HR magazine’s special supplement yesterday on the future of Human Resources makes for fascinating reading. Most interesting was the research that indicated that 63% of HR directors “believe HR can most add value in the future world of work” by hiring top talent.

So there you have it. In a world of “Managing employee wellbeing, finding new ways of working and identifying and developing future skills and new leadership styles”, the official, hands down, winner-by-a-country-mile for the award for HR-future-worth goes to: Recruitment.

So where does that leave you if you’re looking for a job? Quite possibly unprepared, unless you have been asking yourself the following questions:

What does the phrase ‘talent’ mean to me?
Why am I the most talented candidate for this job?
What examples can I provide to prove that I am top talent?
How can I possibly display my talent during a job interview?

Because that’s what it boils down to: Your 60 minute interview starts here, and sandwiched in-between the meet and greet pleasantries and the end of interview formalities, somehow you must demonstrate your talent. So, interview questions aside, that leaves you about 30-40 minutes to shine; to showcase your talent; to communicate, radiate and ooze your talent (ok, maybe not the last one).

The point is this: ‘Talent’ is a phrase that’s been batted around HR departments so much it should probably live in Wimbledon. But when did you last see yourself as ‘talent’ or gain advantage from it? And will you know how to play ball when you meet with prospective employers?

If you’re lucky enough to have been selected for a job interview (easier said than done, given the volume of applications) you should seriously be asking yourselves the above questions, and line up some deliciously sorted responses.

Talent doesn’t just do what’s on the job description, it goes beyond the call of duty without hesitation, and over and above expectation with ease; talent communicates, innovates and collaborates; it energises the working environment and enriches the experience of work for others; it’s thirsty for knowledge and hungry for challenges.

And when it arrives at a job interview talent is wearing a t-shirt that reads “Been there, done that, did it better than everyone else”. And if it hasn’t done it before, it will find a way of proving that it can.