Your Superpower Makes You Better Than 95% of People! Show It on Your Resume!

This year, 3.8 million college graduates will compete for a limited number of jobs. 8.5% of them will be unemployed, and another 44% will be underemployed (working in jobs that don’t require the degree they earned). I happen to be one of those 3.8 million students looking for a job, but I am armed with a secret weapon… my superpower!

Your superpower is something you do better than 95% of people, and everybody has one!

I am a senior in college and will be graduating in May of next year. That means my number one goal this year is to find a full-time job! Now, I’m sure many of you have gone through this process, and it’s not an easy one.

The largest career fair at my school is this week and I have spent lots of time prepping for it. One of the biggest keys to my success at the fair will be my résumé.

I have formatted my resume nicely, but I also have a secretly weapon that very few people have: I know what my superpower is! This important piece of information will serve as my marketing angle that will differentiate me from the crowd.

In today’s world, standing out when you’re just another piece of 8.5 x 11 paper can be tricky. I am graduating next May with 10,000 other people, and that is just from my university. You need to give the employer something that sticks out and makes them want to talk to you. Your superpower is exactly that.

Your superpower is something that you do better than 95% of people out there. This is what gives you an edge on the other people applying for the same job. This is what you are good at and why someone should hire you.

In the business world, this is called a unique selling proposition. Every company has one. This is what sets your business apart from your competition. It is why people chose your company, because you do “fill-in-the-blank” the best.

This is what your superpower highlights on your resume. The whole time you are writing it out, you are focusing on what you are best at and using that to convince employers that you are their best option.

My superpower is adaptability. This means I have the ability to handle a wide variety of tasks and challenges. I can excel at tasks that are technical, require delicate communication, involve marketing, or are creative… basically everything including the kitchen sink.

On my résumé, I made sure to highlight this fact. I want employers that look at my résumé to know that I can adapt to a variety of tasks, and I back it up with examples and quantifiable results. More importantly, I want them to realize how my adaptability skills can help their business.

Knowing what you are best at is not only good for your job hunt, but also for your confidence. Whether you are in school, playing a sport, participating in a club, or doing anything else in the world, your superpower is helping you succeed at it, so own it.

It helps to get input on what your superpower is from people close to you. Ask parents, teachers, coaches, or even friends for what they think you do best.

For more information about superpowers, check out these links:

What Is Your superpower?

Your Superpower + Study Skills

Sincerely,

Jessie Smude

Sources:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/05/08/
unemployment_and_the_class_of_2014_how_bad_is_the_job_market_for_new_college.html

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

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