When do you say that you know something?

Ok, so the subject might have been a little vague, hopefully I will get my point clear.

When I am applying for a job and am writing my resume, I always think about my skills. Because that is what people what to know about, what can you do? At least that was the first thing I heard when I moved to Washington D.C.

Anyway, when I’m listing my skills, I often have a difficult time deciding if I can say that I really know something. What makes me know, that I have enough knowledge about something, that I can actually say that I know it?

To give you an example; I have been coding websites since I was in Junior High, I have never actually taken a class in it, and I cannot really put my hand on my exact skill frame. Basically I understand and can make changes to all web-code. However, I don’t know if enough by hart, so that I can code more advanced stuff from scratch. Does that mean that I know how to program websites? Can I put that on my resume? (Btw, I did not program this blog)

When I’m surfing the web and find very simple websites, I sometimes see if I can find out who made them. An individual usually does them, they have profiled themselves as a “web designer” and charge to make them. Without doubt, I know a lot more about programming than that. But so far, I have never written that on a resume. I would dare to say that I can code, even though I might be much better about is that many others. Because, I don’t know if I actually know it well enough?

This is just an example, and I am sure that everyone has there own experiences in the issue. But what do you do about them? I usually leave these types of skills out from the actual job application, so that I am sure that the job does not entail me doing it. If they during the interview ask me if I know web design, I can explain the situation.

What do you do? And what do you say? When do you know something?

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  • I say don't list the skill unless you are truly fluent in it. Or, be transparent and list a skill under "Advanced" or "Intermediate." I had a job candidate say she spoke Spanish. So I spoke to her in Spanish. The conversation didn't last long...
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