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I am filling a CV template for a particular job interview with a financial company.

There is a Section titled Skills and Competencies that contains the following fields:

"IT Skills:

Organization Skills:

Communication/Interpersonal Skills:

Other Relevant Skills:"

I am not sure how I should fill these, besides IT Skills. Do I just describe myself, or do they want certification that I attended some course like anger management (I haven't)?

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  • Is it a template provided by the financial company, or it is from someplace else? – mhoran_psprep Mar 2 '15 at 11:11
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    You should look at this topic too, maybe it answers your Q already workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/32492/… – Brandin Mar 2 '15 at 11:11
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    If you list something like "leadership skills" be prepared to back that up with concrete examples where you used that skill professionally in the past. You don't need a certification, but if you have one why not list it? If you don't don't worry about it. – Brandin Mar 2 '15 at 11:14
  • @mhoran_psprep the company – user32979 Mar 2 '15 at 11:16
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    @user32979 What kind of evidence would you want to see if you were interviewing yourself? If you can describe in a reasonable way how you've used such skills in previous positions, it may be enough. – Brandin Mar 2 '15 at 11:20
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Do I just describe myself, or do they want certification that I attended some course like anger management (I haven't)?

The best way to fill out these forms is to list achievements rather than skills. Focusing on interpersonal skills, have you done any training or presenting, say internally to the team or at conferences? Have you done a public speaking course or communication course? These are all great because they show you went above and beyond the expected level and attained a goal.

Failing that, focus on things that set you apart from others. For example, if you were in a software development role but negotiated the purchase of expensive software, list that. Did you handle customer support directly? Did you liaise with other groups in the organization, e.g. security, localization or QA? Did you talk to other development organizations in other departments, offices or countries?

I assume you have not been in a role that required significant interpersonal skills, e.g. management, sales or support. If so, focus on the skills that made you successful in these roles. For example, if you were a manager, how did you motivate employees? Did you interview any new employees? If so, what did you look for. How did you sell any ideas to senior management? How did you communicate bad news to the team?

Remember to include things outside work, too. Do you have a blog or Wiki? Are you involved in any open source projects? Do you attend user groups? While these are not considered interpersonal skills, these are areas you can look for achievements or things that set you apart.

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  • listing achievements outside of work is a great way to document some of one's other skills. – New Alexandria Mar 2 '15 at 17:38
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The form is a template designed to handle all possible jobs at the company. Differnt positions will expect a different level of detail. I assure you the Sales guys are not sure what to put in the IT skills section either.

What interpersonal skills does the job need? Emphasize what you have done in those areas. For instance in software development, teamwork is an important interpersonal skill. Communication skills are important for virtually every job including your writing abilities.

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