If you’re currently looking for a job, chances are you’ve ignited your network, polished your resume and practiced your interviewing skills. But have you spent any time identifying and learning how to highlight your KSAs?
CareerOneStop explains that knowledge, skills and abilities, often referred to as KSAs, are your unique job qualifications that employers often use to match you with a job opening.
Let’s look at each of them individually, and then consider how you might identify and highlight yours in a resume, cover letter, interview or social media profile:
Knowledge
Knowledge is what you understand from education or experience. For instance, construction work requires knowledge of materials, methods and tools. Office work can require knowledge of office procedures or of record-keeping.
Abilities
Abilities are personal traits enabling you to do certain things. Stamina, for example, is essential for physically demanding jobs, like being a fitness trainer, firefighter or restaurant server. Many jobs may require an ability to meet deadlines or work under pressure.
Skills
Skills showcase what you’re good at. People gain skills from training or experience. In the workplace, there are two skill types: technical and soft skills, and both are vital for success.
Technical skills are job-specific, like cooking, flying a plane or teaching. These skills are often mentioned in job listings where tasks are described. Other examples of technical skills are operating equipment, developing a budget, painting a portrait, writing code, counseling others, researching scientific questions and selling products.Soft skills, on the other hand, are universal and apply to many jobs. These skills, such as communication, punctuality and task completion, are often learned in daily life and can be improved at any time. Other examples of soft skills are teamwork, critical thinking, self-motivation, flexibility, determination, persistence and quick learning.
How to identify and highlight your KSAs
Whenever you apply for a job, it’s a good idea to make a simple list of your KSAs.
In one column, list any KSAs that show up in the job posting, or that you suspect might be valuable to the employer. Some employers include a special heading called required or preferred KSAs. Others might list only required or preferred skills. And still others might not specifically mention the words knowledge, skills or abilities—but if you comb through the language in the job posting, you can usually identify several.
Then add a second column, where you can describe how you meet the identified KSAs. It’s helpful to include examples or even anecdotes. Once you’ve created this table, you can use it to insert your KSAs into your resume. If you’re sending a cover letter, you can take the opportunity to explicitly describe how you meet the required or preferred KSAs. You can also do this in an interview.
Some employers describe KSAs as the factors that separate the better candidates from a group of people basically qualified for a position, so you definitely want to let employers know about yours!
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