How does your experience match the requirements of the role?

Be clear about how your experience matches the role you are going for. What is the organisation looking for? Is there a job role description and/or a set of competencies describing what is required? Spend some time reading this and absorbing that information. Is there anything else you can do such as reading about the organisation or contacting someone who works there? Then think about what you have to offer (skills, knowledge, experience, competencies, achievements) and how do these match what is required in the role? This is so important for your interview preparation.⠀

Try to tune into the requirements of the role by doing more than simply reading the job description or candidate information booklet. If you are applying to an organisation that you have not previously worked for, research what the organisation does, what kind of roles they have and, in particular, see what more you can find out about the role you are applying for.

Is there someone in your network who has worked there or someone who knows someone who is working there? What can you find out about the organisations values and mission? What services or products do they offer? All of this research will help you demonstrate your interest in that organisation when at interview and will also help you position your previous experience and achievements in that context. It will also help you prepare relevant questions you can ask at interview.

If you invest some time in preparing how your skills and experience matches the requirements of the role, it will help you in several ways. It helps you when writing a summary or personal statement (on the application form) or when writing your cover letter (if submitting a CV). It also informs how you will answer questions at interview. Especially questions such as "Tell me about yourself", "How does your experience match the requirements of the role?" or if you are asked to "Summarise your experience". 

​It also should underpin all of your other answers when at interview, because you need to be able to clearly articulate how your previous work experience matches the requirements of the role and to be able to do so throughout the interview. So use this to select the examples that you plan to use to demonstrate the required competencies. You can also use this summary of how you match the requirements of the role towards the end of the interview.
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