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When designing your resume, are you showcasing your skills to their full advantage? Using a skills-based resume can definitely put you ahead of the game, if you focus on these three types of skills: job-related, transferable, and adaptive.

First, focus on skills you’ve learned on the job. These will be skills you learned in one position that you can use in the job you’re applying for. Examples would be specific mechanical skills, financial planning, or using an industry specific computer program. Unfortunately, this is where most people stop. They fail to utilize all the resources they’ve learned. This can be used to your advantage!

Secondly, focus on transferable skills. These are the skills you’ve learned in one field or job, but can be transferred to the job you’re applying for. If you’ve worked in an office setting, for example, skill such as filing, research, and general computer use are transferable to any job that they can be used. Transferable skills are general in nature, but still essential. Be sure to include them on your resume.

Next, you can focus on adaptive skills. Examples of adaptive skills are timeliness, reliability, and good interpersonal skills. Productivity is another great adaptive skill, and it may be possible to provide examples to substantiate this one. People sometime forget to include statements such as “Arrived to work daily in a timely manner” on their resume, but often employers are looking for just such skills.

Focus on these three skill sets when designing your resume, and you’re sure to stand out from the crowd!