{"id":13845,"date":"2025-10-20T13:16:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T13:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/?p=13845"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:01:38","slug":"recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art!"},"content":{"rendered":"

In times of skilled labour shortages, it is crucial for both employers and jobseekers to find each other \u2013 even when the applicant\u2019s profile doesn\u2019t fully match the job requirements. What matters is recognising transferable skills. But how can both sides tell whether they are a good fit? Thinking alone helps \u2013 but unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t get you very far!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Peter N\u00e4f<\/a><\/strong>
\nZurich, December 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

Recruitment<\/a> and job applications<\/a> are facing challenging times: labour market<\/a> demands are shifting, and job profiles are becoming increasingly specialised. New professions are emerging, while education and training systems struggle to keep pace.<\/p>\n

As a result, the ideal \u201cdream profiles\u201d often no longer exist. The key, therefore, is to identify those who possess transferable skills<\/a> \u2013 experience from other areas that can be applied to the role in question (see my article \u201cDo you know your transferable skills?\u201d<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Abstraction is the wrong approach<\/h5>\n

Applicants are becoming increasingly aware of this situation and try to demonstrate their suitability by highlighting transferable skills. Yet many choose an ineffective approach: fearing that recruiters might dismiss them too quickly based on concrete examples, they describe their experience in overly abstract terms. They may avoid mentioning the industry or the products they worked with. But since open positions are highly specific, this abstraction hides potential fit. In such cases, linear thinking will not get you anywhere.<\/p>\n

Success lies in the opposite direction: the more vividly you describe your experience, the easier it is for recruiters<\/a> to see what you mean \u2013 because fit is recognised through associative thinking.<\/p>\n

Associations need images<\/h5>\n

Associative thinking activates stored experiences, sensory impressions, and emotions<\/a>. The brain searches for similarities, patterns, and analogies \u2013 along the lines of: \u201cThis candidate describes exactly the challenges we face,\u201d or \u201cHe approaches problems the same way we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matching a candidate profile to a job profile is ultimately a visual process: recruiters need images in their minds. So feed their inner eye. That\u2019s why storytelling<\/a> is the most effective \u2013 and, in fact, the only truly successful \u2013 approach in job applications. Attempts to automate or industrialise recruitment repeatedly fail, at least when it comes to complex profiles. Only once associative thinking has recognised a fit does linear thinking step in to verify the details.<\/p>\n

Recruitment and application, therefore \u2013 especially for demanding roles \u2013 are more art than science.<\/p>\n

#communication<\/a> #jobinterview<\/a> #personalbranding<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In times of skilled labour shortages, it is crucial for both employers and jobseekers to find each other \u2013 even when the applicant\u2019s profile doesn\u2019t fully match the job requirements. What matters is recognising transferable skills. But how can both sides tell whether they are a good fit? Thinking alone helps \u2013 but unfortunately, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artikel-2"],"yoast_head":"\nRecruitment and job applications \u2013 an art! - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Associative thinking must be activated in order to identify transferable skills. This thinking thrives on images rather than abstractions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art! - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Associative thinking must be activated in order to identify transferable skills. This thinking thrives on images rather than abstractions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-20T13:16:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T12:01:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"karrier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"karrier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"karrier\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/519a04be943d3f6c4fb243f6a0f7f3ae\"},\"headline\":\"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art!\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-20T13:16:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-20T12:01:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\"},\"wordCount\":396,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Artikel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\",\"name\":\"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art! - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-20T13:16:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-20T12:01:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Associative thinking must be activated in order to identify transferable skills. This thinking thrives on images rather than abstractions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f\",\"description\":\"| Outplacement | Coaching | Standortbestimmung | Bewerbungs- und Interviewcoaching\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"karrierecoaching Peter N\u00e4f\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/logo_small.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/logo_small.png\",\"width\":421,\"height\":113,\"caption\":\"karrierecoaching Peter N\u00e4f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/519a04be943d3f6c4fb243f6a0f7f3ae\",\"name\":\"karrier\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336f6993b2b0fc83a3fd708a462124239f9081f85eb32b063f80317d2afc7799?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336f6993b2b0fc83a3fd708a462124239f9081f85eb32b063f80317d2afc7799?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"karrier\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/author\/karrier\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art! - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f","description":"Associative thinking must be activated in order to identify transferable skills. This thinking thrives on images rather than abstractions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art! - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f","og_description":"Associative thinking must be activated in order to identify transferable skills. This thinking thrives on images rather than abstractions.","og_url":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/","og_site_name":"Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f","article_published_time":"2025-10-20T13:16:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-20T12:01:38+00:00","author":"karrier","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"karrier","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/"},"author":{"name":"karrier","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/519a04be943d3f6c4fb243f6a0f7f3ae"},"headline":"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art!","datePublished":"2025-10-20T13:16:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-20T12:01:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/"},"wordCount":396,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Artikel"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/","url":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/","name":"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art! - Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-20T13:16:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-20T12:01:38+00:00","description":"Associative thinking must be activated in order to identify transferable skills. This thinking thrives on images rather than abstractions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/recruitment-and-job-applications-an-art\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Recruitment and job applications \u2013 an art!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/","name":"Karrierecoaching - Peter N\u00e4f","description":"| Outplacement | Coaching | Standortbestimmung | Bewerbungs- und Interviewcoaching","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#organization","name":"karrierecoaching Peter N\u00e4f","url":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/logo_small.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/logo_small.png","width":421,"height":113,"caption":"karrierecoaching Peter N\u00e4f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/519a04be943d3f6c4fb243f6a0f7f3ae","name":"karrier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336f6993b2b0fc83a3fd708a462124239f9081f85eb32b063f80317d2afc7799?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336f6993b2b0fc83a3fd708a462124239f9081f85eb32b063f80317d2afc7799?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"karrier"},"url":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/author\/karrier\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13845"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15638,"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13845\/revisions\/15638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2026.karrierecoaching.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}