Top Resume Skills And How To List Them
Choosing the right skills for your resume is the ticket to getting noticed, interviewed, and hired for a job. But how do you know which resume skills recruiters want to see?In this article, well help you determine which skills employers are looking for and how to include them on your resume.
Choosing the right skills when writing your resume is the ticket to getting noticed, interviewed, and hired for a job. But how do you know which resume skills recruiters want to see?
In this article, well help you determine which job skills employers are looking for and how to include them on your resume.
Read on to learn:
Types Of Skills You Should Put On A Resume
The skills section of a resume serves as an outline of a candidates relevant or valuable abilities to the position they are applying for. Overall, there are two major types of skillshard and soft.
Hard skills are learned and quantifiable, such as data analysis, SEO, and operating machinery. This may also include languages. In comparison, soft skills are more subjective and, therefore, more difficult to quantify. Some of the people skills you can list on a resume include conflict resolution, communication, and public speaking.
Hard and soft skills are both important to employers, so you should include some of each in your resume. Its always beneficial to analyze the job description before listing your skills so that youre aware of the position priorities, allowing you to tailor your listed skills and use keywords to accentuate your abilities.
Figure Out The Computer Skills Required For The Job
When applying for a new position, you must first identify the computer skills needed. To figure this out, go through each job description and highlight each thing that relates to a technology, software, or application.
Then create a list with the computer skills described, making sure to write each skill using the same wording that is used in the job description.
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Order Hard Skills On Your Resume Logically
Let’s look at how to list skills on a resume in the right order.
Some jobs require more technical skills than others, likenursing, engineering, video animation, and programming. For jobs like this,its important that your skills are listed in a logical manner.
Heres how to list programming skills on resume without makingit look like a laundry list of jargon:
Option 1. List Your Skills In Order of Relevance
List the job-specific skills most relevantto your target job then move on to the secondary or routine skills expected.This layout makes it easy for recruiters to see that you’ve got the skillsrequired on the job description.
Option 2. Categorize Them by Type of Skill
Hard skills can be categorized in different ways,depending on your job title. Below are hard skills examples for graphic designer, grouped according to the skill type:
- Design Skills. Layouts, typography, drawing, sketching
- Design Software. Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop
- Additional Skills. Skills useful for designers, but not directlyrelated to their current niche. For example, CSS and Web Development are good secondaryskills for a print layout artist.
Option 3. Place Them In Order of Experience
List hard skills followed by the years ofexperience. Listing your professional skills in this fashion shows your careersprogression.
How To Highlight Communication Skills In A Resume
Communication skills are essential for any position. Prospective employers want to know that job candidates possess these important abilities. You can prove your expertise as a communicator by highlighting these skills on your resume through descriptive word choice. Showing communication in a resume can help you stand out as a qualified candidate for jobs across any industry. In this article, we explain the ways you can include communication skills on your resume with sample resumes to help you prepare for your next job search.
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Show Examples Of How You Use Communication Skills
Prove your communication skills by choosing descriptive details that demonstrate how you’ve used each one in the workplace. For example, instead of stating you have strong presentation abilities, you could write that you spoke to over 100 conference attendees as a panelist. Give specific examples that prove the skills you list at the top of your resume.
What Are Skills Why Are Skills Important
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a skill is:
the ability to use ones knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance
a learned power of doing something competently: a developed aptitude or ability
When it comes to job hunting, your skills are what set you apart. Every human on earth has a set of skills that is unique to them. Likewise, every professional position has a unique set of skills that is required for performing the job.
Finding the perfect alignment between these two ideas is the key goal for every hiring manager.
If a hiring manager finds someone that already possesses the skills needed for their job, they wont have to spend so much time and money on training. It also means that their new employee will be able to pull their own weight more quickly, providing a quicker return on their hiring investment.
But how do hiring managers know who has what it takes to perform well on the job?
The first and most important place hiring managers look is at your resume. On average, a hiring manager spends 6 seconds reviewing a resume and during that time they are scanning the pages to see if the skills required for the job jump out at them.
If they find what they are looking for, you get called in for an interview. If they dont quickly see what they are looking for, your resume will most likely be discarded.
As a job seeker, it is your responsibility to make sure you know what skills hiring managers are looking for.
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Best Skills To Put On A Marketing Resume
As someone in the marketing field you’re likely very aware at how fast the world is changing, especially if youre into digital marketing. Hence, its important for you to highlight that youre keeping up with the latest trends.
- Soft skills: collaboration, intuitive, creativity, problem-solving, multitasking, curiosity, innovation, networking, quantitative thinking, forward-thinking
- Hard skills: content marketing, WordPress, mobile marketing, social media, email marketing, lead nurturing, SEO, Mailchimp, Adobe Photoshop, video production
Check out this well researched resume example from an online marketing specialist for inspiration.
How To Include Skills Throughout Your Resume
Now that you know the top skills to put on a resume, use them to your advantage throughout your application.
There are three places on your resume where you can include professional skills:
Lets explore how to add skills to each of these key resume sections, and their respective benefits.
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Categorize Skills Based On Skill Levels
Another way to show your skill level is by grouping skills based on your knowledge of each. Doing this helps hiring managers to identify areas you’re good at and skills you need to develop quickly. For example, you can group your task delegation, email marketing, and copywriting skills if you’re an expert in those areas. Then, place your critical-thinking, verbal communication, and time management skills in a group to show you’re proficient in them.
Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills
âSoftâ skills are those that are not quantifiable, such as leadership. These skills also cannot be learned, but are rather a facet of your personality. Nevertheless, soft skills are still critical to have, for they demonstrate that you are personable and competent.
âTip: Use some of the soft skills as adjectives when writing your profile summary. For example, try âenthusiastic entrepreneur,â âempathic childcare worker,â âorganized nursesâ aid,â âsupportive administration assistantâ or âdetail-oriented sales associate.â
The resume below is for a Childcare Worker and includes many soft skills that companies look for, including Creativity and Organizational skills.
In contrast, âHardâ skills are those that are learned — either in school or through a certification program. These skills are quantifiable and can be continuously expanded upon through further education. Today, most hard skills have to do with computer technology, such as SEO, CSS/HTML, or Microsoft Suite. Even if you arenât tech-savvy, chances are you still have a few hard skills.
Tip: Be specific about your hard skills. Instead of listing âProgramming Languages,â specify which ones you know — Python, Java, C, etc. Same with photo editing software and any other platforms you are familiar with.
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List Your Skills On A Functional Resume
If you are changing careers or industries and do not have extensive professional experience, you might decide to feature them at the top of your resume. This type of resume is called a
Any relevant professional experience
Education
To include skills on a functional resume, create a separate skill section that lists your successes with key skills relevant to the position for which youre applying. Any professional experience you do have should go below your skills section.
Heres an example of how to list skills on a functional resume:
Skills
Process StreamliningCreated customer service email scripts used across the company to interact with customers. Single-handedly created customer service representative training manual, reducing the onboarding process from 8 to 6 weeks. Reduced average customer representative call time by 90 seconds with intuitive online training.
Complaint ResolutionAnswered an average 50+ calls per day from unsatisfied customers related to delays in shipment, order mistakes and lost orders. Achieved 97% average customer satisfaction rating, surpassing team goal by 12%.
Service-Based SellingConsistently exceeded application targets by 10% with innovative upselling techniques. Pioneered development of improved system for following up with unsatisfied customers, reducing customer churn by 6%.
Read Through The Job Description And Visit The Company Website
Job descriptions are valuable when it comes to writing the best resume as they usually have a “Requirements” or “Key Skills” section where the companies list the skills they expect their candidates to have. However, companies will also often list necessary skills in the descriptions of the company and the position. By carefully examining the job description, you can find the most relevant skills to put on your resume. You will want to look for skills-related keywords or phrases, such as “knowledge of JavaScript.”
For example, a job description for an administration clerk requires “attending to all queries in a timely and effective manner.” From this, a candidate can deduce that time management and communication skills are essential requirements for the job. Another job description for a motor technician requires successful candidates to “prepare all reports and forms required in conjunction with work assignments,” meaning that the candidate should have administrative skills as well as attention to detail.
For information on the company’s culture, and thus the soft skills you would need, check out their website. You can also search for a careers page, LinkedIn, or other social media platforms. You will then be able to include the most relevant soft skills tailored to the specific company.
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Hard Or Soft Skills: Which Is Moreimportant In A Great Resume
Logic suggests hard skills are more important. The answerisnt so simple.
In a tough economy, applicants with hard skills are hiredquicker because employers think they can do the job with little or no training.
In a niche or competitive market, applicants withsought-after skills are prioritized. This happened before when iOS apps weregaining popularity and companies scrambled to fight over limited talent supply.Its happening again now that Facebook, Google, and other tech companies arefighting over candidates with machine learning expertise.
In industries where the supply of talent is plenty,employers prefer applicants with developed soft skills, arguing that soft skillsarent easily learned.
Dont forget, employers dont recruit on practical ability alone, they also consider cultural fit, says Sarah Dowzell of Natural HR.
of all the 50,000 skills listed on their network shows that majority of employers prefer candidates with a combination of hard and soft skills, most desirable of which is creativity.
Findings from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report also shows that “soft skills” like critical thinking, originality, collaboration, and originality are going to be demand the more we advance in technology.
What Skills Should I Not Include At All
For people who are pivoting to another career, it can be a good branding move to not include the skills you dont want to use anymore, especially if they are not relevant or inherently interesting. For example, if youre an executive assistant who wants to move into diversity and inclusion work, you probably dont want to list all the flight booking and calendaring tools youre familiar with. If you must include these skills in your experience section to accurately describe your previous roles, thats fine, but dont reiterate them in your skills section.
Skills that are a bit obvious can also be scrapped. Theres generally no need to put Microsoft Word on your resume, unless the job description specifically lists this skill. And avoid anything that is completely unrelated to the position youre applying for. You might be an amazing knitter, but that probably doesnt belong in your skills section if youre applying to be a social media manager for a hotel chain.
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Second Decide How You Will Organize Your Skills
If you have quite a few skills to detail, it can help create a two or three-column list to split the skills up in an organized and visually pleasing way. Additionally, as previously mentioned, it can make more sense to categorize certain skills based on their specialized field. For example, you could create a technology or language skills section.
Consider Whether Or Not To Use Side Columns
Dr. Dawn D. Boyer of Dboyer Consulting advises againstusing templates with text blocks, double-line spacing, side columns, and othercreative but problematic layouts.
She continues, An ATS takes the text it finds and parses it over intodata blocks for future searches. Resumes with text boxes, fancy graphics,tables, and weird columns may confuse the ATS system, which can lead it to mixup the text, or ignore it totally.
According to her, its also the reason why putting yourinformation only in the header or footer is a bad idea. ATS often cantrecognize text embedded in headers, so your contact details wont be includedon your application.
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Refine Your List Of Skills
But theres more to it.
When your resume is filled with skills and qualities sought after by the employer, and your key skills section has 20+ items
Its time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Theres one problem, though.
The task may seem impossible when every skill feels relevant.
Heres what to do.
Assess how good you are at each of your skills and talents. A simple scale from 1 to 5, or from beginner to advanced should do.
It takes value from it.
So if you feel like some of your technical skills or computer skills are basic, keep them to yourself.
Let your resume highlight your best professional side.
Expert Hint:Do cover letters matter? Weve asked over 200 recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals, and they told us that 83% of the time a great cover letter can help you get the interview even if your resume isnt good enough.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.
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Communication Skills On A Resume
ZipJob Team
6 min read
Communication skills are important for almost any position. The ability to communicate effectively with your team, customers, and managers is essential. Including communication skills on a resume can be tricky, however.
We’ll cover exactly how to include communication skills on a resume along with some examples.
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Add Detail When Necessary
No matter what resume type you choose, it is necessary to add additional detail to your skills list. Namely, include your level of expertise and engagement with each skill and rank skills in terms of how well you perform them. Common resume convention suggests you rank skills as either expert, moderate or average, and you can do this by writing ranking next to the skill or using icons, like stars, and a key.
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Add Them To Your Resume Introduction
Hiring managers only have seconds to look at each resume.
One of the best ways to immediately grab their attention is by highlighting your relevant resume skills as quickly as possible. Thats where your resume introduction comes in handy.
A strong resume summary summarizes your most valuable skills at the top of the page. This immediately shows employers that you have the base qualifications necessary for the job.
Heres an example of a strong skills-based resume introduction:
Additionally, consider adding a list of core competencies to your resume to quickly communicate your most relevant skills.
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What Is A Resume Skills Section Why Is It Important
Having a section dedicated to an applicants skills makesit easy for recruiters to check qualifications quickly. For candidates, its anotheropportunity to add keywords and highlight their skills, in case the recruiterdidnt read through their professional history.
The resume skills section is often listed after the professionalexperience section, but some resume templates have the skill section at aseparate column on the left or right-hand side of the document.
Some candidates group their skills according to the main responsibilities of their job.
Using a template such as those available through Envato Elements and GraphicRiver makes your professional skills look more organized and easy to read for the recruiter. Above is an example of how to list programming skills on a resume , which clearly shows the applicant has more experience when it comes to programming compared to graphic design .