After recently connecting with several colleagues on LinkedIn, I noticed that many of the skills listed on their profiles overlapped from person to person, no matter what industry they were associated with. I’m all for beefing up your résumé, but this begged the question: Is it really a skill if everyone else can do it too?

I reached out to co-founder and president of Hill Investment Group, Matt Hall, to get his take on my theory. Matt is relentlessly meticulous when it comes to adding people to his team – the firm has only eight members between its Houston and St. Louis locations. While fundamentals are necessary, they aren’t enough to get a foot in the door, and they certainly won’t create the wow-factor that our attention economy demands.

Here are a few we discussed:

Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)

A basic understanding of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel is expected everywhere from ninth grade to Wall Street – there’s no need to promote something that won’t differentiate you. Familiarizing yourself with niche programs such as WordPress or Photoshop will increase your value.

Leadership

This term carries minimal value today – everyone is a leader if you ask them. Instead of arbitrarily listing leadership as a skill, demonstrate who, what, or how you’ve led in your “Experience” section. Have you planned a fundraiser, started a club, etc.?

Time Management

Managing your own time is great, but you’ll have to go above and beyond that to impress a potential employer. Demonstrating the ability to efficiently manage a schedule for multiple people, not just yourself, speaks louder than “time management.” Can you plan a monthly calendar for an organization or schedule shifts for a group of employees?

Problem Solving

What problems? Math problems? Problems on your college campus? Without tangible evidence of a solution that you’ve developed for an existing problem, “problem solving” means nothing. If you’re truly an effective problem solver, promote it in your “Experience” section.

“None of that stuff grabs my attention, and we are in an attention economy,” says Matt. “I need to know quickly what sets you apart and what’s interesting about you. How will you help me? What have you done that others have not? Do you speak Chinese? Have you written something powerful? Have you run a 100-mile race?”

Matt is adamant about pushing limits, taking risks, and challenging the status quo (you can read about that in his book). Bottom line: be remarkable – literally worth remarking.

“Blow my mind with something you’ve accomplished or that you’re working on,” he says. “If you haven’t done something unique or special, you might want to start there.”

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Dominic Vaiana studies writing and media strategy at Xavier University.  His personal articles, essays, interviews, and book recommendations are sent in his bimonthly newsletter. For questions or comments, email dominicvaiana@gmail.com

 

 

“And for homework…read 75 pages from the book that the school says you have to read, no matter how irrelevant, outdated, or disengaged from your interests it is.”

High school corrupted reading for my generation. It took something fascinating and tainted it by eliminating our options, then asking us to regurgitate information on a test. Who cares if you can apply it to real life, right?

I graduated in 2014 and swore to myself I’d never waste my time reading in college. I didn’t want to waste my time in the library sifting through hundreds of pages like I my mom or grandparents did.

But one year ago, I unintentionally rewired my brain.

During the fall of my sophomore year, a mentor of mine suggested that I research the work of media guru Ryan Holiday to supplement what I was learning in my PR and marketing classes. That same night, I stumbled upon his controversial book Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator. I wasn’t ready for what would happen within the next week.

After receiving my package from Amazon and scanning the pages of my new book, I noticed something strange: I was eager to read it. But how, after years of rejecting the idea of reading, had my attitude changed so quickly?

I didn’t come up with a solid answer to this question until this week, which prompted me to write what you’re reading right now: you don’t know how to read until you do it for yourself, not for a grade or external validation. Trust Me I’m Lying resonated with my personal interests and nobody forced me to read it. That’s how reading should be. It’s like working out – it sucks when someone’s over your shoulder telling you when, where, and how to do it. But once you do it for it’s own sake, you can appreciate it with a new perspective. This, however, is only the start.

Many devout readers have a root book – one that inspired them to make reading a habit, not a chore. TMIL is the root of nearly every book I’ve read over the past year. Its “further reading” section, bibliography, and endorsers all led me to the books that ended up shaping my life. Once you find your root, something clicks. You crave more, your brain makes connections on its own, and material overlaps. One book leads to another, and soon enough you’re down the rabbit hole, never turning back.

I’m often asked why I don’t buy ebooks or audiobooks to save money. The thing about physical books is that you can reference them, take notes, share them, see patterns, and track your progress. Twitter and iMessage aren’t a click away with a hard copy.

Of course, some books will disappoint and seem impossible to engage with. Just as an investor has to know when to cut his losses, a reader should be able to do the same. It’s okay to be wrong; in fact, there’s an old rule for this: read 100 pages minus your age (if you’re 20 years old, read 80 pages). If it’s not adding value to your life by that point, put it down.

Your high school English teacher would probably cringe at that rationale, but it ties back to the lesson that put me on a new, better path a year ago: I couldn’t read because I wasn’t doing it for myself. Read what keeps you reading, read what makes you better. Nobody is watching.

P.S. If you’re looking for a place to start, I send a newsletter with book recommendations twice per month. I’ll start you off with my “5 Books to Base Your Life On.” Just click this link or send me an email: dominicvaiana@gmail.com

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Dominic Vaiana studies writing and media strategy at Xavier University.  He founded a campus newspaper and went on to advise, ghostwrite, and edit for colleagues and startups.  His personal articles, essays, interviews, and book recommendations are sent in his bimonthly newsletter. For any questions or comments, email dominicvaiana@gmail.com.