Latest / Career Skills with Fexingo: Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and Future-Proofing Your Career / How to Use Skill Validation to Prove You Are Hireable
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this phrase I've been hearing a lot lately in hiring circles — 'skill validation.' And it's not just a buzzword. It actually points to a real problem in how we prove what we know. Luna: Skill validation — as in, proving to an employer that you actually have the skills you claim? Not just listing them on a resume? Lucas: Exactly. Because the resume is essentially a self-report. It's what you say about yourself. And employers have learned the hard way that self-reporting is unreliable. A 2025 LinkedIn study found that candidates who provided three concrete work samples — actual artifacts of their work — were 62 percent more likely to get an interview offer than those who only submitted a resume. Luna: Sixty-two percent — that's not marginal. That's basically doubling your odds. Lucas: Right. And the study controlled for years of experience, industry, and job level. So the work samples themselves were the differentiator. Which gets to the core of skill validation: it's about moving from 'I say I can do this' to 'here is evidence that I have done this.' Luna: But isn't that what a degree or a certification is supposed to do? Validate your skills? Lucas: Partly. But degrees validate that you completed a curriculum, not necessarily that you can apply the knowledge in a real-world context. And certifications test recall more than execution. A work sample — whether it's a code repository, a marketing campaign you ran, a deck you built, or a design mockup — shows actual applied skill. And it's harder to fake. Luna: I can see that. But what about soft skills? How do you produce a work sample for, say, negotiation or leadership? Lucas: That's the tougher question. Soft skills are harder to artifact. But there are proxies. You can collect written testimonials from colleagues who observed you leading a project. You can record a mock negotiation — with permission, obviously. Or you can prepare a case study of a conflict you resolved, structured like a business school teaching note. Luna: So it's not just about a portfolio of finished products. It's about capturing the process, too. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the concept of a 'validation portfolio' comes in. Instead of one giant portfolio of everything you've ever done, you select three to five pieces that each demonstrate a specific skill. One might show analytical thinking — a spreadsheet model you built. Another might show communication — a presentation you gave. A third might show project management — a timeline and outcome summary. Luna: And you present these alongside your resume? Or instead of? Lucas: Alongside. The resume is still the index. But you include links or attachments. And in your cover letter or LinkedIn summary, you explicitly say: 'I've included three work samples that demonstrate the skills you're looking for.' That's the validation move. Luna: It also forces you to be honest with yourself. If you can't produce a single concrete example of a skill, maybe you don't actually have it yet. Lucas: That's uncomfortable but valuable. And it points to a bigger theme: skill validation isn't just for job applications. It's a personal feedback loop. If you're trying to learn a new skill, you should be creating validation artifacts as you go. Not after. Luna: So instead of taking a course and then hoping to use the skill later, you build something with it during the course. Lucas: Precisely. Let's say you're learning Python. Don't just finish the exercises. Build a small script that scrapes data from a website and puts it into a spreadsheet. That script is now a validation artifact. You can show it to an employer and say, 'I wrote this. It works. Here's the output.' Luna: That's far more convincing than a certificate that says you completed a 40-hour course. Lucas: And it's also more honest. Because the certificate says you sat through the course. The artifact says you can do the thing. Luna: I want to go back to the LinkedIn study. Sixty-two percent — was that across all industries, or were some fields more responsive to work samples? Lucas: The effect was strongest in tech and creative fields — software development, design, marketing. But even in fields like finance and consulting, where resumes and pedigrees dominate, candidates who included a work sample — like a financial model or a client deck — saw a 40 percent increase in interview rates. So it's not just a tech thing. Luna: Interesting. So the principle applies broadly, even if the specific artifact changes. Lucas: Right. A nurse might include a case study of a patient outcome they improved. A teacher might include a lesson plan with student work samples. A salesperson might include a record of their quota attainment and a testimonial from a client. The format adapts. Luna: What about the risk of bias? If someone doesn't have a public portfolio — maybe they work in a confidential setting — they can't produce the same kind of evidence. Lucas: That's a real concern. But you can anonymize data. A financial analyst can build a model using public data that mirrors the kind of work they did internally. A consultant can write a case study about a project without naming the client. The key is demonstrating the skill, not revealing proprietary information. Luna: So it's about translating your experience into a format that's sharable. Lucas: Exactly. And that translation itself is a skill. Employers look for candidates who can communicate their impact clearly. Lucas: Let me give you a concrete example from my own career. When I was applying for my first journalism job, I didn't have many published clips. So I took three articles I had written for my college newspaper, and I rewrote them as if they were for a professional outlet. I fact-checked them, added sources, tightened the prose. I presented those as 'writing samples.' I got the job. Luna: You essentially created validation artifacts from your existing work. Lucas: Right. And I think that's the mindset: don't wait for someone to give you a project. If you have evidence of your skills — even rough evidence — polish it and put it forward. Luna: I want to zoom out for a second. We've talked on this show about skills audits and skills journals. Those are internal tools. Validation is external. How do they connect? Lucas: Great question. The audit and journal help you identify what skills you have and want to develop. Validation is the proof that you actually have them. You can't validate a skill you haven't identified. And you shouldn't claim a skill you haven't validated. So the audit comes first, then you build validation artifacts. Luna: So it's a pipeline: audit, develop, validate. Lucas: Exactly. And validation isn't a one-time thing. As you grow, you should update your artifacts. Your best work from three years ago might not represent your current skill level. Luna: That makes sense. And it also helps with the 'skill proxy' concept we covered in episode 22 — where you use indirect evidence to prove a skill. Validation is the direct evidence. Lucas: Right. Skill proxies are useful when you can't produce a direct artifact. But whenever possible, go for the direct evidence. A testimonial is a proxy. A work sample is proof. Luna: Let's talk about one more angle: third-party validation. Besides your own artifacts, what about assessments and references? Lucas: That's a good point. References are a form of validation — someone else vouching for you. But they're backward-looking. A skills assessment, like a coding test or a writing exercise, is forward-looking. Some companies now use platforms like Codility or HackerRank for technical roles, or they ask for a timed writing sample. Those are validation tools, but they're controlled by the employer. Luna: So you want to bring your own validation to the table, rather than relying entirely on the employer's test. Lucas: Exactly. It puts you in a stronger position. You're not just reacting to their process. You're proactively demonstrating your value. Lucas: Look, if this episode has helped you think about how to prove your skills more effectively — if it was worth the time you spent — there's a simple way to support the show. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's the entire ask. It helps us keep the podcast ad-free and focused on actionable career advice. Luna: Yeah, and honestly, even one coffee from a listener goes a long way. We appreciate that you're here, and we want to keep delivering content that's useful. Lucas: So — back to validation. One practical takeaway I want to leave you with: this week, pick one skill you claim on your resume. Just one. And create a validation artifact for it. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be real. Then update your LinkedIn profile to include that artifact. Luna: That's a concrete action. And I'd add: ask a colleague or a former manager to review it and give you feedback. That's another layer of validation. Lucas: Good point. Peer review validates your artifact. And then you have a chain of evidence: your skill, your artifact, and a third-party endorsement. That's the gold standard. Luna: I think that's a strong note to end on. Skill validation isn't about bragging — it's about building trust with employers and with yourself. Lucas: Exactly. Thanks, Luna. And thanks to our listeners. We'll be back next week with another angle on future-proofing your career.