Tips For Adding Skills To Your Resume
A skills section on a resume allows employers to quickly determine if you have the right skills to fill the vacancy. All skills you list should be tailored to the application. Here are a few ways to determine job of sector specific skills:
- . Use your resources! Check out the preferred or required skills lists and include the skills you have into your resume. This will also help boost your resumes success with the Applicant Tracking Systems some companies use to filter candidates.
- Check out the company website for more information about the business. Its also a good idea to check out the competition for keywords that will be relevant to your application.
You can really drive home your value to a reader by incorporating skills in other sections of your resume, such as the resume objective, your professional cover letter, and your work experience.
Top tip: include skills throughout your resume, not just in a dedicated skills section.
Incorporate personal abilities and technical capabilities. You should also aim not only to mention the specific skill, but also your level of proficiency.
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:
Additional Skills On Resume Examples: Hard Skills
Hard skills are the main additional skills to put on a resume. They demonstrate the knowledge that the candidate has gained both through education and professional work experience. Hard skills could include:
- A degree in education: a high school degree, BA, MA, and so on.
- Knowledge of foreign languages: fluent in German, French, Spanish, etc.
- Software proficiency: Photoshop, Adobe, etc.
- Certifications: for example, Accredited Online Certificate in Accounting Programs.
- Any other quantifiable/measurable skill: for instance, a speed of typing of 70 words per minute.
Dont ignore the bilingual resume writing tips if your application strongly emphasizes your ability to use several languages.
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Example Of A Resume Skills Section
Whether you format your skills using bullet points or categories, your skills section should either appear near the top of your resume or near the bottom. Although thereâs no strict rule, it can help to keep it close to your education section and use those sections to supplement your professional experience. Look at the example below for guidance.
Where To Put The Skills Section:
There is no simple right or wrong answer on where to put your skills section, simply because it differs by industry, company, and job. However, there are different options that you can consider.
- Additional Skills Section: Usually placed toward the bottom of the resume and appropriate for jobs that value past experience the most, with a Professional Experience section towards the top of the resume.
- Key Skills Section: Listed at the top of the resume to showcase your abilities and appropriate if you are lacking work experience.
- Technical/Computer Skills Section: When applying for a technical position that requires a very specific skillset, this section will be placed at the top of the resume, just below the Resume Profile.
You can also make use of a resume builder.
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The 2 Different Types Of Skills
Before we dig a lot deeper, let us get to grips with the basics.
Skills can generally be divided into two parts:
- Soft skills:Personal qualities, attributes, characteristics, abilities or traits that enable one to interact and work with others. Examples of soft skills include leadership and interpersonal skills, professional attitude, work ethic and flexibility. Skills that fall under this category are intangible and difficult to quantify, but still very much sought after by employers.
- Hard skills: Specific, quantifiable and teachable skills that enable one to do their job to a good standard. Examples of hard skills include the ability to code, service a car or do complex math calculations. Job-related skills generally fall under this category.
TIP:
Ensure Your Top Resume Skills Are The Most Visible
In the table below you can find the three places to list your resume skills. There are different ways to describe your skill set to a potential employer, but if there are skills that you want to shout about from the rooftops, you should absolutely put them in your summary or skills section.
You might think that a potential employer might read every detail of your work experience, but that may not be the case for many reasons. You canât afford for critical skills to be lost in your general work experience, so put them at the top of your resume in the summary or in the specific skills section .
Three places to list your resume skills
Skills section. As a typical skills section contains 6-7 key skills, only the rarest and most impressive skills should get on your list. Mostly include your harder and technical skills here as your soft skills can come across in what you achieved in your work experience and in your summary. Suggested ratio of 2:1 in favour of hard skills.
Work experience. Sometimes your skills speak for themselves if you describe your accomplishmentswell enough. If you mention that you saved 15% on the annual equipment spend you wonât need to state the obvious and wax lyrical about your negotiation skills. Be smart in the language that you use and what lies behind it.
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List Your Social Media Profiles
Many hiring managers today screen candidates on social networks. Save them a step by providing your profile links on your resume. Seasoned applicants with a professional social presence would do well to include URLs for their LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and blog, if applicable.
“If, and only if, your social media accounts are filled with professional posts pertaining to your industry, listing them on your resume can be advantageous,” said Richie Frieman, author of Reply All and Other Ways to Tank Your Career. “They can show you have a strong network and are up to speed with modern-day marketing and communications practices. The hiring manager will see that you like to keep up with what’s happening and that you care about learning more.”
Your social profiles can be a powerful tool to supplement your experience and position as an expert in your field, but only if they are leveraged correctly.
If your social profiles are not professionally applicable, do not list them on your resume, and make sure they are set to private.
What Are Technical Or Hard Skills On Your Resume
When listing hard skills on your resume, include specific proficiencies and certifications. Front-end web developers, for instance, would report their level of expertise in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and other technologies the company lists in its job posting. A financial controller, meanwhile, might claim a strong foundation in GAAP or SEC reporting, and an administrative professionals resume skills could advertise a CAP or MOS certification.
Here are some hard resume skills for 15 in-demand fields:
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Communication Skills Resume Sample
The following example can help you see how your finished resume could look. Use this sample resume as you create your own:
Objective
Highly motivated communications specialist with five years of experience in communications and public relations. Tech-savvy professional seeking a rewarding digital communications manager position for a mission-driven organization.
Experience
Communications Specialist, Edison Communications: 2017-present
-
Write scripts and direct videos for Instagram and Facebook
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Manage press releases for 15 clients
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Oversee a team of three employees
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Developed social media strategy for five clients, leading to a 25% increase in social media traffic
Communications Assistant, Miller & Miller: 2015-2017
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Contributed to a 15% increase in ROI for three clients
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*Managed Facebook profiles for 10 clients
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Wrote weekly email newsletters for five clients
Communications Intern, Miller & Miller: 2014-2015
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Assist with writing posts and sourcing images for clients social media pages
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Perform preliminary research and write drafts for clients press releases
Certifications
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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Types Of Professional Skills
Skills can be broken down into four main categories:
| Time Management | Positive Attitude |
Contrary to popular belief, hiring managers often care more about soft skills than hard skills, though both hard and soft skills contribute to your appeal as a candidate.
Hard skills, such as computer programming or accounting, can be taught using a combination of curriculum and hands-on practice. Whereas soft skills, such as a positive attitude or punctuality, are harder to teach.
Regardless of your background, hiring managers are usually flexible with teaching you the hard skills needed for their job, as long as you already have the right attitude along with the aptitude to learn.
Don’t Lie About Your Skill Set
Be honest when choosing the skills to list on a resume. It’s tempting to include an in-demand skill to get the keyword in your resume, but you could be asked to prove your claim during the interview process or after youre hired.
You dont need to include a competency level for each skill on your resume, but calling out your skill level is an option. Use this as a guide:
- Beginner: A novice understanding of the skill. You have exposure to the skill and understand basic concepts, but you lack experience. For transparency, theres nothing wrong with writing beginner in parentheses next to the skill.
- Intermediate: Between a beginner and an expert. You have experience with and can carry out the skill, but you don’t understand advanced concepts. For this level skill, you normally wouldnt need a qualifier.
- Expert: A highly developed skill level. You have solid experience and training with the skill and understand advanced concepts. To draw attention to a crucial skill, write expert in parentheses next to the skill. If youre an expert in your entire skills list, call the section expertise.
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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:
Ways To Write A Resume Skills Section
Whether youre trying to catch a recruiters eye or rise to the top of an applicant tracking systems rankings, seeding your resume with relevant resume keywords should be a top priority. One simple way to do this is through a resume skills section.
A designated skills list is an optional resume section and not part of a traditional resume format. Find a good hybrid/combination or functional resume template if you want a skills section on your resume.
Here are four ways to show off what you can do with a resume skills section:
1. Create a simple bullet list resume skills section
The most straight-forward way is to make a list immediately following your contact information and summary statement. For example, a Customer Success Managers bullet points might look like this:
- Account Management
- On-boarding
- Customer Engagement
Hitting all the top job requirements with your skills list will make a recruiters ears perk up. It will also help you rank highly for a keyword search within an applicant tracking system. Its an attention-getter, but dont stop there. Just because you list these job skills on your resume doesnt mean a corporate recruiter will believe you.
If you use this type of resume skills section, be sure to add context for every skill elsewhere in your work experience. If a recruiter is excited by Product Adoption in your skills section, the first thing theyll do is skim your work experience to figure out when, how, and how much you used that skill.
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Quick Answers: Resume Skills Faqs
How many skills should I include on my resume?
Put as many relevant skills as possible on your resume. Highlight your most applicable skills in your skills section and include the rest in your summary and work experience copy.
What soft skills should I put on my resume?
Desired soft skills vary by role, but here are 10 soft skills recruiters love to see: Adaptability. Communication. Creativity. Customer Service. Leadership. Organization. Problem Solving. Teamwork. Time Management. Work Ethic.
What hard skills should I include on my resume?
That depends on the job! You can take a close look at the job description to see which skills are required. Be sure to include as many relevant hard skills as possible on your resume. Use Jobscan to scan your resume beside any job description.
How to list resume skills when you have no experience?
Just because you might not have held a similar title in the past, doesnt always mean that youre lacking the required skills to make your application competitive.Note the relevant skills youve gained from education and certifications, mock projects, volunteer opportunities, and internships.
Avoid Excessive Resume Skill Repetition
When you have multiple places to share your skills, it is easy to think that repetition is a powerful way of getting your message across. Believe me, it isnât. Even if you use different words to describe the same resume skill, you need to realize that your resume real estate is far too valuable to be doing this.
In order to come across as a rounded professional, you should seek to highlight as many different skills as possible in the skills section, employment history and summary. By all means, repeat a couple of the really core resume skills, but variety is definitely your friend.
The more skills that a hiring manager can read on a resume, the more interesting the potential interview with you might prove.
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Think Beyond Your Job Duties
Hiring managers don’t want to read a list of your job duties. They want concrete examples of your accomplishments in previous positions that show how you can make a difference in this new position. Rangel noted that specific merits are more engaging to read than just your experiences. For example, “I reduced operating expenses by 23% in six months” is far more interesting to an employer than “I have 30 years of sales experience,” she said.
When deciding what information to keep or cut out of your resume, focus on striking abstract traits and qualifications in favor of concrete, quantifiable results.
“The best resumes highlight a job candidate’s actions and results,” said Bob Myhal, director of digital marketing at CBC Automotive Marketing. “Employers want employees who get things done, and who take great joy and pride in what they do. Rather than a laundry list of your qualifications, your resume should reflect your accomplishments and enthusiasm for your career.”
You shouldn’t ignore your skills section either. Sade reminded job seekers to list any industry-relevant apps or programs they’re familiar with, and find ways to incorporate examples of their soft skills into their job descriptions.