Job selection
In this lesson, you will look at how to match your skills and competencies with job requirements.
One of the most important things you need to do before applying for a job is to match your own skills, competencies and experience to the requirements of the position.
Matching skills to job requirements is an essential step in the application process. Many applicants fail to do this correctly, and their applications are quickly rejected. This is a great blow to confidence, and confidence is a prerequisite when job-seeking.
What job are you currently applying for? How do your competencies and experience match the job requirements?
Ask your student if they are in the process of applying for a job. If so, ask them to share details of the position (the job listing would be extremely useful, if they have it).
If not, ask them this question: "When was the last time you had a job interview? Do you think you were well prepared for it?"
Elicit the efforts students made during the interview preparation period. If you think the student will feel comfortable revealing this information, ask them if they were successful. If they were not, ask why they think this was so. Was it a case of lacking the necessary qualifications, competencies or experience? If so, perhaps they went for the wrong job. This lesson is aimed at helping them to avoid this mistake.
Evaluating your skills
It's often necessary to give a personal evaluation of your skills and competencies. Here are some ways you can do this:
A. Positive evaluation
- My qualifications are directly relevant to the job.
- I have a lot of experience of… so...
- I'm very familiar with…
- My experience of… is exactly what the position requires.
- I'm a … kind of person, which is what the job demands.
- I'd say I’m quite good at…
- Overall, I think I'm well-suited for the position.
B. Weak evaluation
- My knowledge of… might be useful.
- I know a bit about…
- I have some experience of…
- My skill set is only indirectly relevant to what the job requires.
C. Negative evaluation
- I have no experience whatsoever at…
- I don't think my skills are particularly relevant to the job.
- I don't really have much knowledge of…
- I'm not really familiar with…
- All in all, I'm not sure I'm the person for the job.
- I don't really think this job is for me.
Justifying your decision
It's normally not enough simply to evaluate. It's important to justify your decision.
- … because…
- … since…
- … due to the fact that…
- … in view of the fact that…
- … by reason of...
- This is mainly because...
- In this way...
- I say this because...
- ... so...
- ... as a result...
The language given here is fairly complete. The main practice will be eliciting reasons for the student’s evaluation of their competencies and experience.
1. Look at the job listing that you are applying for.
Evaluate your own competencies and experience in relation to the requirements of the position. Use the evaluating and justifying language presented above.
OR
2. Look at the job advertisement below.
Evaluate your own competencies and experience in relation to the requirements of the position. Use the evaluating and justifying language presented above.
