How to Write a Resume Using Added-Value Skills to Sell Yourself to Employers

Cynthia Funkhouser, CPRW

The Heavy Diesel Truck Technician drafting his resume wonders whether to include sales skills learned in a position he once had working in a mall kiosk.

At the same time, an applicant for Store Manager puzzles over whether to highlight her administrative experience using Microsoft Office.

These candidates are asking very good questions. Knowing when and how to write a resume including these skills could give them the edge they need to stand out from the many others competing for interviews.

Some job seekers don’t believe word processing and spreadsheet skills belong on their resumes if they are not applying for administrative positions. However, examples of these value-added skills are in a wide sample of job listings retrieved recently through Indeed.com. In fact, Microsoft Office was listed among the hiring requirements in some listings for all of the following positions:

• Store Manager, Recruiting Specialist, Environmental Project Manager, Senior Staff Nurse, Investment Banking Analyst, Director of Development, Due Diligence Officer
  

Some might even speculate that companies can spend more to hire an employee when they don’t have to hire someone else to do the keyboarding.

Getting back to the Technician, if he’d wanted to stay in sales, he wouldn’t have gone for training to become a Heavy Truck Technician, right? Then again, showing off those old sales skills in his resume may do the trick. These job postings all stated a preference for candidates with upselling skills:

• Director of Marketing Analytics, Banquet Captain, Customer Care Representative, Front Desk Clerk, Heavy Truck Diesel Technician, Senior Project Manager, Executive Meeting Manager, Massage Therapist

After all, a Technician who sells can make more money for the company.

Maybe you’ve never had sales experience, but did you ever pitch in and learn to do a job that you weren’t hired to do? If so, then you were cross-trained, and you can consider yourself flexible. These qualities are valuable to employers because companies with flexible employees do not need to hire extra personnel who will sit idle when not working.

Positions requiring employees who were willing to be cross-trained included the following:

• Nutrition Assistant, Sales Representative, RN, Cash Management Specialist, Pharmacy Business Coordinator, Genetic Technologist, Imaging Center Coordinator, Buyer
  

We all know that customer service specialists need to understand how to sell and that salespeople benefit from knowledge of customer service. In seeking a position as Fraud Detection Specialist, though, would you think you’d want to mention customer service? As it happens, you certainly would, and here are examples of other positions requiring applicants with customer service strengths:

• Social Worker, Lab Medical Assistant, Senior Engineer, Clinical Education Specialist
  

What if the employers don’t mention the unique added-value skills that you have in their job postings? Don’t be afraid to include them in your resume or cover letter, but be sure to point out how your skills have added value for employers in the past with a hint that you could similarly benefit your new employer. In a job market where dozens of well-qualified candidates are applying for a single opening, knowing how to write a resume that incorporates added-value skills can help you make a good first impression.

About the Author: A career services professional who wins interviews for clients through targeted résumés, Cynthia gained an in-depth knowledge of hiring practices through conducting thousands of employer interviews for licensed vocational counselors. Combined with a background in technical editing, this knowledge of the job market has provided Cynthia with the expertise to write résumés for a broad range of candidates. Cynthia is certified as a professional résumé writer through the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches. You can reach Cynthia at http://www.resume-editor.com.