria help identify opportunities that align with you, as opposed to just trying to use titles in a job search that you think that you would fall under? [Use] different components, skills, and culture fit to lead your searching on the list.”

You can help set yourself apart by highlighting your skills in your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.?

Identify Your Soft, Hard, and Transferable Skills to Guide Your Job Search?

Start by defining your skills, and break them down into soft, hard, and transferable skills .?

Soft skills are interpersonal skills that give us the ability to get things done, and hard skills are quantifiable and teachable, according to LinkedIn News . Transferable skills are skills that can transfer from one industry to another.?

According to Linkedin News , the top transferable skills are creativity, critical thinking, communication, leadership, research, teamwork and technical skills. Those are a combination of hard and soft skills.?

Scrutinize your skillset quarterly, Bereola said.?

“We should be looking at what type of skills we picked up over the last couple months, what are the skills we use the most, and what are our top tier skills that we've carried with us throughout our professional careers?” Bereola said. “The best place to start is looking across the breadth of your experience, your professional career from the beginning, and start listing. It could just be a simple list of all the skills that you've picked up over time.”?

Also, stay abreast of new skills you might need and don’t hesitate to upskill, Bereola said.?

“Brush up on what it takes to be a leader at one of the top-tier companies, what it takes to land that tech role that lots of people are flocking to right now,” Bereola said. “Prepare in advance. [If you know that in the near future you want to take some kind of pivot in your career, move into a new industry, start looking now to see what you need to pick up.”?

Some companies offer free courses, or allow you to shadow someone in a different department, Bereola said.?

Be specific when you pinpoint your skills and strengths, Frank said.?

“I think when people [identify their skills] they do it in a vague way,” Frank said. “It’s like, ‘I'm a good communicator,’ or, ‘I'm a people person.’ That is not enough. Give an example of how you're a good communicator. Are you a good writer? Are you a public speaker? Are you somebody that does really well in one-on-one management? Give me an example of that.

“Being intentional is important, but talk about your experience in a more detailed way for a hiring manager based on hard examples around your skills and strengths. That's really how hiring managers start to understand how you can connect the dots, how you align with an opportunity.”?

You can also use a skills assessment tool to help identify your strengths and weaknesses, said executive coach Ron Kardashian .

Use Your Skills to Match Keywords to Guide Your Job Search

After you identify your skills and strengths, determine what you want to take with you, leave behind, and where gaps exist, Frank said.?

Use the skills you keep as your keywords. That way, you can start looking at opportunities not just based on a job description title, Frank said.?

“For example, a marketing director or marketing manager can mean a lot of different things,” Frank said. “In some environments it means sales, and in some environments it means digital marketing, so It could mean so many different things. So, use those skills as keywords.

“Combining the keywords helps to bring up different job opportunities that you may never have considered because you didn't use the title as your job description. And also, as you talk about yourself in networking situations and you say to somebody, ‘I'm looking for a role where I can do these three to five things,’ that's really where a hiring manager or somebody who's looking for talent in a company can say, ‘Oh, those are the things that you do? I could see you really plugging into this department.’”

Next, plug those skills and keywords into your job search materials, including your cover letter.

“You want to grip them with something very captivating [in your cover letter],” Kardashian said. “Expose a little bit of your heart and soul. Let people see the human side of you that's very real and relatable. Because you never know, on the other side of that may be someone who actually needs your help.”

That can help show off your soft skills, too, such as nurturance, stability, contentment, and self-confidence, Kardashian said.?

Use Your Skills When You Network to Let Your Skills Guide Your Job Search

You can not only boost your chances of landing a job when you know your skills, but when you use them in networking too.?

“This is where LinkedIn can be really, really awesome,” Bereola said. “Let's say you are in the phase of looking for a job right now. There's nothing more valuable than talking to someone who's already in that role or department to give you a real-life human response to what that job entails.?

“Job descriptions are great, the list of skills is great, but if you can network and connect with someone [it can be valuable]. [Tap] your network or have courage to utilize LinkedIn and reach out to other networks, because if you can get that person talking to you about the skills they have that got them further in their career, that really stands out when you apply to the company. There's nothing more valuable than a real live person who's willing to give you some insight on what skills you need to be successful.”

Top Takeaways

How to Let Your Skills Guide Your Job Search

• Identify your soft, hard, and transferable skills.?
• Be intentional about the job you want and ensure the company’s values match yours and your soft skills.?
• Scrutinize your skillset often and upskill when needed.?
• Lead with your skills as you network too.