What’s a skills inventory and why does it matter? Essentially, it’s a short-list of all the great things you as a candidate bring to the table. It can serve as a solid source of inspiration while writing a resume and even while interviewing.

Why a skills inventory is helpful

Ever been stumped with writer’s block when working on a resume? Ever struggled to articulate all the great reasons they should hire you during interviews? This concept helps to solve that problem and many others.

How to make one

It’s basically a brainstorming session. Look at your experience and education and really think on all the skills you have as a result. Maybe you’ve become a QuickBooks expert through a series of accounting clerk roles. Or perhaps you were a Residential Assistant in college and have developed serious listening and customer service skills.

The skills on your list don’t all have to be hard skills; soft skills count, too! Even more so if you have examples of when you used these skills.

What do to with your list

It’s rare that you would use your entire list all at once. Essentially, you’ll sprinkle select bits of it at various stages throughout your job search. Most likely, you’ll refer to this while writing the resume. Or maybe you’re writing a cover letter and need to talk about some key skills that transfer to the job you’re seeking. In interviews, this inventory makes it easy for you to quickly pull out skills or even examples of times you’ve used certain skills.

In the end, the skills inventory is a step worth taking. The bit of time you invest up-front really has potential to pay off pretty big in the end. Plus, it helps to make it easier to write resumes and to interview!

Written by Adam Lafield, Recruiter & Marketing Specialist