Employment Skills - Importance of Skills on Job Interview

Importance Of Skills Emphasis On

Job Interviews

Skill emphasis during the interview is important to show the employer what makes you different from all the other job candidates. In this competitive world, companies search for the most qualified employees by weighing skills of the candidates and determining how they would benefit the company.

Majority of the top companies search for employers who stands out based from their expertise, ability to give new developments, and pleasing personalities that would enhance the organization.

Skills are grouped into three kinds - knowledge-based, transferable, and personal traits.

Knowledge-based skills are those learned from experiences. These may include educational attainment, additional training, seminars attended, and other practices that you have studied to enhance your expertise.

Knowledge-based skills include computer and communication skills, marketing or managerial knowledge, product development, and many more. These skills vary depending on the field of industry of each job candidate.

Transferable or portable skills are those you bring to a specific job. This is the reason why interviewers ask, "What could you offer the company?" Transferable skills are important because companies strive to look for quality employees that would improve the development of the workforce.

Portable skills include problem solving, team leader potential, organized, writing and communication skills, customer service oriented, time and project management, and good with numbers and budget. This kind of skills varies depending on the experience and versatility of each job candidate.

Personal traits determine who you are. In a job interview, one of the most common things an employer says is "Tell me something about yourself." Your response is vital because it would set the tone for the rest of the interview.

Personal traits include good judgment, well organized, analytical, goal oriented, flexible, creative and many more. Try to sell yourself in as modest as possible within a limited time.

Self-assessment. In order to provide an impressive presentation, examine your resume and list all the skills you have used for each past job experience. Make a comprehensive list of your skills and strengths including personal traits, knowledge-based and transferable skills. This would be the basis for your personal commercial.

Once you have completed your script, you are now ready to face the interviewer. Remember that employers are interested in your accomplishments. Use words that are concise, direct and clear.

Although many companies require a unique set of skills, you should still highlight your technical skills in the interview. These skills, which top companies usually seek, include leadership, communication, confidence, flexibility, problem solving and energy.

Emphasizing all of your strengths and skills on job interviews would increase your chances of landing the desired job.

Job Interview Anxiety

For many people, the very thought of a job interview can cause an attack of the nerves: butterflies in the stomach, dry mouth, and weak knees. Sometimes, the thought of a job interview can even trigger a panic attack. If this happens to you, you might be interested in some tips on using hypnosis for job interview anxiety.

If the thought of a job interview makes you nervous, you have what is called anticipatory anxiety, and it is very common. Many people have it over all sorts of situations. You need to try to relax and calm down, and there are several ways to do this.

First, make sure you are completely prepared for the interview, down to the fine detail of knowing exactly how to travel to the interview and contingencies in case of being delayed. Have your clothes picked out, any materials you are bringing ready, and make sure you get a good night's sleep beforehand. Also remember that life goes on after the interview, so try to keep it all in perspective. Even if you don't get the job, you will have learned something worthwhile from the experience which you can improve upon in your next interview.

You should also practice some deep breathing exercises, breathing from the diaphragm and not your chest. This will trigger a relaxation response that will soon become second nature to you - it's called 7-11 breathing. You breath in for a count of 7, and out for a count of 11 and repeat this slow, deep breathing for a few minutes until your body quiets down. This forces your body to move out of the 'fight or flight' state, into a more useful, calmer state.

Now, if you do all of these things and you still feel nervous, you might want to consider using hypnosis for your job interview anxiety. Hypnosis is really no more than a way to get into a deeply relaxed state, during which you are able to access your unconscious mind, where your fears and anxiety are stored. You will be able to replace any negative thoughts you are having about your job interview with positive thoughts. For example, you can practice hearing you talk confidently, and answer tricky questions without being flustered. As a result, you will find that your anxiety over the interview is greatly relieved, and you'll go into your interview with an abundance of energy and confidence you can give it your best.

Job Interview Dressing Tips

It's time to head for the interview and you have one question. What is the job interview dressing code? Yes. Everyone has that same doubt. Should you be too formal? Should you just be yourself? Should you portray yourself as a happy-go-lucky character and dress as you please? Ear rings, nose rings, tattoos and other stuff that has been your style statement ?should they come off? Would you make more of an impression if you stood out from the rest of the crowd? Yes. These are some questions that plague many people. Dressing for the interview is a big issue and many get stuck at this critical area.

The answer is actually quite simple. The job interview being a formal meeting between people who are assessing each other's capability and "fit" to work together in a professional environment, the dress code must obviously tilt to the formal. Prepare for it with all the seriousness it requires because you need to create an impression on the employers that you are a serious, responsible and resourceful kind of a person. Now that means that the casual look or the worn out look is out. It means that the conservative look is what you need to work at. Even if you were going for an interview as an odd job man or a part time summer job, it will surely make a difference if you go to the interview dressed formally. One rule that most human resource people advocate is that one must dress as if one is going to the interview of a job one notch higher than what one actually is.

The point of packaging yourself well is to leave behind an impression of your personality. Nothing does as much as the clothes you wear, the perfume you wear and the colors you wear. With conservative colors and clothes you are in the safe zone with most people whereas a daring fashionable look could just disqualify you for too much attitude of the wrong kind. Some of the things that are to be avoided are too much jewelry, bright colored clothes, nail polish, bad nails, skirts that are too short and clothes that are too tight, accessories that are too colorful or floral, inappropriate shoes, bare legs, collarless shirts etc. They just go to prove that you do not really care about the job and all you are worried is about your attitude, which may not be a great advertisement for someone who is looking for a congenial colleague.

Now what is it that you must wear? Colors that score in conservatism are the traditional blue and gray. Blacks and browns are fine as well but score lower than blue and gray. Whatever the job is remember organizations do want disciplined, professional, responsible people in their jobs and it is best that you reflect that in your attire and attitude. Sober colored collared shirts, tie and jacket (if dress code is casual you could ignore the tie).

If you are still unsure, it does make sense to call and ask beforehand what the dress code is and then dress appropriately. Good luck and make a good impression!