What Skills To List On Resume

October 11, 2021

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The Importance Of Soft Skills

Writing Your Resume Skills Section: Do’s and Don’ts

According to Forbes, 94% of recruiters believe great soft skills outweigh experience when it comes to internal promotion to leadership positions. Simply put, theyre fundamental to getting the job you want and essential for future career growth.

As Susan Vitale of iCIMS says, hard skills might get your resume looked at but soft skills help you stand out and get you hired. You must still possess the requisite technical skills to get the job you want, but without soft skills, you cant compete.

Why Do I Need A Skills Section

The whole point of keeping your resume concise is to allow for a recruiter or hiring manager to figure out the value you could create for the company after just a quick skim. With that in mind, having a section that basically spells out your hard skills makes a lot of sense,

Your skills section should actually be rather redundant. Ideally, a close read of your experience section should get across all your soft and hard skills. But the reason the skills section exists is because a resume so rarely gets a close read on a first pass. Considering the limited amount of time recruiters typically spend on a resumeabout six secondsa bit of repetition might actually be good. So cover your bases and put your skills in your bullet points and in a skills section. You never know what kind of reader youre going to get.

Another reality of the job application process that this section addresses is the ubiquity of applicant tracking systems . Keyword scanning is one way an ATS flags resumes for closer review, and a skills section, conveniently, can serve as an extra block of relevant keywords.

Overall, your resume skills section gives your application a nice optimization bump for both the human and digital review process.

What Are Soft Skills

Soft skills are character traits that positively affect how you work and interact with others.

They are natural skills that usually cant be taught in a classroom. Soft skills are often, but not always, people skills.

Soft skills arent always the type of skills that can be listed in the skills section of your resume. Instead, you should demonstrate your soft skills with specific examples in your work experience section.

Also Check: Employment History Resume

Types Of Skills To Include On A Resume

When you’re adding skills to your resume or reviewing the skills required for a job you’re interested in, there are two types of skills that are relevant.

Soft skills are the skills that apply to every job. These are your people skillsinterpersonal skills, communication skills, and other qualities that enable you to be successful in the workplace.
Hard skills are the qualifications required to do the job. For example, computer skills, administrative skills, or customer service skills. Find out more about the difference between hard and soft skills.

An increasing number of jobs require hybrid skills, which are a combination of soft and technical skills. Candidates with these skills are very competitive and can boost their earning power.

How To List Skills On Your Resume: 5 Quick And Easy Tips

Let’s narrow down how to list skills on a resume so that it makes its way through resume tracking software, stands out professionally, and catches the eye of potential employers. Here are quick resume skills section tips to keep in mind:

Use Job-Specific Skills on Your Resume. Only write job-specific skillscurrently used and recognized in your job. Dont bother including oldprogramming languages and old machinery, as it makes you look out of touch withcurrent trends.

Limit Your List to Only Include Applicable Skills. A skill sections goal is to convincean employer that you can do the job, not every task imaginable. Write only the professional skills relevant for the job. It would also be helpful if you include the levels of proficiency on the r

Organize Your Skills into Categories. Divide skills into majorcategories related to the position. For example, a web developers skill setcould be divided into programming languages, software, design, and softskills.

Include Relevant Synonyms. Use synonyms and different phrasesused for your skills. For instance, social media marketing also goes by SMM,and can sometimes refer to specific platforms, such as Facebook marketing, orPinterest marketing.

Also Check: How To Make An Acting Resume With No Experience

Sort Out Relevant Skills

The next step on how to list skills on a resume is by sorting out only relevant skills dor the job you are applying.

Whichever skills you want to list on your resume, it should solely depend on where you are applying.

If you are applying for an accounting position, your knowledge of math and your critical thinking ability should be listed as your skills on the resume. However, if you are applying for the position of a social media marketer there is no need to list math skills because it is not that relevant to the position.

After you are able come up with only relevant skills that matter to the job you are applying, you are closer to creating a perfect skill section on a resume.

Quantify Your Skills Whenever Possible

Saying you are a â60 word per minute typistâ has far more impact than a âfast typist.â

âMeasurables are incredibly valuable to your resume anything with numbers, percentages, or dollar signs immediately draws the readerâs eye and gives tangible examples of how you made a difference,â says Jennifer.

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Identify Your Key Skills

Make a list of your strongest skills. Ideally, these are workplace skills however, donât rule out personality traits, academic skills, or skills from volunteer work and side hustles.

Having trouble? Try mulling over these prompts.

What types of things do you do every day? What tools or talents help you perform those tasks?
What are you better at than most other people?
What skills have you used to make an impact in your past jobs?
What hard skills do you most enjoy using at work?
What sort of traits do people compliment you on?

You can also try taking some free career assessments for inspiration.

Read Through The Job Description And Visit The Company Website

Top Resume Skills

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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The 10 Best Skills To Put On Your Resume In 2021

These 10 items are the most important skills to put on your resume, according to our team of experienced hiring managers and career experts. If you have experience with these skills, you should definitely include them on your resume.

However, you canât simply put this list into your resumeâs skills section. Instead, this guide will walk you through how to use these skills on your resume correctly, and how to make the most of each one.

Here are three steps to get started.

How Do I Figure Out The Right Combination Of Skills To Include On My Resume For A Particular Job Application

Check the answer key! That is, print out the job description of the role youre interested in and take a highlighter to it , marking any skills you see listed that you have. Then, make sure these skills are listed on your resume. For example, heres a job description with some of the key skills bolded:

Email Marketing Manager

Manage email marketing strategy and calendar
Monitor, analyze, and report on campaign performance
Improve campaign success throughconversion optimization, A/B testing, segmentation,and more
Collaborate with the design and editorial teams to maintain consistent brand and voice across platforms
Work cross-functionally with sales, product, product marketing, and data teams

Requirements

3+ years in email marketing
Experience withcontent management systems and email service providers such as MailChimp or Constant Contact
Experience withGoogle Analytics, HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, and SEOa plus
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Team player with strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills
Excellent problem solving and time management skills

And heres a list of skills you might include in your skills section if you were applying to the job:

Conversion optimization, A/B testing, segmentation, MailChimp, Constant Contact, Google Analytics, HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, SEO

Types Of Skills For A Resume

There are two categories of good skills for a resume: hard and soft skills. Both need to shine.

Hard skills are skills learned through experience or education and generally produce measurable results. For example, hard skills for an accountant could include cash management, financial analysis, and financial reporting.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are more like personality traits and characteristics that determine your work style. Think communication skills, emotional intelligence, problem-solving skills, the ability to work in a team, and initiative.

You might think employers are focused only on job-related hard skills, but soft skills are equallyif not moreessential. Soft skills routinely top lists of attributes employers seek on applicant resumes.

Both hard and soft skills should be included on a resume, as both types are highly valued in all industries.

Mine The Job Descriptions For Must

The next step is take a look at the job description for the position you are applying for and make a list of the required skills that are listed. Are any of the skills on both of the lists you just created? If so, these are must-haves for your resume.

Now notice if there are any skills on the job description that you dont have. If there arent any, great!

But if there aredont panic. You just need to dig a little deeper into your past in order to demonstrate that you have the skill more on that in a minute.

Here is a link to a ton of job descriptions that can give you an idea of the skills needed take a look and find the position you are interviewing for!

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What If Theres No Job Posting Where Can You Find The Right Skills

You should still identify the most desirable skills. It is crucial.

The only thing that changes is where you look for those skills.

Heres a couple of ideas:

– Take a long hard look at yourself, and come up with a master list of your professional skills.

For one thing, youll see what you can offer the employer. For another, it will be easier to judge if youre a good fit for the position.

– Find job offers for the same positions from other employers.

Its likely other employers have the same expectations about the strengths candidates put on their resumes.

– Look up other job offers from your employer of choice.

Get to know what they expect from candidates. Note all the skills they find desirable.

– Visit the companys website.

Learn its values and culture. Watch out for keywords to describe your core qualifications, key professional and personal skills.

– Check out related LinkedIn profiles.

Look at the people who already work in the company and those who hold similar positions elsewhere. Pay attention to the job skills they list on their profiles.

– Pepper your resume with all the skills youve learned about.

Use them to prepare your resume objective or resume summary, resume profile, job description, key skills list, and other resume sections.

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.

Applicable Certificates Or Degrees

If you earned a certificate or degree, that hard skill has earned a place on your resume. Even if your degree is in a different field from the one you currently work in, your education shows that you are hard-working and committed. You should put these types of hard skills in a section titled âEducationâ or âEducation and Certifications.â

When the job posting description includes certifications or degrees as a requirement, be sure to include them on your resume. If you donât meet these requirements, you may want to hold off applying for this type of job until you have earned them.

Notice that this item says âapplicable,â though: there are cases when your education might not help your resume, such as in these examples:

An expired realtorâs license from 15 years ago is not going to help you become the next technical writer for toaster ovens. You can safely leave that out of your skills section.
Your high school diploma is implied if you hold an associate, bachelor, or other higher degree. Save the space for another skill.
Multiple certifications on similar topics might make your resume look cluttered. Pick your top three based on issuing entity, recency, or preference and add the other ones to your LinkedIn.

If you donât have the training or experience an employer wants, you can always learn a new hard skill! Unlike soft skills, which are mostly innate, hard skills can be acquired and improved all the time.

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How Do You Choose The Skills To List On A Resume

Heres the deal.

You know what youre good at. You know the things you grew up doing as a kid, or the things you learned in school , or the activities you did after school .

So you should already have a list of things that you would consider yourself proficient in.

This is a good place to start.

Here are the steps for choosing the right skills:

What Are The 9 Hr Competencies

Skills To List On Your Resume

In other words, todays successful HR business leaders are highly proficient in nine critical competencies found in the SHRM Competency Model: Leadership and Navigation, Ethical Practice, Business Acumen, Relationship Management, Consultation, Critical Evaluation, Global and Cultural Effectiveness, Communication, and

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Where On The Page Should My Skills Section Go

Generally a skills section lives at the bottom of a resume. Its meant to reiterate or summarize what the reader learned from your experience section. There are some exceptions though.

If youre a career changer whos been slowly accumulating the necessary skills for a shift, for example, it might make sense to move this section up to a more prominent spotpossibly even the top to create a hybrid, functional, or skills-based resume. Listing your skills before your experience section will color the way your whole resume is reviewed and help tell your career story. If you work in a technical field where hard skills are paramount, you might also want to put your skills section at the top.

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Top Resume Skills By Job

Our team parsed over 8 million recent job descriptions to find the most commonly requested skills for each job type listed below. To find out more about this projectand which skills to include on your resumecheck out our skills reports.

Below youll find the most commonly required skills for:

How To Include Foreign Language Proficiency In Your Resume

Here are some snippets from a sample resume that can help:

Here are some keywords that can help you stand out:

1. Foreign Languages Known.

Mention the language that you know.
Explain your keenness to converse in those language.

2. Language Proficiency.

Be sure to mention your proficiency.
It can be beginner, expert, or professional level.

3. Use a foreign language in a fast-paced environment.

Emphasize how you can help the business by using the language in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
Highlight your willingness to put your expertise to good use.
Mention any past instances where your language proficiency came in handy.

4. Leveraged Command/Expertise.

Mention instances where you stepped up and used foreign language proficiency in a demanding professional situation.

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What Are The Best Skills For 2021

The best skills for resumes in 2021 are skills that make you look qualified for the specific job youre applying for. However, it also helps to take into account recent changes to how companies operate.

Showcasing your knowledge of remote working software and emphasizing that youre self-sufficient is a great way to prove to employers that youre ready for the modern workplace.

Skills Employers Are Looking For Video

Employers share the skills they want you to have for their workplace 3.00 mins.

Rakesh Naukira: Communication skills – they’re absolutely vital and important both written and verbal communication skills ensuring that you write very, very clearly and articulate it well. And same within the verbal communication. Speaking slowly, articulate yourself and actually think about what you’re saying so that the other person understands what you’re saying.

Niels Alkemade: Teamwork and interpersonal skills in a candidate is extremely important for us. We’re an organization that works in an agile way so you’ll be working lots with people across the company and in different project groups.

Justin Ensor: Teamwork is essential. More and more collaboration is becoming the centrepiece of what makes us successful.

Rakesh: Organisations are about a group of people and it’s about those people connecting together and in today’s world that we live in it’s very diverse. Having that connection between that diversity is extremely important.

Shailen Patel: Nowadays anyone needs to be confident proud of their achievements and be comfortable to show that in an interview. If you don’t shout about yourself no one else will.

Camilla Weinstein: Another quality that we look for in candidates is that they’re passionate and driven. We are a technology, software-development house so people that are interested in technology and have a passion for and where the future of technology is going.

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