I am sure you have noticed that we do not live in a one-size-fits-all world. We want our food, our music, our vehicles and our clothes exactly our way. We want to be able to customize to make it right for each of us – because we know we are all different. Well, the same is true when it comes to jobs – one-size-fits-all work is ineffective in today’s intellectual economy (manufacturing moved offshore and left us with a service or thinking workplace). And since we each think in very different ways (our natural hardwiring), not all of us are a good fit for all jobs. Or, better stated, we must match our thinking with the thinking needed in the job for us to be successful. Our natural thinking is referred to our strengths or our talents.

So, to stand out and get hired, you must clearly know your talents and the talents needed to do the job well. When you know each, both you and the company you apply to can assess whether you are a good fit for the job. Today, to be great in a job, you must be a good fit – and fit refers to how well your thinking matches the thinking needed in the job.

Consider this. In the course of a day, studies show that we make 20,000 3-second decisions; some people call this top-of-mind thinking. If we work in (thinking) jobs that match our talents with the talents needed in the job, then most of the day our decisions are good ones; this makes us feel capable and confident. If, however, we work in jobs that do not match the way we think, then most of the decisions we make are not so good. This makes us feel incapable, disappointed and disinterested in the job. Our managers also see us as not that good at the job and either reassign us or fire us. And this happens because we were miscast into the wrong role or job – it didn’t match the way we think.

The first step to get hired (in the right job) is to know your talents. Talents are noticeable by the following ways:

- They are your top-of mind reactions (your 20,000 3-second decisions).

- They are areas in which you feel most happy or satisfied.

- They are areas in which you have great interest.

- They are areas in which you learn things quickly.

There are tools now available to help you identify your talents; a talent assessment is the logical first step. A talent assessment helps you articulate your talents, so that you can get familiar with the language of talents and then start to use this language to define the talents needed in each job or role. Once you can define talents in each role, you can start to assess whether the talents needed in the role match your talents. This is the critical step and the most significant difference in assessing job opportunities in our intellectual workplace. Your success in any role will be in the matching of your talents to the talents needed in the job. In the bio section below, I will direct you to a free resource to help you learn the language of talents. The closer you match your talents to the talents required in a job, the greater your potential fit will be. Use this to determine which jobs you should consider.

Once you identify your talents, and a job that requires your talents, you need to assemble a new style of talent-based resume. This will provide the right information to your perspective employer and make you stand out because you show the perspective employer how the talents needed in the role or job match your talents; you do much of their hiring work for them.

A talent-based resume concentrates more on your talents and how these talents manifest themselves in the work experience. No longer are employers strictly interested in what you have done (you many not have been good at it or liked it); they want to know that day in and day out, you have the thinking that will allow you to successfully handle what comes your way in your job. In our changing world, no manager can define all of the situations that an employee may encounter. That is why a manager must now look to hire your ability to think and process information in a way that makes sense for the job.

Presented below are the steps to create a powerful talent-based resume – a link to a sample talent-based resume will be listed below in the bio section. A talent-based resume should have the following sections:

1. Define your Career Objective or the Optimal Performance Environment. This is where you indicate the ideal roles or responsibilities that match your talents.

2. State your four primary performance talents. Use the result from a talent assessment (like the one suggested in the bio section below) to identify four of your primary talents and the behaviors that are associated with them.

3. Provide a talent statement. This is a statement that explains how your talents guide and influence your performance. This helps the resume reviewer because you clearly define how you approach and perform in your job. Remember that the real goal of reviewing a resume is so that a perspective employer can understand whether you would be a good fit both in the job they are hiring for and in the company. When you make a talent statement, you help the resume reviewer see the connection between you and the job. The interview will then look to confirm that you have the talents you presented, but you stand out because you help the reviewer see your connection to the job you are applying for.

4. Significant experience. Summarize how the work you have done used and supports your talents. This will be important for the resume reviewer to see your talents in action in the workplace. Remember that the reviewer is assessing your fit into the role. By showing how your talents were evident in your work experience, the reviewer has a better understanding of your ability to demonstrate your talents in a meaningful way. Don’t list all of your work experience; instead, present only those parts of your work experience that exhibit your talents in action.

5. Significant skills. This is the place to summarize the skills (things you have learned) that helped you succeed in your previous jobs. Again, the focus is not to list all of our your skills, but rather those skills that will be meaningful to the job or role you are applying for.

6. Education. Provide a full summary of your formal and specialized education. This shows formal training, level of commitment and gives greater personal details about you to the interviewer. Draw particular attention to any education that will be meaningful in the new job or role. Help your perspective employer see the correlation between your education and your performance.

7. Other meaningful information such as awards, achievements or honors. Again, these offer additional personal information about your interests and values. All of this should be considered when reviewing a candidate.

The workplace has changed; we moved from the industrial age where skills and experience drove performance to today’s intellectual age where thinking and talents drive performance. As a result, we need to change how we apply for jobs and what jobs we apply for. Learn your talents; compare them to talents needed in particular jobs and apply for those jobs whose talents match yours. And when it is time to apply, use the powerful new talent-based resume. This focus on your strengths immediately separates you from others. This is how to stand out and get noticed for the right job.

Jay Forte, a former financial executive and educator, now performance consultant, speaker and author, is a nationally ranked Thought Leader and President of Humanetrics. Jay teaches organizations how to ignite passionate employee performance, create loyal customers and maximize bottom line results through a new and more effective method of management known as the Fire Up! Process. He has created the new and powerful talent-based approach to job hiring and job seeking, including a new talent analysis and talent-based resume format he provides on his website, http://www.FireUpYourEmployees.com On the site, click on “Job Seekers” to access the Talent and Thinking Style Assessment and the sample talent-based resume. As an expert in activating employee performance, he is regularly interviewed by national publications and as a guest on business radio programs. His many articles have been nationally and internationally published. He is the author of the new book, “Fire Up Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition; How to Invite, Incite and Ignite Employee Performance”, an innovative, practical, hands-on manager guide to activate exceptional employee performance. Contact Jay at jay.forte@humanetricsllc.com or at 401.338.3505.

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