As a Job Applicant What Makes You Different?

When creating a resume it's important to identify and include your personal strengths, attributes, and skills. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things.

Personal Strengths

Your natural talents or core qualities, things you tend to be good at without much effort or that come naturally over time. Examples:

• Resilience (bouncing back after setbacks)

• Empathy (understanding others easily)

• Determination (seeing things through)

• Optimism (keeping a positive outlook)

Key Idea: Strengths are innate tendencies or developed traits that make you excel in certain areas.

Personal Attributes

Your characteristics or personality traits, aspects of who you are as a person, not necessarily tied to job performance or learned ability. Examples:

• Honest

• Reliable

• Patient

• Detail-oriented

• Adaptable

Key Idea: Attributes describe who you are rather than what you can do.

Skills

Your learned abilities, things you have been trained in to perform effectively. Examples:

• Project Management

• Data analysis

• Public speaking

• Writing

• Coding

Key Idea: Skills are acquired through education, training, or experience. They can be improved and measured.

When assembled in a concise brand message (you are the brand) these three areas can establish your unique value-proposition (UVP), i.e., what makes you different and sets you apart form other job candidates.

Frank Manfre

Job Search Sherpa

#resumewriting

#valueproposition