Core Competencies and Must Have Interviewing Skills

Employers today are very direct and particular about what their looking for and want from the people they hire. In an employer orientated job market, they can specify exactly the type of people they need, and be very choosey about who they select. In the vast majority of jobs (unless entry level or graduate roles), employers will be looking for candidates with prior experience performing the duties outlined in the job description

When deciding on a direction to take in your next interview, using our skills list can be a basic but valuable tool that will help you decide on what you want to say when asked about yourself, and can also help you compose your own content when preparing for your next interview. While the following list may not be exhaustive, it is a comprehensive one and will give you a good variety of different skills to use when asked to describe the great things about yourself in your next interview

Remember, when deciding on what skills and qualities to emphasise about yourself, always refer to the job description in the first instance. If you can’t get any information from there, visit the company’s website instead

What is the difference between a skill and a core competency?
Core competencies are formal definitions, normally listed on an interviewers assessment sheet and used to assess specific things they are looking for in your character, background, or experience, that they have deemed essential for performing the role – skills on the other hand are just general descriptions you can use to describe any of the skills or qualities you possess that may help you perform the role in the question. It’s important to note that skills (particularly hard or job specific) may overlap with some of the competencies that interviewers assess you on from time to time

As an applicant it can increase the challenge considerably if you know you can do the job but lack the necessary experience required, or have an equivalent amount of knowledge and expertise but in a different field or industry

From the viewpoint of an employer, insisting candidates have directly related skills ensures the best chance of hiring the right candidate for the job (although these policies potentially exclude plenty of other capable candidate’s as well). For an interviewer, hiring candidates with job specific skills, as opposed to candidates that might have plenty of experience but in non-directly related roles, provides the best chance of ensuring accountability on their behalf too – that’s why things like transferable skills are a tough sell, unless the employer has specified they will accept these (which only tends to happen in entry level type positions)

First, let’s look at the main skill types that employers focus on today:


Transferrable job skills
Transferrable job skills are skills that are categorized as being ubiquitous in one job field, but that can be readily applied to another industry or job role. These are skills that can also be instanced to from areas outside of work such as school, social clubs, voluntary activity, as well as any other activities and interests where you’ve utilised skills relevant to the role in question

The skills in this category are a bit weaker in terms of what they deliver from an interviewer’s perspective, and are mainly used by candidates to make themselves seem more appealing to employers. Transferrable skills can be applied to most jobs in almost any industry and regard the skills you have gained in other jobs or walks of life that can be useful or related to the skills needed in the job for which you are applying. Any skill or quality you have can potentially be used as a transferrable skill, as long you can relate its relevance to the role you are applying for

List of transferrable job skills
Budgeting, Coaching ability, Language skills, Negotiating skills, Presentation skills, Recruitment ability, Supervisory ability, the ability to troubleshoot problems, technical skills such as the repair and maintenance of equipment, proficiency coding in things like CSS or HMLT, proficiency using specific web-based applications or web builders like WordPress, or even proficiency at basic internet researching, experience performing office tasks such as copying, faxing, printing…any other skill or quality you possess relevant to the role you are applying for

List of duties associated with transferrable job skills
Answering phones, booking appointments and managing schedules, organizing meetings, performance management, coaching and mentoring, training, receiving and welcoming visitors, negotiating and influencing skills, outreach skills, motivating co-workers, proficiency using software and CRM’s, (Microsoft office, word, excel, salesforce, sap, etc)

Types of jobs where transferable skills are emphasized
These can be related to most types of jobs in any industry, but are usually only given consideration in areas such as non-specified entry level positions, sales roles, some retail roles, and temporary staffing positions

Soft Skills
Soft skills are typically emphasised in customer service-related roles, and focus on personal skills or qualities that highlight your capability to interact well with others. As the terminology ‘soft skills’ implies, it is a skill set that accentuates an ability to listen, empathize, and generally understand another’s point of view

Soft skills are often emphasised because they underline an ability to interact well with people and meet their needs in a way that is professional and courteous. For this reason, a candidate with good soft skills is usually considered an ideal candidate for certain types of customer facing roles

List of soft skills
Active listening skills, Accountability, Analytical ability, Attention to detail, Charisma, Collaboration, Communicative ability, Conflict management, Creativity, Critical thinking, Decision-making ability, Determination, Empathy, Enthusiasm, Flexibility, Great work ethic, Honesty, Integrity, Interpersonal skills, Loyalty, Motivation, Multi-tasking ability, Organizational ability, Patience, Perfectionism, Persistence, Persuasive ability, Planning skills, Politeness, Positive attitude, Problem-solving ability, Public speaking ability, Punctuality, Quick learner, Reasoning ability, Relationship building, Reliability, Resilience, Resourcefulness, Respect, Self-starter, Teamwork, Teambuilding, Time-management, the ability to Delegate work effectively, the ability to Meet Tight deadlines, the ability to Motivate Others, the ability to Set Effective Goals, the ability to take Ownership, the ability to work with Minimal Supervision, the ability to work well Under Pressure

List of duties associated with soft skills
Receiving and welcoming visitors, solving queries and dealing with complaints, handling customer service enquiries, receptionist duties, actively listening to customers or clients, tutoring, teaching, carer duties, analysing information, motivating others, persuading customers or clients to buy, assisting fellow colleagues

Types of jobs where soft skills are emphasized
Call Center worker, Retail Assistant, Receptionist, Secretary, Waiter/Waitress, Concierge, Front desk staff, Flight attendant, Sales

Hard Skills
Hard skills are verifiable skills that can be quantified by way of experience, training or certification. As opposed to soft skills, which tend to be quite subjective, hard skills can always be clearly quantified as they are necessary for performing the job in question. In an interview, hard skills are normally evaluated through exercise assessments or technically orientated questions and therefore are harder to get around if you do not have the requisite skillset required for them

While hard skills focus on knowledge and skills that are necessary for performing a role in a similar way to job specific skills, hard skills differ in that they tend to be more generalised and are not always regarded as a pre-requisite for performing the role in question, as such, hard skills and transferable skills can sometimes overlap

List of hard skills
Budgeting, Coaching ability, Electrical engineering, Joinery, Language skills, Plumbing, Presentation skills, Recruitment ability, Supervisory experience, ability to Troubleshoot Problems, the ability to Repair and Maintain equipment, proficiency coding with things like CSS or HMLT, proficiency using specific web-based applications or web builders like WordPress, experience performing office tasks such as copying, faxing, printing, etc

List of duties associated with hard skills
Filing, faxing, maintaining up-to-date information in CRM systems, drafting documentation, bookkeeping, payroll management, maintenance work, plumbing, interior designing, surveying, software designing, web designing, electrician, engineering, nursing, doctor, dentistry, chemist, physics, law, equipment operation, etc

Types of jobs where hard skills are emphasized
Accountant, Administrator, Bookkeeper, Brick layer, Business Analyst, Carpenter, Doctor, Dentist, Joiner, Interior Designer, Electrician, Engineer, Heavy equipment operator, Financial consultant, Lab technician, Lawyer, Mechanic, Mortgage advisor, Nurse, Occupational health specialist, Paralegal, Pharmacist, Plumber, Researcher, Scientist, Software designer, Surveyor, Systems Administrator, Teacher, Web designer

Job specific skills
Job specific skills are directly related to the role you are applying for. They traditionally overlap with hard skills because they pertain to skills and qualifications essential for doing the job in question. Job specific skills involve things such as trade skills, qualifications and certifications, experience that can be verified through performance of specific tasks, as well as knowledge of specific processes and functions. The differentiation then would be, if an employer is looking for a job specific skill over a hard skill, they would consider that job skill an essential pre-requisite for performing in that role and would be unlikely to accept any other skills or qualifications in its place when considering you for that position. Whereas where looking at a hard skill, an employer may be flexible if you don’t have the exact skill or qualification, but had a similar one instead that would still enable you to perform in the role

List of job specific skills
Accountancy, Administration, Bookkeeping, Brick laying, Business analysis, Carpentry, Dentistry, Doctor, Electrician, Engineering, Financial consulting, Heavy equipment operation, Interior designing, Joining, Lab technician, Law, Mechanic, Mortgage advising, Nursing, Occupational health specialist, Paralegal, Pharmacist, Plumbing, Project management, Researcher, Sales, Scientist, Software designing, Surveying, Systems administration, Teaching, Web Designing

List of duties associated with job specific skills
Filing, faxing, maintaining up-to-date information in CRM systems, drafting documentation, bookkeeping, payroll management, maintenance work, plumbing, interior design, setting tangible targets and goals, surveying, software designing, web designing, electrician, engineering, nursing, doctor, dentistry, chemist, physics, project management, managing and motivating, law, equipment operation

Types of jobs where job specific skills are emphasized
Accountant, Administrator, Business Analyst, Bookkeeper, Carpenter, Plumber, Brick layer, Web designer, Systems administration, Joiner, Surveyor, Interior designer, Electrician, Mechanic, Software designer, Engineer, Mortgage advisor, Financial consultant, Nurse, Doctor, Pharmacist, Dentist, Occupational health specialist, Lawyer, Paralegal, Heavy equipment operator, Sales, Project manager, Teacher, Researcher, Lab technician, Scientist

There are other types of categorizations that employers use to quantify and define the skill sets of the candidates they interview, such as employability skills, which is a broad category of skills needed to be successful in any job and is designed to measure your overall employability. And hybrid skills, which categorizes skills based on an amalgamation of soft and hard skills, and is sometimes used by employers to evaluate candidates in roles that require a blend of different skills. While there are many ways employers can categorize and define different skills sets, the best way for you to approach your interview preparation is to focus on the skill sets listed here

SOFT SKILLS, HARD SKILLS, JOB SPECIFIC SKILLS, AND TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS

Emphasise Soft Skills if applying for a customer-oriented role

Emphasise Transferable Skills, if you have similar experience for the requirements of a role but in an indirectly related field

Anything that falls outside this bracket will mean an emphasis either on Hard Skills, if you have the skills or qualifications to meet the job requirements

Or Job Specific Skills, if you have current or prior experience directly working in another job like the one you are applying for

The emphasis on these skills will vary from industry to industry, and from occupation to occupation

Though as a general rule if you don’t have job specific skills directed related to the role, and if the role isn’t customer service orientated, you’ll want to place a heavier emphasis on hard or transferrable skills

MATCHING YOUR SKILLS TO THE ROLE
It is fairly easy and straightforward to market any skills you have, whether these be transferable job skills, job specific or soft or hard skills. In order to do this though, you first need to identify what these skills are, and from there highlight the ones that are most relevant to the role you are applying for. There is a very simple and easy way to do this. It is a tried and tested technique which is very useful because it can be utilised not only for this, but for a multitude of other useful things too

Here is the method you should use. It will enable you to identify all the skills required for a role and match them to your own skillset. It is very straightforward:

Get a sheet of paper – and fold it in 2

On the first side, write out a list of the skills you believe you have

On the second side, write out a list of the skills you believe are relevant to that role (using the job description)

From this, you can choose 2 or 3 of the ones that you feel will be most relevant

Write out simple, 1-paragraph examples of a time you’ve used each skill and memorise them

(After matching any skills you feel are relevant to that job listing, remember you can also include them as keywords throughout your resume, or list them in the skills section of your resume)