You Gotta Have Skills

…and know how to talk about them

I learned this over the past year as I tried to break into tech without a tech background.

There are plenty of stories of unconventional hires and creative titles that are shared and celebrated. But I found that anywhere I interviewed, a nice smile and positive attitude were not going to get me a job.

Here’s the Secret:

People Have Shit to Do, and You Need to Tell Them How You Can Help Do It.

It’s true (in my experience) that people who hire in tech and startups are more open-minded about roles and experience than most companies. A person who helped run a summer camp could be hired to work with the visual marketing team at a fast-growing company (oh wait, that’s me).

But my current gig happened after several failed interviews and applications, where I thought an upbeat essay and high-minded ideals would be enough.

That didn’t work because for many companies, your attitude and ideals have to be backed with serious skills that help the company get to the top.

I learned some important lessons on what makes interviews and pitches a lot more successful, and I want to share them with you. These can be used for any job you apply for, or any company you want to pitch your service to (especially freelancers).

Things I Said Before That Didn’t Work (avoid them)

• General Statements: “I worked on the marketing team”, “I’ve been freelancing”, or “I have lots of skills”.
• Unprovable Claims: “I’m a hard worker” or “I’m very creative”.
• Saying too Many Things: Answer the question and stop talking. I tend to ramble and add too many details. Make your point and shut up.

What You Should Say Instead

• Share Specific Projects and Goals: Let them know one or two projects that you’ve been a part of and what the result was. If the job is in marketing, talk about a specific campaign you were a part of. If it’s training, describe your methods and what happened after implementation.
• Have a Plan for the Job You Want: Stop telling people you’re a hard worker. No one can prove or deny it in the application process, including you. Instead, do this. Research the company like it’s your final thesis and know how your skills match their needs. Then, give the interviewer a plan for how you will help the company reach their goals. That’s showing hard work, not just saying it.
• Be Honest: I’m not very good at this, and I don’t think many of us are when it comes to job hunting. I craft my answers on what they need to hear, and believe I can fill in the gaps later. One of my biggest strengths is the ability to learn quickly, but it can also get me in trouble when I’m dishonest about my current skill set.

When you’re on the hunt and trying to make a name for yourself in tech (or the general internets), don’t make my mistakes. Do the research to learn if the company is truly a fit for your skills (not just your smile), and then present a specific plan for how you will execute in that role.

People make decisions on how they can have more freedom, money, or time. Your entire pitch/interview should be based on how you can help that person get more of what they want. Then all you have to do is show how your skills will make the plan a reality.

Great, so how do you do this?

The best way I’ve found to do this is by creating a small sample of work specifically for the company I want to work with.

My primary skills are in visual marketing and education, so I create a small sample they can review. It could be a short video, custom image packs, or sketches of their product/service.

I’ll send these examples to the Hiring Manager and post on social media, tagging other influencers like the Founder, Creative Director, Marketing Head, etc.

Then I create a plan with these samples as a starting point, and show how it will help the company achieve their main goal.

This way I’m showing my skills, initiative, and work ethic in a tangible way, and not just relying on a positive attitude and industry buzzwords.

In essence, be very specific (and honest) about your skills, experience, and capabilities. Have a plan for how you are going to help the company achieve the goals, which can only be achieved with your unique set of skills and experience.

Oh, and don’t forget to smile :)