There is a difference between being “qualified” for a job and being the “best person” for the job.

“Qualified” means that you can do all the things mentioned in the job description. What makes you the “best person” for the job is proving to the hiring manager that you understand the pain that you’re going to alleviate and the problems that you’re going to solve for the company.

A Job Matching Matrix Is Key

At Work It DAILY, we teach something called a job matching matrix. If you want to stand out as the must-have candidate, the best person for the job, creating a job matching matrix is essential.

So, how do you create one? Well, first you take a job that you’re interested in and put all of the requirements for that job in one column. In the next column, you match your experience to those job requirements to prove you’re qualified for the job. But what makes you the most qualified candidate, the best person for the job, is the final column. In that final column, you need to list what will go horribly wrong if they don’t hire the right person—if they don’t hire someone who does what you can do.

By creating a job matching matrix, you’re showing the employer that you truly understand why something is a requirement for the job and what the job is about. The difference between being a nice-to-have candidate and a must-have candidate is that you understand the pain that you’re going to alleviate. You understand what goes horribly wrong if this job isn’t done correctly. Anyone can say, “Oh, you wanted five years of experience in digital marketing. I have five years of experience in digital marketing.” Instead, if you can say, “The reason you need somebody with five years of experience in digital marketing is this, this, and this, and here’s what goes wrong if you don’t get somebody with these three qualities,” now you’re proving that you understand the job better than someone else and that tells them that you’re going to be able to do the job better than someone else.

As a job seeker in today’s ultra-competitive job market, it’s very important that you teach yourself how to not only match yourself up to the job but also talk about it in a way that proves you are the must-have candidate. You are a business-of-one. You are a service provider. Don’t talk about your features; talk about your benefits. Talk about the value you create, the money you’ll save them, the money you’ll make them, the problems you’ll solve, and the pain you’ll alleviate. When they hear that, you are proving you are the must-have candidate, the best person for the job, and that’s who’s getting hired right now.

If you want to learn more about how to create a job matching matrix, sign up for a free Work It DAILY trial today.

Good luck! Go get ’em.

Work It Daily