Most people don’t know that knowledgable managers hire on the basis of personality, who someone is, rather than simply skills. Skills can be taught.
Most people also don’t know what it is about their personality that employers most value. That’s what I call their Unrecognized Skills.
Unrecognized Skills are skills that are so familiar that a person takes them for granted but not so employers, if you’re savy enough to point them out.
If you’re typical, what you’re most expert at is so familiar that you pay no attention to it. That’s what I call your Urecognized Skills.
Let me make that concrete by telling you a true story.
The other day, we had my wife’s best friend and ex-housemate, Mary, over to dinner. The conversation drifted to what was new in Mary’s life and she said, “I’m being considered for a new job, as a Vice President of a major network. Is there anything you know that would help me because the competition is fierce.”
So my wife and I told her about Unrecognized Skills and pointed out that her very top one was what I call “Connect-Ability,” the ability to instantly connect with people and be trusted.
She looked at us quite surprised, saying, “I just take that for granted.”
We pointed out that emphasizing that would give her a big edge in her job competition.
About a week later Mary called, saying, “I got the job. I emphasized my terrific Connect-Ability which seemed to crystallize things for them. I knew I had the job before I left the interview.”
Here’s how you can determine your top Unrecognized Skills. Just ask the people close to you, your relationship partner and your friends. Say, “What do you think are the things about me that you most value that I probably take for granted.” Write down what you get from each and home in on the ones that are repeated by several of them.
Then come up with examples where these Unrecognized Skills made a big positive difference in your work life.
The next time you apply for a job, emphasize those Unrecognized Skills in both your resume and your interview. You’ll probably be very pleasantly surprised by the outcome.
I know what I’m talking about because I’ve been CEO of over 100 companies.