How to Showcase Your Career Skills Without Showing Off

If the idea of talking yourself up in a job interview makes you feel like a bit of a toss bag, you are not alone. According to SEEK, less than 20% of job seekers feel confident when it comes to selling themselves to a potential employer but trust us when we tell that if you don’t, another candidate will.

When you sit down in front of a potential employer you have to put your best foot forward, and that doesn’t mean shouting from the rooftops how great you are.  In simple terms, it just means being able to show your interviewer that you have the skills and experience they are looking for.

According to Asquith Workforce Managing Director Jillian Asquith, one mistake many job seekers make is thinking their abilities will become apparent when they start in the role, but if you fail to communicate your strengths in the interview you may miss out on getting a start altogether.

“There’s a big difference between arrogance and confidence,” Jillian said.

“In a job interview, confidence comes from knowing your strengths, understanding how they will benefit the company, and being able to communicate that to a potential employer.”

So here are our tips for how to showcase your career strengths in an interview, without showing off!

1. Don’t make it about you – at first

Yeah okay, so this sounds weird but what we mean is do your research on the company before the interview. The more you know about their culture, what they are looking for, and what you can bring to the table, the easier it will be to communicate how you can add value through your skills and experience.

2. Be a storyteller

Book authors have a term they use frequently when it comes to becoming a successful writer and it’s ‘show, don’t tell’. It means to paint the picture, to explain things in a way that makes people see it in their minds eye. By using specific examples of your past success and telling them as a story eg… this, happened, so I did that, and the outcome was this (something awesome of course), you can better engage your potential employer and really showcase what you have to offer

3. Listen. Listen

We know you’re all excited (and by excited we mean buzzing with anxiety) when you walk into your job interview. You’ve probably got a mental list of all the things you need to tell them, but don’t let all that nervous energy stop you from listening to what your potential employer is saying. By calmly and carefully listening to the questions you can get a good gauge on what they are looking for and tailor your answers to best showcase your skills as they apply to the role. Responding to the exact question will put you in a much better light than rattling off your pre-prepared answers that may or may not be relevant.

4. Telling them what you’ll bring to the role

This old chestnut comes up a lot and if you want to get the job you have better done your research before they ask the question. By providing an answer that showcases how you will use your skills to enhance certain aspects their company culture or add value to a specific project you are sure to stand out.