How can you show employers your social impact skills?

1 Define your impact goals

Before you can demonstrate your social impact skills, you need to have a clear idea of what kind of impact you want to make and why. What are the social or environmental issues that you care about? What are the specific outcomes that you hope to achieve or contribute to? How do your values and passions align with your impact goals? Having a clear and compelling vision of your impact goals will help you articulate them in your resume, cover letter, and interview.

2 Highlight your impact projects

One of the best ways to show employers your social impact skills is to showcase the projects that you have initiated, led, or participated in that have created positive change. These could be projects that you have done as part of your work, your education, your volunteer work, or your personal hobbies. For each project, describe the problem that you addressed, the solution that you implemented, the skills that you used or developed, and the impact that you achieved or measured. Use concrete examples and numbers to illustrate your achievements and show your impact.

3 Showcase your impact mindset

Another way to show employers your social impact skills is to demonstrate your impact mindset, which is the way you think and approach problems and opportunities related to social change. Your impact mindset includes your curiosity, creativity, empathy, resilience, and collaboration skills. You can showcase your impact mindset by sharing stories of how you have learned from failures, adapted to challenges, sought feedback, explored new ideas, or worked with diverse stakeholders. You can also show your impact mindset by asking insightful questions and expressing enthusiasm and interest in the employer's social impact goals and initiatives.

4 Build your impact network

Your social impact skills are not only reflected in what you do, but also in who you know and how you connect with them. Building your impact network means expanding and nurturing your relationships with people who share your passion and vision for social change. These could be mentors, peers, experts, influencers, or potential collaborators. You can build your impact network by attending events, joining online communities, reaching out to people, and offering your help or support. Your impact network can help you learn new skills, discover new opportunities, and get referrals or recommendations.

5 Update your impact portfolio

Your impact portfolio is a collection of documents and materials that showcase your social impact skills and achievements. It can include your resume, cover letter, online profile, website, blog, social media, or any other platform that you use to communicate your impact story. You should update your impact portfolio regularly to reflect your current and relevant skills, projects, and goals. You should also tailor your impact portfolio to match the specific employer and position that you are applying for, highlighting the skills and achievements that are most relevant and impressive.

6 Learn new impact skills

Finally, you can show employers your social impact skills by demonstrating your willingness and ability to learn new skills that can enhance your impact potential. The world of social change is constantly evolving and requires new and diverse skills to address complex and emerging challenges. You can learn new impact skills by taking online courses, reading books or articles, watching videos or podcasts, or joining workshops or webinars. You can also learn new impact skills by seeking feedback, experimenting with new tools or methods, or collaborating with different people. Learning new impact skills will help you stay updated, adaptable, and confident.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?