What Are Your Qualifications?

When someone is updating their resume in preparation for a job search (or during a job search), they sometimes struggle with figuring out what the should put in the "Qualifications" section.  An aside: do you have a Qualifications section in your resume?  You should!

There are a couple of sources that can be helpful in figuring out what should go there.

1. Look at your previous jobs and find the common skills that you needed to perform the job well.  Even though you may have been in different types of positions, you will find there are some commonalities such as organizational skills and communication skills.
2. Look at job postings for the type of position you are interested in.  What kinds of things do they list as "requirements?"  These are things that you should highlight by putting them in your Qualifications section.

Identify your top 5-7 qualifications.  The ones that should fall in the top are things that you feel very skilled at (and have examples to back you up) and/or the ones that are commonly asked for in job postings.

For each of your qualifications, right a statement about it that includes an example of your skill with that qualification.  For example: "Excellent organization skills as evidenced by consistent on-time reporting."

Your Qualifications section should go at the top of your resume so the employer sees right away that you have the skill set they are looking for.

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Laura Allan, MA, LMHC, CPC  LinkedIn
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