Highlighting skills in resume is very important. This is why you must get into highlighting the skills in resume at the first instance of making a CV or a resume. This is because it helps in making the skills in resume more receptive and especially to the person who has the resume. On top of that, keeping the skills in resume with reference to the job you want is important, too.
This is why skills in a resume and its highlighting are very important. Plus, you must also get into paying a lot of attention to what you should add with regard to skills in resume. This is very important as you will have to systematically put the skills in resume. Only then would the skills in your resume turn out to be good for you and, thus, bring out to be superbly beneficial for you.
What Is The Star Method?
The star method is defined to be a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question with reference to skills in resume. This is done by discussing the specific situation, task, action and result of the situation that one is describing.
Situation – Skills in Resume
You must describe the situation in which you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must also describe a specific event or situation and not a generalized description of what you have done in the past.
Thus, be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be taken from a previous job. It can also be taken from a volunteer experience or any relevant event.
Task – Skills in Resume
This part of the star method mostly revolves around what goal you were working toward.
Action – Skills in Resume
You must describe the actions that you took to address the situation. This must be done with an appropriate amount of detail and you must keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution?
You must be careful not to describe what the team or group did when talking about a project but focus on what you actually did. Use the word “I,” not “we” when describing actions.
Result – Skills in Resume
In this part of the star method, you must describe the outcome of your actions. Therefore, take care and do not be shy about taking credit for your behavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains a lot of multiple positive results, especially in relation to skills in a resume.
Skills in Resume: Sample Star Method Response
Below is a sample of the star method resume that you can use thoroughly if you are preparing for a job interview. Therefore, get into it strongly and take care of it when you go to your next job interview:
Situation (S)
Advertising revenue was falling for a particular college newspaper, The Review and many long-term advertisers were not renewing contracts.
Task (T)
The team’s goal was to generate new ideas, materials and incentives that would result in at least a 15% increase in advertisers from the year before.
Action (A)
Therefore, people designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet and compared the benefits of The Review circulation with other ad media in the area. They also, according to the star method, set up a special training session for the account executives with a School of Business Administration professor who discussed competitive selling strategies.
Result (R)
People also signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and five for special supplements. We increased our new advertisers by 20 percent over the same period last year.
Highlighting Skills in Resume: How To Create A Star Method Resume?
To create a resume using the star outline method, you must look at the job description. You must also choose around two to three key behaviors or skills that you want to show under your “Experience” section.
You must then use the outline of a verbal answer and condense it into a few key points under a job title. The best way to do this thing is by using around one or multiple bullet points that clearly describe all the components of the STAR answer.
Plus, instead of just listing key responsibilities for a previous job under your “Experience” section, you can use the star method to describe each job with reference to the skills in resume with your situation. You could also include a task or tasks you completed in that role, actions you took to achieve a successful outcome and the result of those steps. This can all be done in a sentence or phrase for each point.
Sample Resume Of Highlighting Skills in Resume: The Star Interview Method Resume
Given below is the sample resume of the star method interview, which sufficiently highlights the skills in the resume. This will allow you to get a glimpse of more star methods for interviews. Plus, by this sample resume, you will also know and guess about the star method interview questions. Therefore, look into this interview resume thoroughly:
Hannah Brooks
825 Lakeview Circle
Dayton, Ohio, 45402
Objective
To manage a team of insurance professionals in an independent agency
Experience
Customer Service Coordinator | June 2017-Present
Bradley Insurance | Dayton, Ohio
Used my role as a home insurance agent to identify customer turnover (Situation and Task are combined here)
Developed a digital survey to collect data from existing customers (Action)
Worked with agency president to lead a new customer service initiative (Results)
Home Insurance Agent | June 2017-2018
Bradley Insurance | Dayton, Ohio
Worked with customers to set up homeowners insurance policies (Situation)
Explained policy information and tracked claims (Task)
Built relationships with customers to earn trust and become the first call after home damage (Action)
Grew customer base 10% from word-of-mouth recommendations and networking (Results)
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Communication | 2011-2015
Ohio State University
Benefits Of Using The Star Method Interview Questions
Below are some of the benefits of the star method for highlighting the skills in resume. These are listed below. Therefore, look at some of the benefits which are placed forward by the star method. These are very important and therefore, knowing this information about the star method will prove to be very fruitful.
Show The Value
The main goal of a potential employer is to thoroughly find out how you will add value to the company when you are hired. Therefore, when you use the star method in your resume, you will be able to show your value more clearly.
Provides A Lot Of Detail
Using the star method thoroughly changes the vague skill descriptions of a bulleted list into a specific example of how a person has developed and used an important skill.
Creates Talking Points
Creating a resume with the help of the star method prepares a person for an interview. Therefore, using the star method in your resume can become an outline for interview questions regarding your job qualifications.
Tells A Story
The star method allows a person to present a narrative of how the given work experience has shaped who you are.
Produces A Competitive Resume
Using the star method, a person can get into fitting the star method responses to match an employer’s job description. This, in any way, not only shows that you are qualified with the skills to take the job but also makes a resume more interesting to read.
Preparing For Highlighting Skills in Resume
These are the methods by which you can prepare for a star method interview and they will especially help you highlight the skills in your resume. Thus, get started with it now:
- Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors or actions, especially coursework, work experience, leadership, teamwork, initiative, planning and customer service.
- Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked.
- Be sure that each story has a beginning, middle and end, i.e., be ready to describe the situation, including the task at hand, your action and the outcome or result.
- Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was unfavorable).
- Be honest and do not embellish or omit any part of the story. The interviewer will determine if your story is built on a weak foundation.
- Be specific and do not generalize about several events; give a detailed accounting of one event.
- Vary your examples and do not take them all from just one area of your life.
Conclusion
The skills in a resume and its highlights are very important. Therefore, make sure you do it properly and make each of the skills in your resume shine.
FAQs
Should skills in a resume be all professional skills?
Ans: Yes. In what to put on a resume, you will have to put in professional skills, soft skills for a resume and personal skills.
Can I put a job skills list in the resume?
Ans: Yes. You can.
Can I look at some examples of technical skills before I make a resume?
Ans: Yes.
Can I add computer skills to a resume?
Ans: Yes. You can.
Is the resume skills section important?
Ans: Yes. It is important.
What are skills?
Ans: Skills are basically talent that will help you find a job.
What should a resume look like?
Ans: A skills-based resume should have special skills and it should mostly look professional.
How many skills do you list on your resume?
Ans: As much as the job demands.
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