Preparing an answer to “what skills would you bring to the job?

Interview Preparation Technology
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Showing up to an interview equipped with an impressive response to this question depends on your understanding of what the potential employer is seeking in an employee. Certain transferable skills are handier than others in particular jobs. Some soft skills are critical to being successful in a position and an interviewer is looking for these exact characteristics.

Take the following steps into consideration, pre-interview, to form the most complete answer to this question.

Read the job posting again. When a company puts out a call for an open position, they often leave clues in the posting that alludes to the qualities they’re looking for in a candidate.

While some organizations might come right out and state the specific soft skills they want in an applicant, many won’t. You’ll need to read between the lines to understand what qualities you should highlight during an interview.

If a job-posting is cryptic and you’re at a loss for what soft skills the employer values, do some research into the company itself.

An organization’s website often explains its values and goals, which can help you get a better sense of what transferable skills are most sought after in their employees.

Get familiar with important soft skills for the industry. Another way that you can prepare for answering this question is by digging into which soft skills are most important for the field you’re interviewing in.

Even though the point of transferable skills is that they’re useful in any industry, some jobs rely more strongly on particular attributes in their employees.

Some common examples of industries and their crucial soft skills include:

Active listening and communication in sales

Adaptability and empathy in healthcare

Problem-solving and patience in customer service

Think about the industry you’re interviewing in and what skills are the most helpful to accomplish the job well.

Choose qualities that match your professional style. While strategically choosing transferable skills to discuss is important in catching an interviewer’s attention, always respond with qualities that best reflect your personality and habits.

Telling a hiring manager that you work well under pressure, only to disprove this by getting stressed out in your first week, leads to a tense situation.

There is an array of soft qualities that are enticing to an interviewer in a particular field, so pick one that matches your character. When it comes down to it, being authentic about who you are in an interview is more important than saying the right thing.