Prove that you have what it takes for the job...The HERO Method

So, your work experience does not easily meet what the employer seems to need?  Time to use the HERO Method and show the employer that you CAN do the job.

Maybe you face the problem that your resume and application do not give the full picture to the employer of what it is you can do.   The job calls for the ability to use a cash register, but you do not have that experience... the position needs someone who has worked with the elderly but your experience is with people with a disabling condition.
- they want someone for the job who has experience, but how do I get the experience if I don't have the job?

Now some jobs have legal requirements for certain experience  but the HERO Method helps when you face this problem.  Here is what I mean.

Showing what you have

How to use your background and show employers you have what it takes to do the job:

* Your personal experience:  Maybe I have not used a cash register, but I can use computers and know customer service.  I have not worked with the elderly, but I have helped people with concerns different from myself and have compassion and empathy.

* Seeing Your Work Experience In a Different Way:  Picturing what you have done - working late hours, doing extras on the job - in a way that relates to the employer's concerns.

*  Things You Have Done You Did Not Have to Do:  Employers like to understand what makes you unique and special, something that points to your character that may not fit on a standard resume.

Connecting YOU to HERO: Showing You Can Do The Job

As readers to this site have found, every job that ever was or ever will be requires a HERO.  Show you have...

* Heart to work well with clients, co-workers and stakeholders.

* Energy to meet the job demands consistently and to standards.

* Ability to Re-Learn what the job requires and adapt as demands change.

* Owning the work that you do, accepting responsibility and learning from your mistakes.

Heart:

For example, single parents can show that they can get along well with others (they have to to get the help they need), work as a team with others (teachers, doctors, relatives) and that they can see the world from another person's point of view (teachers, babysitters, children).  While others can SAY they have heart, you PROVE it with examples.

Energy:

For example, persons with a disabling condition can show that they can meet the extraordinary demands that they face to meet day to day needs or meeting challenges faced in school or work.  If you can include things you do not have to do, such as volunteering in the community, it adds to the sense that you have energy and stamina to meet what comes your way.

Re-Learning:

Older workers may face a stigma of not being able to "go with the flow" of changes in the workplace and that they are resistant to change.  Really?  These are people who have lived through the 70's, 80's to today - and STILL they want to work.  Show the way that you have adapted to change, learned things quickly (medications, how to fix things) or even have trained others to do tasks and show you have the brainpower to do the job.

Owning:

Employers may wonder if students have developed the skill of taking responsibility and learning from constructive criticism.  This is your chance to prove that stigma wrong in your case.  Find in your personal experience or work history times when you learned something from your mistakes. Through being in a sport or club or lessons learned in sales you learned from errors you made and can show you have what it takes.

Walking the Walk:

We have a phrase comparing talking the talk or walking the walk.  Other applicants can SAY they can understand client needs or learning things quickly.  By finding examples in your own life experience, YOU show you have already walked the walk and can do it again as a valued employee.

The employer just has to be smart enough to hire you.