Your Skills vs. Company Image

Question, is it more important to highlight your individual skills and what you can offer or is it more important to focus on who your employer is? This is often a very common problem I come across when interviewing individuals especially in the labor industries.

Employees tend to identify with their company rather then their individual position or skill sets. For example, when asked “what do you do”; I’ve been surprised that many people say they “work for Company X” as their first response. In the employment search, this can be a negative issue when trying to sell yourself.

Remember it this way; you are a commodity, a product, a skill the company is considering acquiring. It is all about how you market yourself, your packaging, your appeal to the customer (in this case, the customer is your next employer).

When writing your resume and during your interviews remember to talk about what “you” did for your previous employer(s), not what past or current your employer does. An easy way to start this transition during an interview is mention your past employer and what they did as it relates to your skill set. If you were an autoworker assembler, briefly tell your interviewer your past company produced XYZ products; then quickly transition into how you contributed on the production of those products.

From a resume approach, keep it direct and to the point. Mention the products you worked on, but make sure you expand on what you did. For example, if you installed auto wiring assemblies; mention “installed wire assemblies on Ford F150 Truck Series”. The next few lines should be exactly what you did and how you contributed. So, “Responsibilities include installing and verifying wire bundles installations, maintaining assembly line wire bundle stock, and supporting quality assurance with product inspections”, as an example.

Here is a little look into how people tend to “read” information. Basically, you’re telling a story on your resume. If you provide the reader with something they can relate to, in this case the company Ford and their line of F150 Trucks which is the end product, you have established a reference point for the items you will be discussing next. Keep this in mind when writing your resume. If you’re putting your experience in bullet form, the first bullet should mention the end product or service you performed in your work. Good Luck.

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