The resume and cover letter are among the most important tools that help you land job interviews. Therefore, it is crucial to highlight your strengths convincingly in your resume and cover letter.
1. Assess Job Qualifications
Start by accurately assessing the job qualifications. Carefully review the job posting and similar job descriptions. Prepare a list of core skills, personal traits, areas of knowledge, and experiences that employers highly value.
2. Analyze Your Strengths
The next step is to analyze your strengths. Your strengths can be skills, areas of knowledge, personal qualities, and/or past experiences. Make a list of 10 strengths that enable you to perform the target role at a high level. Check off the points that align closely with the requirements of the job you wish to obtain. Confirm the points for which you can provide convincing evidence, focusing on the qualifications most relevant to you.
3. Include a Summary Statement in Your Resume
You can reinforce the strengths mentioned in your cover letter by preparing a summary statement at the top of your resume that highlights some of your key strengths. The body of the resume should provide more detailed evidence of how you applied your strengths in different roles to add value to the employer. Be sure to indicate how you utilized your strengths and the results you achieved in each role.
4. Include Core Strengths in the Cover Letter
Your cover letter should present your strengths to the employer and refer to your resume, portfolio, recommendations, and any other sources to prove your capabilities. Plan to mention six to eight core strengths from your list in your cover letter. You might consider using a lead statement in the first paragraph that mentions three or four of your key strengths to emphasize your capability to excel in that role. For example, a candidate applying for a sales position could say:
“My strong presentation and persuasion skills, along with my ability to close deals, have helped me excel in previous sales roles.”
In the following paragraphs, you should point to the evidence that supports the claims made in your lead statement.
5. Be Prepared to Discuss Your Strengths During Job Interviews
Remember that anything you say about your strengths in your resume and cover letter will raise questions during the interview. Ensure you are not exaggerating and are prepared to document and clarify any claims during the meeting. Here are examples of interview questions that may be asked:
– What is your biggest strength?
– How will your biggest strength help you perform?
– Which strength will help you most to succeed in this job?
To summarize the main idea: your qualifications should match the employer’s requirements, your core strengths should be highlighted in your cover letter, your skills should be linked to the results you’ve achieved, and be ready to discuss your strengths during job interviews.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/tips-for-including-strengths-in-a-resume-and-cover-letter-2063296
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