How to Get Your Ideal Job by Matching Your Skills to the Job Skills Required

Your successful job search could come down to a simple but often overlooked step: matching your CV to the job skills required by the employer. The following is a story about the right and wrong ways to do it.

A Modern Fairy Tale

Fashionable Harriet was hired as an assistant editor by PICK magazine but her editorial skills were abysmal. So she got her flatmate Ella to do much of her work secretly for her. At first Harriet's editor was very impressed with what he thought was her creativity.

However, he soon discovered that Harriet didn't have the job skills required for the position. She was fired and the editor resolved to search for the next candidate online, this time demanding proof of his or her skills. That's when he found Ella's iProfile CV and asked for writing samples. Her work demonstrated that she possessed all the job skills required by PICK. He hired her and they worked together... happily ever after!

What are these?

What are these?

Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to store, search and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet. Users save links to web pages that they want to remember and/or share.

That's not too far-fetched a fable when it comes to the importance of meeting the job skills required by a prospective employer. However appealing or polished candidates may appear on the surface, if they are unable to supply the core job skills required by the position then the match is doomed from the start.

It's essential, therefore, that job seekers include a candid and detailed account of their experience so the employer can determine if they can satisfy the job skills required.

Details Do Matter

To create an effective iProfile CV, be sure to complete the Skills & Competencies section detailing your experience, proficiency level, and a clear description of each skill. This gives prospective employers vital information on whether you have the necessary requirements for a given post or not.

The Key Skills indicator in this section allows you to emphasise your most important skills. You can even customise the skills list as needed; new headings may be added later to the Global iProfile Skills & Competencies Dictionary.

Specific and Common Job Skills Required by the Marketplace

Some jobs call for particular domain knowledge and the skills required are clearly defined. For instance, the job skills required of a financial analyst or software programmer may include business/accounting degrees or knowledge of a specialised software platform.

However, there are common job skills required across a range of industries and positions. For example, general computer skills, basic math, and good communication are necessary in roles as diverse as market researcher, office manager, or retail sales.

Career Makeover

Many job seekers ignore the fact that job skills required by the market tend to change in response to trends and conditions. Twenty years ago, most graduates had few computer skills but today those same grads cannot be hired unless they possess the job skills required of today's more technically advanced workforce.

Word processing has overtaken carbon copies and typewriters, and graphics software has all but eliminated manual design. The ever-increasing complexity of applications demands that smart workers stay abreast of the job skills required in their fields.

Taking courses in new technology, attending seminars or workshops, networking with mentors and experts, and pursuing supplementary academic degrees are all excellent ways of mastering the requirements to advance your career.

Using Skills as Job Search Tools

Once you've assessed, listed, and updated your skills, you can execute rapid job searches with surgical precision using iProfile's My Next Job tools. It allows you to search millions of job listings by entering keywords contained in the Skills section of your CV. This enables you to search by the specific job skills required by employers, thereby increasing your chances of finding a perfect match.

You can also register with recruitment agencies and/or job boards, set your job search status, and share your iProfile CV with prospective employers, all at the touch of a button. Now that's a fairy tale option!

For more tips on how to match the job skills required by a prospective employer to your own background and experience, explore iProfile's Career Advice Section.