Marketing the Skills of an Entry Level Jobseeker

@NYTMinusContext is a kind-of-funny, kind-of-quirky Twitter account that consists of tweets exactly like their handle suggests: quotes from New York Times articles…minus context.
One posted recently reads: “Great Intentions and no skills”

While the quote was from an article about animal advocacy and entirely unrelated to business and recruitment, “Great intentions and no skills” is a theme I see among my fellow entry-level, inexperienced contemporaries all the time. More often than not, some of us get stuck in a rut where we want a job, but just don’t think we have what it takes to make the cut.

I’ve witnessed my contemporaries get asked a seemingly simple question: “What are your skills?” The response is either “I don’t have any”…or even worse…”I don’t know.”

From one entry-level millennial to another — being skilled means a lot of things, and your strongest skills are most likely those you gained, learned, used and perfected in school.

Here are some of the skills you’ve been working on all along:

• All those class presentations you made? Public speaking.
• The group projects you always dreaded? Teamwork.
• The papers you wrote until 4 a.m.? Microsoft Office.
• The tweets you sent about your dire need for late night pizza? Social media.
• The clubs and activities you fit into your busy schedule? Time management.
  …The list goes on.

You don’t even have to go to school to acquire these skills — and not everyone’s degree is relevant to their career path.

The thing about Generation Y is that we were the first to have technology surrounding us our whole lives.

So while using computer programs and technology is something that seems so obvious to us, they’re actually skills that companies not only look for, but desperately need in the workplace.

If you’re still not confident in your skill set, be the candidate that goes out of their way to get the job. Kate Winslet appeared on the Late Show with Seth Meyers on the 14th, the day after I read “Great Intentions and No Skills”. She talked about the lengths she went to to get the part of Joanna in the Steve Jobs movie.

“I called my husband at work and I said ‘Get me three wigs: one short length, one medium length, one long. We’ll Google the woman, we’ll find out what she looked like and we’re just gonna do this thing!’ It worked, I tell you! If you want to go for something, go for it. No Ego. Go for it.”

No one is denying that taking an inventory of your own skill set is difficult. The problem with “I’m not skilled” and “I don’t know my skills” is you’re diminishing or ignoring the very valuable skills you possess, and you’re limiting yourself.

Entry-level employees are limited enough, so do yourself a favor,and just go for it; Get the wig.

Posted October 26th, 2015 by Catherine Clark & filed under Career Growth, Interview Tips.