Qualifications versus duties: Why knowing the difference matters

2012-03-23

Source From: MSN Careers

Some job seekers have problems selling their skills. They list their basic duties, which most job seekers have in common. You can stand out in a job search by positioning those skills so they set you apart.
Think of how asalespersonsells a car. He doesn’t tout the fact that the car has four wheels, windows and functioning lights, because you’d expect that from every car. Instead, he sells the unique points of the car — design, safety, mileage — all of which make the car appealing to a potential buyer.
Job seekers need to do the same when selling their qualifications. Instead of saying you’ve usedMicrosoft Excel, tell the employerhow you’ve solved problems or increased efficiency by 24 percent by creating a basic accounting process throughMicrosoft Excel.
Kyra Mancine, a professionalcopywriterwith a career development background, says a list of job responsibilities is her biggest reacutesumeacute pet peeve. quotThe key is to take a simple job duty and expand it to match the [job posting] with quantitative evidence of accomplishments,quot Mancine says. quotIt may take some thought and creativity, but it can be done for any job, no matter what the level. I don’t care if you’re asanitation worker,CEOorseamstress anyone can do this.quot
By adding numbers, statistics and adjectives applicable to the posting, job seekers can set themselves apart from others who have submitted more generic reacutesumeacutes.
How to quantify accomplishments
To give an example, here’s a real job posting froma banklooking for a call-center representative:

middot Serves as first-line response for incoming customer calls.​

middot Accurately and expediently answers inquiries from customers on all types of new and existing products and services, drawing on a detailed knowledge base of bank products, services, policies and procedures.​

middot Sells and cross-sells bank products and services to new and existing customers who have contacted the bank by telephone.​

middot Efficiently performs routine follow-up work and initiates requests for detailed follow-up work.​

middot Relies on excellent verbal and written communication skills to fulfill customer requests and to ensure customer satisfaction.​

If you’re applying for this job and all you’ve listed on your reacutesumeacute is that you answered phone calls in a call center, you’re probably not getting an interview, Mancine says.
Instead, Mancine suggests rewriting your reacutesumeacute to match the bullets listed in the job posting, quantifying your successes. Mancine shares this mock example of how an applicant could restructure her reacutesumeacute to address the posting above:

middot Primary call center contact for a high volume of customer service inquiries, ranging from orders to returns.

middot Successfully handled hundreds ofincoming consumer calls daily from across the country.

middot Received recognition for product upsells, resulting in a 5 percent increase in weekly sales.

middot Tapped into strong base of product knowledge on thousands of product SKUs, quickly and courteously relaying product information to existing and new customers.

middot Consistently acknowledged for speed, accuracy to details and follow-through on catalog requests, Web order processing, batches and data entry.

middot Committed to going above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction, resulting in being named quotEmployee of the Monthquot for June 2011.

Here’s another litmus test that can help determine if you’ve listed qualifications or just duties: Look at each bullet point on your reacutesumeacute and ask yourself, quotSo what?quot If you’re not impressed, why would a recruiter be?
Don’t neglect the cover letter
quotCover letters are most often left out or even sent as generic notes with reacutesumeacutes,quot says Tiffani Murray, a reacutesumeacute writer andcareer coach. She says that the cover letter is a great place to sell your personality and breathe life into your application.
quotIf a job posting specifically asks for a cover letter, this is a great opportunity to match up your skills and experiences with the requirements of the job,quot Murray says. quotMake sure to detail how you can perform the tasks of the job you are applying for, but also add to the company, team or overall business with your knowledge and success in similar roles.quot

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