Even if you have a few career years under your belt, it’s never easy to write out a CV. It can be daunting trying to convey your experiences and skills onto a short document, and it’s far too easy to leave out relevant skills that could mean the difference between a rejection and a job offer. Far too often, job seekers leave vital, highly valued skills off their CV because they think that it will simply take up space unnecessarily. However, those extra-curricular skills could transform your job prospects. If your current CV isn’t getting you the interviews you hoped for, consider adding some of the following skills that could help you get a job offer much more quickly.
Your Sporting Life
If you play a little five-a-side football on a Sunday, or you’re a member of your local rugby club, it’s always worth mentioning this on your CV. Sports are a good way to highlight your teamwork skills and reliability. Don’t think that your participation in basketball, for example, isn’t going to add to your career prospects. Include those sporting hobbies, and you might get job offers far more regularly. Of course, if you’re applying for jobs that require a high level of physical fitness, then that sporting activity will certainly be of benefit.
Treading the Boards
Got a hankering to play Hamlet in your spare time? It can be terrifying to perform in front of others, but the confidence that you build can work wonders in the workspace. If you’re applying for job roles that require presentation skills or customer service, then that experience with musical performances and acting roles could be the thing that makes you stand out as most likely to excel at work. Creativity, collaboration, and confidence are all highly valued soft-skills in today’s workplace, and your thespian experiences can highlight those skillsets very quickly and easily.
Your Hobby
It’s probably tempting to leave your hobby off your CV because you want to show your prospective employer that you’ll be dedicated to their company. However, not only will adding your hobby to your CV highlight your ability to work independently, but it will also show off a number of transferrable skills. It takes a lot of dedication to undertake a hobby regularly. If you’re trading successfully on the foreign exchange, for example, then you can be sure that your interviewer will ask how forex works. This kind of conversation is what will make you more memorable in an interview, so ensure that you fully understand everything about your hobby before attending an interview. No matter what you do in your spare time, add it to your CV, and you’ll be more likely to stand out.
The Value of Language
If English is just one of the languages that you speak, then you definitely need to add that information to your CV. We live in a global village, and even the smallest brands can now successfully expand to new markets. Your language skills could be the key to getting the job of your dreams, so much so that if you don’t currently speak any other languages it’s worth learning one! With language learning apps making it easier than ever to pick up words and phrases in the language of your choice, there’s no reason not to get a few vital linguistic advantages in the modern work environment.
Soft skills and extra-curricular skills are just as highly valued as experience and academic qualifications, if not more so. While not every job application will need you to mention those skills, you might be surprised how consistently advantageous they can really be.
