resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

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150 Top Skills for Your Resume + How to List Skills in 2024

Stephen Greet

  • Best General Skills

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

  • How to Include Skills on Your Resume
  • Job-Specific Skills
  • Skills FAQs

When it comes to your resume skills, the more specific you can get, the better. That’s why we broke down the  most in-demand job skills by career type .

Still, it can be helpful to start by looking at the skills employers generally might be wanting right now.

We analyzed countless job descriptions across all careers and identified 150 of the most sought-after and widely applicable skills you can put on your resume (like this one) in 2024.

Software Engineer Resume

or download as PDF

Software engineer resume example with 12 years experience

20 Good Skills to Put on a Resume

Young man in front of his laptop reading his resume

While we’re going to give you plenty of job-specific resume skills, there are some that work across just about any field. These can add value for candidates who either lack work history or are creating an  entry-level resume .

  • Data Analysis
  • Problem-solving
  • Collaborative
  • Detail-oriented
  • Written Communication
  • Public Speaking
  • Critical Thinking
  • Multi-tasking
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Time Management
  • Accountable
  • Results-oriented
  • Project Management
  • Compassionate/ Empathetic

A PC monitor and laptop showing well written resumes.

Before we jump into which skills to put on your resume, we need to get some definitions out of the way:

  • Hard skills  are the tools and software you use to get your job done. Excel and QuickBooks are examples of hard skills.
  • Soft skills  are those that are hard to measure or prove expertise in. “Communication” is a textbook example of a soft skill.

Quickly distinguish between hard and soft skills by asking, “Is there a specific tool or software associated with the skill?” If “yes,” you’re likely dealing with a hard skill. If not, you’re talking about a soft skill.

As we explained earlier, companies often use an ATS to filter out job applicants based on whether they include the right skills on their resumes.

The ATS filters are looking primarily for hard skills; they want to be sure the people they end up hiring know the right tools and software needed to succeed.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you should exclude soft skills from your resume. Why? After the ATS approves your resume, it’s passed on to the human hiring manager. They’ll likely want to see soft skills depending on the kind of industry and role you’re applying to.

Try out this quick guide to determine whether to put soft skills on your resume:

Should I include soft skills on my resume?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you should likely include soft skills on your resume (we’ll detail how in the next section). 

  • Technical roles are those primarily dominated by hard skills (software engineering, data science, accounting, etc.)
  • Just listing soft skills on your resume isn’t as impactful as  showing how you used them to do your job .
  • For example, if you’re in sales or customer service, you need the ability to communicate persuasively with customers!

Examples of hard skills according to industry

  • Predictive Modeling (Finance)
  • eQUEST (Energy)
  • Crop Rotation (Agriculture)
  • eZee Frontdesk (Hospitality)
  • Google Classroom (Education)
  • X-ray Diagnostics (Healthcare)
  • Mailchimp (Marketing)
  • AutoCAD (Engineering)

Examples of soft skills

  • Self-starter
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Attentive to Details

How to List Skills on Your Resume

Young man sitting behind his computer screen happily typing away.

Now that you know whether you should put hard skills, soft skills, or a combination on your resume, how do you actually include them?

  • When it comes to your resume skills, the presentation can matter just as much as the content! 
  • Before we get to structure,  a word of warning :

Don’t list too many skills  in your skills section! While it’s all right to dump all sorts of skills into your  resume outline , it’s a big red flag to the hiring manager if they see a resume where an applicant lists 15+ skills.

First, it might mean the applicant is exaggerating their skillset (a big no-no). Second, a hiring manager would rather hire someone who’s a master of a few skills than a novice in many.

Different  resume formats  may display your skills in various ways, but regardless of the layout you choose,  there are three places you should mention your most important skills : 

  • In your resume objective or resume summary (if you include this section)
  • In a dedicated “skills” section on your resume
  • In your work experience or projects ( show how you used your skills to do your job)

Your resume objective should only be two to three sentences , so you should include your top one to two skills most relevant to the job you’re applying for here. In addition to our objective sample below, we’ve got plenty more great examples of how to mention your best skills in your  resume objective  or  resume summary .

Organized, considerate administrative assistant with a history of remaining cool under high-pressure situations where multiple priorities are managed. Genoa Telepsychiatry is doing invaluable work for underserved housing populations, and I would be an asset in enabling Ms. Garcia to focus on that mission by alleviating her organizational burden.

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

How to organize skills on your resume

When it comes to skills for a resume, there are a couple of ways you can structure them:

  • By skill category (technology type, soft skills vs. hard skills)
  • Experience level

These kinds of breakdowns aren’t mandatory. You can just list all of your skills in your skills section, provided you keep the number to under 10.

First,  you can break up your skills by category . This is most appropriate if you’re applying for a technical role since you can group different technologies you use by type.

For example, as a data analyst, you might want to divide your skills by the different facets of your job (programming, modeling, and data visualization).

Data analyst skills be different facets

This breakdown of your skills can also work well if soft skills are your biggest strength. For example, you can chunk your soft skills into categories like leadership, customer service, communication, etc.

Another way to classify your skills on your resume is by your experience level . Convey your expertise either in terms of years of expertise with that skill or by a rating you choose (beginner, intermediate, expert, for instance).

Here’s an example of this skills breakdown in action:

Resume skills organized by proficiency

And again, you can also just list all of your skills without categories like the example below if there are fewer than 10:

Resume skills without categories

Let your work experience vouch for your job skills

Now that you’ve got your top one to two skills in your resume objective and a dedicated skills section, it’s time to talk about how you’ve used your skills in your previous roles and projects.

This is especially important for soft skills.  Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager .

Does seeing that someone described themselves as “attentive to detail” in their skills section mean much without seeing that skill in action?

It’s much more valuable if you highlight a time you were attentive to detail in a previous job. So, if you’re an administrative assistant, you might say you “re-organized thousands of customer contacts in HubSpot without losing any customer data.”

Remember, it’s one thing to say you have a skill, but  showing your knowledge of that skill in a work or personal project carries far more weight  in the eyes of the hiring manager.

Let’s make this practical with an example: This software engineer lists NodeJS and Django in her resume skills list.

Software engineer resume skills example

This won’t be the last we see of these skills, though. Take a look at this job seeker’s work experience at MarketSmart. For instance, see how she weaves NodeJS into improving CTR? And even her intern experience shows how Django played a role in increasing reporting speed.

Software engineer skills in resume work experience

Pro tip: Try starting with specific work experience and then work backward to determine which skills you used instead of the other way around.

Regarding technical skills, try to be specific about what you did with the tool/ software you’re describing. Microsoft Excel is a program that can be used for many different applications, for example. Discuss specifically which functionality you used to accomplish your task (pivot tables, vlookups, etc.).

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Match your resume skills to the job description

How can you identify the most common skills for the industry or role you’re applying for? The best way is to look at job ads for positions that grab your attention.

Try this two-step process to list skills on your resume:

  • Look across 5-10 different job descriptions for roles you’re interested in and identify the 10-15 most common skills in those job listings.
  • For each specific role you apply to, choose the 5-7 skills from your list that are most relevant to that job .

Yup, this means you’ll have to  customize your resume  for each role. Customizing your skills section, however, will vault you into the top five percent of applicants and is the quickest way to increase the number of interviews you get!

Let’s walk through an example of how to customize your skills for a specific job.

Say you’re looking for a position as a digital marketer, and after looking at some job descriptions, you notice the most common skills employers are looking for are the following:

  • CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive
  • Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, Heap
  • General Tools: Microsoft Excel/ Word/ PowerPoint, Google Sheets/ Docs/ Slides
  • Optimization: A/B testing, customer segmentation, attribution modeling
  • Paid Ads: Facebook, AdWords, LinkedIn, Google Display Network, retargeting
  • Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
  • Email Marketing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Drip
  • SEO: Content creation, keyword research, backlink building

Now, you’re specifically interested in a digital marketing role at Barnes and Noble with the following job description:

Digital marketing manager

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

  • Develop and execute data-driven marketing strategies and campaigns with a strong focus on driving acquisition, engagement, and retention across multiple channels (e.g., SMS, mobile, email, social media, etc.) on time and on budget.
  • Aim to generate revenue and deliver on key business objectives, ROI, and KPI targets.
  • Own, measure, deliver, and optimize key metrics and reporting on marketing activities across channels and platforms.
  • Identify trends and insights, optimize segments, spend, and performance based on data.
  • Utilize strong analytical ability to evaluate end-to-end customer experience across multiple channels and customer touchpoints and work cross-functionally to drive qualified traffic, improve conversion, and identify new opportunities to boost user engagement and retention through A/B and multivariate testing.

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Minimum 5-7 years of digital marketing experience with a minimum of 3 years demonstrated success in mobile, email, social media, PPC, and SEM marketing from concept to completion with a proven track record of success.
  • Results-driven mentality with exceptional detail orientation and knowledge of metrics, A/B testing, and ROI analysis.
  • Experience with testing and optimization platforms.
  • Strong track record of distilling actionable insights from data to improve multi-channel marketing strategies.
  • In-depth familiarity with email service providers and knowledge of marketing automation platforms.
  • Solid understanding of website analytics tools (Google Analytics, Amplitude, Appsflyer), email systems (Sailthru, Salesforce Marketing Cloud), and ad-serving tools (Adroll, Facebook.)

Finally, we cross-reference our list of 10-15 skills with the skills this specific job is looking for (underlined above). This leaves us with the remaining five key skills:

  • Optimization: A/B Testing, Segmentation
  • CRM: Salesforce
  • Web Analytics: Google Analytics
  • Paid Ads: Facebook
  • Social Media: Email Marketing

There you have it! These skills are what will make up your skills list for this specific role. Don’t forget to include the seemingly most essential skills in your resume objective (for this position, we’d say those are optimization and A/B testing) and mention relevant work experience where you used some of these skills.

Remember, it’s important to be truthful about which skills you know and which you don’t. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable being interviewed about a skill. If the answer is “yes,” then include it. Otherwise, it’s best to leave it off your resume. 

And for the grand finale to this digital marketing example: Check out how this resume integrates key skills into the career objective, skills section, and work experience.

Digital Marketing Manager Resume

Digital marketing manager resume with 8 years experience

Why this resume works

  • Starting with the most obvious section—the skills section—Giselle lists skills important to Barnes & Noble, grouping them in easy-to-read categories.
  • Don’t be deterred, even if you lack experience in an area or two! Demonstrating a willingness to learn is highly valuable.
  • The work experience section is a prime opportunity to showcase skills in action. Like Giselle, start with active verbs to show how you used skills, software, and tools to impact the company positively. 

Job-Specific Resume Skills

Job specific resume skills.

We promised an extensive list of resume skills, organized by profession, and we’re not ones to break our promises!

Below, you’ll find countless role-related skills you can put on your resume, along with informational tidbits for each profession.

Remember that honesty is critical when  building your resume , so we stand behind a shorter list of genuine skills rather than a slew of half-truths you’ll blush over later in an interview.

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Web developer skills for your resume

Web developers build the web apps we interact with in our everyday lives. From banking to transportation to Netflix, it’s hard to find a facet of life that isn’t touched by web development.

We did an  extensive analysis of the top web developer skills  employers are looking for in 2024, and below are the results in order of those most in demand.

Open URL icon

Top web developer skills

  • JavaScript (React, Angular, Vue)
  • SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle)
  • Cloud Storage (GCP, AWS, Azure)

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Data analyst skills for resume

Companies are currently swimming in large pools of data. Marketing, product, engineering, and executive teams all rely on data to make the most effective decisions in the face of uncertainty.

That’s where data analysts come in. To be a successful data analyst, you need the right skills to clean, organize, visualize, and make actionable recommendations from data.

We analyzed over 100 job openings and determined the  most in-demand data analyst skills  needed to get a data analyst position in 2024. Below are the results in order of the most popular skills.

Top data analyst skills

  • Business Intelligence Tools (Tableau, PowerBI, Qlik, Looker)
  • Excel/ Google Sheets
  • Python (Pandas, Matplotlib, Scikit-learn, Numpy)
  • R (Dplyr, ggplot2)

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Marketing skills for resume

No matter how great a product or website—unless a successful marketing campaign drives customers to that product, it won’t succeed.

Marketers must strike a balance between creativity and science to reach the right people at the right time to make them customers.

To do this successfully, marketers need a wide range of skills.

Top marketing skills

  • CRM: Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, HubSpot
  • Web Analytics: Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, Heap, Google Analytics
  • General Tools: Google Sheets/ Docs/ Slides, Microsoft Excel/ Word/ PowerPoint
  • Optimization: Customer Segmentation, Attribution Modeling, A/B Testing
  • Paid Ads: AdWords, LinkedIn, Google Display Network, Retargeting, Facebook
  • Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
  • Email Marketing: ConvertKit, Drip, Mailchimp
  • SEO: Keyword Research, Backlink Building, Content Creation
  • Direct Mail

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Customer service skills for resume

When a customer has a problem or a question, they need to get a prompt and accurate answer to ensure they remain a customer.

More than that, a strong customer service representative will build relationships with customers to help identify potential new features or directions to take a product.

To do this successfully, you need a potent blend of people skills while also knowing the tools of the trade.

Top customer service skills

  • Strong Communication & Interpersonal Skills
  • Curious, Empathetic, and Professional
  • Willing to Learn
  • Goal-oriented
  • Enterprise Software
  • Experience with Business Processes
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Zendesk, HubSpot, Helpscout

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Management skills for resume

No matter how effective a person is as an individual contributor, management is an entirely different job that requires an altogether different skill set.

To be an effective manager, you must first understand and relate to your employees while ensuring company initiatives are hit on time. To get this done, you need a mix of different skills.

Top management skills

  • Financial Analysis
  • Self-motivation
  • Conflict Resolution & Management
  • Managing Career Growth
  • Performance Reviews
  • Ability to Motivate
  • Foster Team Environment
  • Ability to Work Under Pressure
  • Result-driven

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Accounting skills for resume

Accountants are the unsung heroes of any well-oiled company. A company is only as successful as it can demonstrate through its financial reports.

Accountants need to be wizards with reporting and data while maintaining a culture of rigorous organization. Accounting is a field that requires knowledge of particular hard skills.

Top accounting skills

  • Financial Reporting
  • General Ledger Accounting
  • Quarterly Close Processes
  • Quarterly Financial Statements
  • Tax Accounting
  • GAAP Accounting Principles
  • Expense Reporting
  • Accounts Payable & Receivable
  • Account Reconciliation

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Project manager skills for resume

Project managers keep the trains on the rails. To be a successful project manager, you must know how to ensure deadlines are met on time and on budget.

In this role, you’ll need the ability to communicate with diverse teams and technical knowledge to help engineers remove roadblocks they encounter that will prevent them from getting their job done.

Top project manager skills

  • Project Management Software (Jira, Trello)
  • Microsoft Office/Google Suite (Excel/Google Sheets, PowerPoint/Slides)
  • Project Management Frameworks and Methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban)
  • Programming Languages and Frameworks (JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Django)
  • CRM Experience (HubSpot, Salesforce)
  • Digital Marketing

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Sales skills for resume

An effective salesperson can form meaningful relationships with new sales prospects very quickly.

To be able to sell a new customer on your product or tool, you first need to intimately understand their pain points and what they’re trying to solve.

In addition to solid soft skills, you need to know the technical tools to track and manage prospects through the sales pipeline.

Top sales skills

  • Strong Communication
  • Negotiation
  • CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce)
  • Presentation Skills
  • Lead Generation (LinkedIn, Email)
  • Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Administrative assistant skills for resume

When it comes to a career as an administrative assistant, there’s no skill more valuable than organization. How can you help others be at their best without ensuring all ducks are in a row?

Of course, other skills are needed to succeed as an administrative assistant, and we’ve analyzed numerous administrative assistant job openings to determine the most in-demand skills for this career.

Top administrative assistant skills

  • Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets
  • Microsoft Word/Google Docs
  • Microsoft PowerPoint/Google Slides
  • Scheduling (Microsoft Outlook/Google Calendar)
  • Words per Minute you Type
  • Languages you Speak
  • Database Management
  • CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot)
  • Personable and Welcoming

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Nursing skills for resume

The value of nurses in our society has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 crisis.

A good nurse must have a rigorous understanding of the medical procedures and documentation they need to complete while also maintaining the soft skills necessary to build trust and understanding with patients.

It’s a very tricky balance to strike. To help you pursue a new job in nursing, we compiled the most popular skills employers are looking for across a wide range of nursing disciplines.

Top nursing skills

  • EMR Systems
  • Ambulatory Care
  • Emergency Care
  • CPR Certified
  • Best Practices
  • Long-term Patient Care
  • Compassionate
  • Organized & Reliable
  • Infant & Child Care
  • Medical Documentation

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Teacher skills for resume

With the shift to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the skills required to be an effective teacher from afar are also changing.

Teachers now need to be more in tune with the technologies used for remote learning to reach students.

Still, there are some skills required to be a great teacher that haven’t changed. Based on our analysis, here are the top skills schools want when they hire teachers.

Top teacher skills

  • Lesson Planning
  • Blackboard/Moodle
  • Google Apps (Gmail, Sheets, Slides)
  • SMART Boards
  • Remote Teaching (Zoom)
  • Safe, Supportive Classrooms
  • Accountability
  • Communication with Parents and Students
  • Organization
  • Focused on Student Performance

Software engineer skills for resume

Software engineer is a broad, all-encompassing term. There are hundreds of specific disciplines within this umbrella that require different skills.

Still, there are fundamental and common skills that all developers must have. First and foremost, you need to be able to program! 

We collected the most in-demand skills for software developers to help you make the best resume possible.

Top software engineer skills

  • Python (Django)
  • Java (Spring)
  • Ruby (Ruby on Rails)
  • PHP (Laravel)
  • JavaScript (Node, React, Vue, jQuery)
  • SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL)
  • AWS, GCS, Azure

Business analyst (BA) skills for resume

Business analysts combine skills from many areas to help drive outcomes that materially improve a customer’s core metrics.

A BA is a great communicator, a robust data analyst, and an effective project manager. After a project is complete, the BA then has to be able to communicate the outcomes to the executive team.

Top business analyst skills

  • SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server)
  • Excel, Google Sheets
  • PowerPoint, Google Slides
  • Tableau, Looker, Chartio
  • Salesforce, NetSuite, HubSpot, Pipedrive
  • A/B testing, Linear Regression, Logistic Regression
  • Project Management (JIRA, Trello)

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Student skills for resume

When you’re a student, it can be challenging to know which of your skills you should highlight when applying for your first job or internship.

It varies depending on the position, but at this point in your career, hiring managers don’t expect you to be an expert in all the tools you’ll need for the job.

The key is to mention which skills you have some familiarity with and express an openness to learning on the job.

Top student skills

  • Microsoft Outlook/Gmail
  • Hard-working
  • Social Media
  • Collaboration

Data scientist skills for resume

Data scientists are hybrid programmers and statisticians. It can be tough to figure out which of your technical skill sets should be the focus of your resume.

Touch on your primary programming language and put context around the modeling techniques you use regularly.

After studying over 100 data scientist job openings, here are the top skills employers are looking for in these roles.

Top data scientist skills

  • Python (Numpy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, Keras, Flask)
  • R (Dplyr, Shiny)
  • SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle)
  • AWS (Redshift)
  • Supervised Learning (Linear and Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines, Recommendation Engines)
  • Unsupervised Learning (K-Means Clustering, Principal Component Analysis)
  • Customer Segmentation, Price Optimization

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Human resources (HR) skills for resume

When it comes to the skills you need to get your next job as a human resources manager, it’s important to demonstrate a combination of people skills (it’s in the job title, after all), but you also have to show command of the tools needed to get the job done.

You should demonstrate which phases of HR you have experience in. Whether that’s recruiting, benefits, compensation, or a combination thereof, these should be clear.

Top human resources skills

  • ATS (Workday, Jobvite, Greenhouse)
  • Compensation & Benefits
  • Performance Management
  • Recruiting (Sourcing & Interviewing)
  • Employee Onboarding
  • Benefits Planning & Administration
  • Employee Coaching
  • LOA, FMLA, PLOA, Disability
  • Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint
  • Recruiting Coordination
  • Compliance (OFFCP, FLSA, Unemployment)
  • Employee Retention
  • Organizational Strategy
  • Labor Relations
  • Succession Planning
  • HR Analytics

Product manager skills for resume

Product managers help steer the direction of a company by working to understand new features and products customers are looking for.

A successful PM should have the technical skills to communicate fluently with engineers. They also need strong data analysis skills to determine whether new feature launches are working.

Top product manager skills

  • Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel
  • Google Tag Manager
  • A/B Testing
  • Optimizely, Google Optimize
  • Basic Python scripting, APIs
  • Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kaban
  • Jira, Github, Confluence
  • Google Analytics, Microsoft Excel

Recruiter skills for resume

Since recruiters are the first people prospective employees interact with in a company, they must have strong people skills.

Outside of that, a recruiter needs to be familiar with using an ATS to keep track of candidates as they go through the application funnel.

In addition, they need to know various tools to effectively source prospective candidates for a job opening.

Top recruiter skills

  • Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word
  • HR Information Systems (Workday, Oracle HCM, Zoho, SAP)
  • ATS (Greenhouse, Lever, Workable, Breezy HR, BambooHR)
  • Sourcing Tools (LinkedIn Recruiter, TalentNest, Connectifier)
  • Full Cycle Recruiting, Intakes, Sourcing, Screening, Evaluating Talent
  • CRM (HubSpot, Marketo, Hootsuite)

Scrum Master skills for resume

As a Scrum Master, it’s vital you demonstrate which project management frameworks you have experience in on your resume.

Scrum Masters help ensure project deadlines are hit by establishing and monitoring incremental goals along the way.

Communication and management skills are must-haves, in addition to a few technical tools.

Top Scrum Master skills

  • Agile Development & Best Practices
  • Agile Frameworks—Scrum, Kanban, XP
  • JIRA & JIRA Portfolio
  • Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio
  • User Stories, ATDD, TDD, Continuous Integration, Automated Testing
  • Project Planning & Scoping

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Social media manager skills for resume

As the name implies, a social media manager must show prospective employers they can use social media to drive customers toward a business.

It’s not enough, however, to demonstrate experience with various social media platforms. You must also clearly understand data and analytics to prove that your campaigns can and will work for a business.

Top social media manager skills

  • Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok
  • Sprout Social, Hootsuite
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Docs/Microsoft Word
  • Google Sheets/Microsoft Excel
  • Paid Social Media Advertising
  • Data Analytics

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

IT manager skills for resume

IT managers need to possess razor-sharp technical skills while demonstrating the ability to mentor and guide employees under their leadership.

Since the number of potential technical skills an IT manager can have is vast, you must demonstrate a firm command of at least a few skills.

On your resume, it’s much better to demonstrate expertise in a few skills than a weak command of a large number of tools.

Top IT manager skills

  • Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
  • Agile/Lean Methodologies
  • Network Infrastructure (DNS, DHCP, SSL)
  • Linux/ Unix

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Design skills for resume

As you might imagine, designers need to convince the hiring manager reviewing their resume of their creative ability. This is usually done via a portfolio.

Outside of your creativity, you also need to quickly and effectively communicate which tools you use to complete your design work. One of the first things a prospective employer will check is whether you have the technical skills they’re looking for in a designer.

Top design skills

  • Design Principles
  • Color Theory
  • Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
  • Storytelling
  • Canva, Vectr
  • Print Design
  • Photography

Your skills should directly correlate with the job you’re applying for so recruiters can tell what makes you special at a glance. Refer to the job description for keywords or mission statements that show what the organization values and what the job role emphasizes. Prioritize skills that relate directly to your profession over those that could enhance your qualifications for other fields.

Try to limit your array of abilities to just 6 to 10 skills per resume. If you have more to choose from, choose to meet the optimal resume skill range with abilities that specifically answer the call of the job description. You don’t want a skills list that looks too “hodgepodge,” so hone your skills to a trade-specific edge that demonstrates your expertise.

Soft skills are the tools you use to socially function with grace and efficiency. They refer to your interpersonal abilities like negotiation, communication, and team delegation (just to name a few!). Keep in mind that you don’t want to overdo your skills list and appear disorganized, so select only the most relevant soft skills to list. You can use them as context for your professional experiences.

Technical skills, or hard skills, can refer to anything from software proficiency to specialized actions or tasks you can perform that relate to your job. Physical technology or machinery, digital meeting programs, and the ability to interpret industry-specific data all count! These important skills show off your specialties and highlight your unique candidacy for the job role.

Every skills list should be technical, but yours especially so: This is your opportunity to demonstrate your expertise instantly. By naming precisely which software programs you use (think: Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, or Salesforce to name a few) instead of generalizing, you effectively spotlight your skills ahead of time. Recruiters often skim the skills list first since they move fast, so seize the chance to align yourself with the job!

Honestly, that depends on you! Which of your resume sections is the strongest: skills, experience, internships, or stuff like your degree and academic achievements? Resume layouts with a side column can put your skills list in a highly visible space. If your experiences are super strong, you can also list your skills at the bottom of the page. Just make sure your best qualities are the most eye-catching!

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How to List Skills on a Resume (Real Skill Examples)

This essential resume writing article is about how to list skills on a resume. For more resume writing help, visit our job seeker resource center .

EdgeWater Pharmacy just posted an opening for a Sales Associate right down the street from your home. You think you are the perfect fit for the job, so you submit your resume, but so do 30 other candidates.

Do you know who is going to get called in for an interview? 

The job seeker who looks like they have the most relevant skills for the job.

Make sure you’re getting the callback for an interview from a hiring manager by reading how to list your skills on a resume.

This essential job seekers’ guide will walk you through how to add the skills a hiring manager wants to see on your resume, along with 50+ real resume examples of skills you can use.

This article on how to include key skills on a resume covers:

  • What are professional skills?
  • Why are skills important on resumes?
  • Different types of skills for job seekers
  • Where and how to incorporate skills on a job application
  • Top 50+ skills hiring managers want to see on your resume
  • Fastest ways to gain new skills to get hired

What Are Skills? Why Are Skills Important?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a skill is:

“the ability to use one’s 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 won’t 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 don’t 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.

Once you identify those skills, it is also your responsibility to make sure those relevant skills are incorporated into your resume in a way that stands out.

If you do these two things accurately, you will be the one getting called in for an interview and will be that much closer to landing a new job.

Types of Professional Skills (Real Resume Examples)

Skills can be broken down into four main categories:

  • Hard skills
  • Soft skills
  • Transferable skills
  • Job-related skills.

Before you start writing your own list of skills, let’s go through each of these skill categories to see what the difference between them is.

Hard Skills vs Soft Skills

Hard skills are specific, teachable, and tangible. They can be measured and tested using assignments and assessments. Hard skills are learned, either through on-the-job training or through school, rather than coming naturally.

Examples of hard skills for a resume:

Soft skills are intangible and are harder to measure. They are personality traits and interpersonal skills that come naturally to humans, rather than being learned through school.

People are born with soft skills. These soft skills grow and develop over time from your upbringing, education, and experiences.   

Examples of soft skills:

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.

Transferable Skills vs Job-Related Skills

Transferable skills can be carried with you from one job to the other. These skills can be a hard skill or soft skill, as long as they can be used in any type of role, regardless of the industry, company, or position.

Examples of transferable skills:

Job-related skills are usually always hard skills.  These job-related skills are specific to a certain type of role or position.

Examples of job-related skills:

How And Where To List Skills On Your Resume

Skills should be included throughout your resume, rather than confined to one area.

While scanning your resume, hiring managers will be looking over each resume section, starting with the top. Because of how people read resumes, you need to make sure they see your skills immediately.

Guarantee hiring managers will see your skills by listing them in four key areas of your resume:

  • Resume header
  • Professional summary
  • Summary of skills
  • Work Experience section

If you are writing a resume from scratch, try using this free and easy-to-use resume builder from Resume.com. The sections and formatting are already created for you, so all you need to worry about is filling in the blanks to finish a free printable resume.

1. Resume Header

At the top of your resume, directly below your name, write your job title along with the three most relevant skills you have as a candidate.

This is the first section hiring managers will be reading, so it is important to draw their attention using bold and large lettering.

If you’re using this resume builder , the ‘ Blue Skies ’, ‘ Three Blocks Digital ’, and ‘ van Deco ’ resume templates already have a header section included, which will make finishing your resume easier.

When writing your header, it is crucial that you customize the job title and skills to each job you’re applying for. Your job application needs to be consistent – you can read more about consistency in this article .

For example, if you write Java Developer in your resume header, but are applying for a .NET Developer position, a huge red flag will go up for the hiring manager.

When writing your top three skills in your header, make sure they align with the required skills listed in the job posting.

If you’re applying for a job at a large company or corporation, or you’re applying through a job board, it’s helpful to keep applicant tracking systems (ATS) in mind. Make sure your resume makes it past ATS software by listing your skills using the same wording as the job posting.  

Example of skills in the resume header: 

skills in resume header example

2. Professional Summary

Below your header and contact information, you will have a professional summary section. A professional summary used to be called an ‘objective’, but the modern resume writing approach is to replace your objective with a professional summary section.

Your professional summary should give an overview of your background, years of experience, and the top skills that set you apart. The skills in your professional summary should be written in sentence form, rather than listed out.

If using the resume builder , the ‘ My Employment ’, ‘ Apple Green ’, and ‘ Side Panel ’ resume templates have professional summary sections that are sure to draw attention to your most relevant skills.

Example of skills in the professional summary of a resume:

resume example of skills in professional summary

3. Summary of Skills

Below your professional summary, include a ‘summary of skills’ section. Alternative titles for this section could be ‘core competencies’, ‘key skills’, ‘professional skills’, or ‘relevant skills’.

If you have less than 10 skills, you can list them out in columns. 

Summary of skills resume example (less than 10 professional skills) :

resume example of skills in summary of skills

Summary of skills resume example (more than 10 professional skills) :

professional skills resume example

For your skills section, your skills should be listed, rather than written out in sentence form. This formatting choice helps hiring managers to pick out the key words quickly, which they can read about in more detail in the experience section after.

4. Experience Section

The ‘experience’ section usually comes after your summary of skills on a resume. Depending on your background, this could also be called ‘professional experience’, ‘work experience’, or ‘relevant experience’.

Your experience section is the perfect place to back your skills up with real-life examples of when you have used your skills, in addition to the results you have achieved.

When writing your experience section, give specific details about where, when, and with whom you have used your skills. When possible, use numbers and metrics to quantify your achievements.

Example of how to list skills in the experience section of a resume:

how to list skills in work experience resume example

How to List Skills On A Resume – Finding Relevant Skills For You

To figure out what skills you should include on your resume, follow these three simple steps.

Step #1: Create a master list of skills

Go through each category and create a master list of the skills in your toolbox. Don’t be afraid to list things that seem obvious, like computer skills or customer service.

Although they might seem like a given in your profession, many hiring managers still want to see these skills listed.

Never include skills that you are no longer familiar with. If you write a skill on your resume, hiring managers will be expecting that you can deliver on that activity.

If you are worried that a hiring manager will over or underestimate your level of proficiency, feel free to write ‘beginner’, ‘intermediate’, or ‘proficient’ next to each skill listed.

Step #2: Figure out the skills needed for the job

When applying for jobs, it is important to identify the set of skills that are needed. Picking out the needed skills will help you determine if you are a good fit for the role. It will also help you tailor your resume skills to the specific job you are applying for.

There are two main ways to determine the skills needed for a job.

The first is to dissect job descriptions and job postings that are posted on career websites and job boards. To do this, go through a job description and highlight each quality that describes the candidate the company is looking for.

For example, here is a job posting for a cashier position: 

how to find relevant skills in job posting for resume

Then create a list of all the qualities described, making sure to write each skill using the same wording that is used in the job posting.

The second way to figure out what skills are needed for a job is to search for people on LinkedIn who are already performing the role.

By searching for a certain job title in the search bar, you can find a list of professionals who are already in that job and then search through their profile to see what skills they have listed, both in their summary and experience sections.

Step #3: Match your master list with the skills needed for a job

The skills you write on your resume should be whatever overlaps between your master list and the list of skills you created from researching jobs.

By using this technique, you will be making sure that the skills you have listed on your resume are relevant to the jobs you are applying for.

A general rule of thumb is to never include skills that aren’t important for the job you are applying for.

For example, if you are applying for a project manager position, there is no need to list that you know yoga or CPR.

Top 50+ Skills Hiring Managers Look For On Resumes

A lot of research has been done as to what hiring managers look for on a resume. Many of the skills they seek are job-specific, while others are transferable.

To increase your chances of getting called in for an interview, include these top skills throughout your resume.

These professional skills are divided by category to help you find the skills that are relevant to you.

Soft Skills

Basic computer skills, customer service, project management, art & design, human resources, fastest ways to obtain new skills.

Are you looking for your first job? Are you missing some of the required skills on a job posting? If so, don’t worry. There are a range of ways for you to obtain the needed skills quickly.

If you are in need of a hard skill, this task is much easier. Hard skills are learned, so you can typically find an online resource, school, or curriculum to pick up the needed skills.

If you don’t have enough time to attend class in person, there are a number of online learning platforms with courses that you can take online, in your spare time. Some examples of popular eLearning platforms include Lynda, Udemy, and Skillshare.

Learning soft skills are a little trickier. These interpersonal and personality traits are hardwired into humans, so the only way to get better at them is to practice, practice, practice.

If you can’t practice soft skills while on a job, try to find some day-to-day activities that you can practice these skills during.

For example, if you need to work on punctuality, set a goal to arrive 5 minutes early wherever you need to be, no matter if it is for class or for coffee. Or if you need to work on your professionalism, pick up a volunteer job based in a professional, office setting.

More Skill-Related Articles For Resume Writing:

  • How To List Hard Skills On A Resume (50+ Technical Skill Examples)
  • How to List Computer Skills on a Resume (50+ Computer Skill Examples)

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  • 7 Best Personal Skills for...

7 Best Personal Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)

10 min read · Updated on February 15, 2024

Ronda Suder

Find out the valuable personal skills employers look for on a resume

A technically competent and proficient employee is great. However, to be a well-rounded employee, you need to possess a good combination of personal skills, too. 

Personal skills on a resume indicate that you have the ability to work well with others and add value to an organization, in addition to the technical skills you display. When you're in the market for a new job, knowing how to showcase personal skills on a resume is a must to help you get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers. 

In this article, we cover:

What are personal skills?

Personal skills vs. hard skills, the importance of personal skills on a resume.

In-demand personal skills for a resume

Tips to identify your own personal skills

Where to showcase personal skills on a resume

Ways to develop your personal skills

No matter what type of role or industry you're in, personal skills are required for success at work. Personal skills, also referred to as soft skills or people skills, are required to effectively work with, and interact well with, others - they allow you to succeed on the job through creating productive and harmonious relationships. 

Though technical skills can help you get a job done, personal skills, like communication and problem solving, are necessary to collaborate and meet organizational goals as successfully and productively as possible. They are also highly transferable across positions and industries. 

Hard skills, also referred to as technical skills , are acquired through education, certifications, and training. They are easily measurable and tend to be job specific. Examples of hard skills include:

Computer software proficiency

Foreign languages

Personal skills, on the other hand, are more difficult to measure and acquire. They're not easily taught and tend to be gained through experience, while improving over time. 

When you possess strong personal skills, employers notice, given that they're not easily gained through training as hard skills can be. Plus, when you showcase one personal skill, it tends to emphasize additional personal skills, as well. For example, to have strong problem solving skills, you also have to have critical and analytical skills.

Employers want to hire job candidates they feel will contribute to and improve the company culture. Where technical skills show you have the minimum requirements to get the job done, personal skills on a resume indicate you can get the job done while fostering a positive work environment. And, as mentioned previously, since personal skills are difficult to teach, employers value those who show up with solid personal skills from the start. 

In-demand personal skills on a resume

Below are seven valuable personal skills to highlight on your resume to successfully grab the attention of prospective employers. 

1. Communication

Every employee has to discuss their work efforts, challenges, goals, and more at one point or another, to ensure forward movement and productivity. This makes effective communication one of the most valuable personal skills you can have. Even an individual contributor who has little interaction with others needs to be able to communicate both verbally and in written form. 

2. Creativity

Creativity means you come up with solutions to problems in new and different ways. Creative thinking enables innovations and advancements within the work environment - and what employer doesn't value that?

3. Problem solving

Problem solving skills are required daily to determine the best way to approach a task, handle project bottlenecks, deal with conflict, and navigate challenging relationships. As such, employers love hiring employees with stellar problem solving skills. Plus, where there's effective problem solving, there's also critical thinking, analytical thinking, and creativity.

4. Teamwork

We rarely work in a vacuum, making teamwork skills necessary to accomplish departmental tasks and meet goals. Teamwork also requires collaboration, another personal skill in high demand.

5. Conflict resolution

Though we tend to shy away from conflict, it's a natural part of life and is unavoidable. As such, conflict resolution skills are necessary for a supportive work environment. 

6. Time management

Employees have a lot on their plates from day to day, so to ensure timeliness, proper prioritization, and the ability to reach goals, time management is a must. Effective time management also helps to alleviate stress on the job and supports organizational skills, among others. 

7. Leadership

Leadership is a vital skill for success. Even if you don't hold the title of “Manager” or “Supervisor,” leadership skills can show up in all sorts of ways, from effective teamwork and taking ownership to leading by example and admitting when you've made a mistake. Also, individual contributors with solid leadership skills frequently advance to leadership positions when the opportunity arises, making it a personal skill that tends to place individuals on the “high potential” list within an organization.

Additional personal skills

In addition to the above list, below are more important personal skills examples commonly found on resumes.

Results orientation

Analytical thinking

Organization

Inspirational

Motivational

Works well under stress

Collaboration

Adaptability

Critical thinking

Dependability

Strong work ethic

Flexibility

Attention to detail

Self-motivated

Professional

Service oriented

Tips to identify your personal skills for a resume

If you're struggling to come up with a list of personal skills for your own resume, no worries. Here are some tips to help:

Ask others: One great way to identify your personal skills is to ask others for input. To keep it focused, consider asking a question like, “What are the top three personal skills you see me display?”

Review the job description: Read through the job description carefully and highlight all of the personal skills indicated. From there, consider which of those skills you possess. 

Make a list of your past achievements: If you're unsure of where to start, simply make a list of some of your most notable work successes. Then, ask yourself which personal skills were required for those accomplishments, and write them down. 

Consider past performance appraisals and feedback. Think back on performance reviews and feedback you've received from peers and supervisors. Which of your skills and abilities got high marks and why?

How to highlight personal skills on a resume: show vs. tell

When it comes to personal skills on a resume, it's not enough to simply list them, as you might with technical skills. Instead, you need to be able to show and prove you have personal skills through your accomplishments and achievements. 

For example, instead of listing leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking on your resume, show that you have them in your resume summary or work experience section by highlighting an accomplishment like:

  • Spearheaded development of, and implemented, new company-wide project management processes and procedures, resulting in improved communications between stakeholders and reduced bottlenecks by 11% quarter over quarter

The above bullet point sounds a lot better and more descriptive than:

  • Strong leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking skills to support new processes and procedures

Where to showcase personal skills on your resume

Now that you have some tips to come up with a list of personal skills you can be proud of, as well as how to highlight them, let's discuss the best places to incorporate them on your resume. Some options include the following sections:

Resume Summary

Work experience, hobbies and interests.

Employers often receive hundreds of resumes for any given position, which is partly why they skim resumes and make a decision about your candidacy within six seconds. As a result, your resume summary needs to clearly state your unique value proposition to quickly grab the employer's attention so your chances of landing in the “yes” pile improve. One way to do this is to highlight a few of your top personal skills in your resume summary and, as mentioned previously, provide proof that you have them through your accomplishments. For example:

Dynamic Human Resources Manager with 15 years of experience. Proven track record of increasing retention rates by 8% and improving employee morale rating by 15% through new employee relations initiatives and improved leader-employee communications. Skilled in compensation design, policy development, operational support, succession planning, and career development. 

Without specifically stating them, this summary indicates several personal skills. The accomplishments mentioned could not be achieved without professionalism, effective communication, time management, organizational skills, leadership, innovation, and critical thinking, to name a few.  

The achievements you list for each position within your Work Experience section provide the perfect opportunity to showcase your personal skills. For each accomplishment you include, indicate the key personal skills used. For example, as a Customer Service Representative you might highlight your conflict resolution and critical thinking skills by describing a time you managed and resolved an escalated customer complaint with a positive result.  

Though a Hobbies and Interests section isn't standard, it can be beneficial and add value to your resume under certain circumstances, one of which being if you're concerned that your resume lacks some personal skills based on the job description requirements. With that scenario, as long as your resume won't spill over onto a third page, consider any hobbies or interests you have that might add value and fill in the gaps.

Let's say, for example, that your work history up until now has given you little opportunity to work as part of a team or collaborate with others, though it's an important skill for the job you're applying for. In that case, you might include a team sport or charity activities you're involved in that speak to your teamwork and collaboration abilities. 

For more tips on when and how to incorporate hobbies and interests on a resume, refer to “ How to List Hobbies and Interests on a Resume (With Examples) .”

How to develop and improve upon personal skills

It's possible to develop and sharpen your personal skills throughout your career. Here are three tips to help. 

Identify areas for improvement. The first step to improving upon your current personal skills is to identify areas for improvement. Do you need to learn to communicate more effectively with your peers? Are you struggling with time management and prioritization? Once you know where your weaknesses lie, you can lay out a game plan to improve. 

Seek out training and certifications. After you've identified personal skills you'd like to improve or sharpen, seek out training or certifications to support you. It's possible to find many free and low-cost training and certification programs for all types of skills by doing an online search. Another positive about securing training and certifications is that it indicates your drive for professional growth and development, which employers tend to notice. 

Reduce stress. Often, our personal skills take a hit when our self-care goes by the wayside. Be sure to take steps to take care of yourself and reduce stress. Doing so can support you in being more productive and having easier access to personal skills at work.

Customize your personal skills for each job

Now you know why personal skills on a resume are essential and how to incorporate them. To share one more piece of guidance, be sure to customize the personal skills you list on your resume for each job application you submit. In other words, tweak your resume to align with the skills required in the job description you're applying to. And finally, be proud of your personal skills and make them shine on your resume to land those interviews!

Does your resume represent your personal skills in the best way possible? Why not submit it for a free resume review to find out?

Recommended reading:

Everything You Need to Know about Lying on Your Resume

How to Check if My Resume Is ATS-Friendly for Free

Navigating Salary Expectations: What to Expect and How to Negotiate

Related Articles:

How to Write a Cover Letter (With Example)

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

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Maximizing Your Resume with Different Skills: A Guide to Impress Employers

Written by Salary.com Staff

December 4, 2023

23082948GC-Maximizing Your Resume with Different Skills: A Guide to Impress Employers-Hero

Listing different skills on your resume may seem like a simple task, but doing it effectively can be a bit tricky. Are you mentioning different skills that matter most for the job , or are you overwhelming the HR manager with unrelated information?

For example, when applying for a software development role , the hiring manager will not be interested in your marketing skills. They want to know about your proficiency in Python and how well you collaborate with a team.

This guide will take you through the entire process of including different skills on your resume. It will help you identify the right skills and show you how to present them in a way that grabs the hiring manager's attention.

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What Sets Apart Hard Skills from Soft Skills?

Different skills can be categorized into two main types: hard skills and soft skills. To craft an effective job application, it is essential to include both skills on your resume, as it helps capture the attention of the hiring manager and potentially secure your next job.

Here are the key distinctions between hard skills and soft skills:

  • How you acquire them

Hard skills: You acquire hard skills through work experience, formal education, specialized training, or obtaining certifications.

Soft skills: These skills develop through life experiences, both within and outside the workplace.

  • How you apply them

Hard skills: You apply hard skills directly to your job tasks. These skills are specific and job-related, such as programming, accounting, or data analysis.

Soft skills: These skills are applied indirectly and often complement your hard skills. They encompass qualities like communication, leadership, and teamwork. For instance, you are a communicative marketer or an office manager with strong leadership abilities.

What are Transferable Skills?

Transferable skills are abilities, knowledge, and behaviors that you can use in any job. Many of these skills are considered soft skills, which means they relate to how you work and interact with others.  Teamwork and strategic thinking are examples of transferable skills that are flexible and useful in various work settings.

Employers value candidates with transferable skills because they show flexibility and adaptability, which are both important qualities in any job.

Importance of Transferable Work Skills

Transferable work skills are crucial because they allow individuals to progress in their careers. They also let people transition to new jobs without having to start from nothing in terms of how they work with others and get their tasks done. These versatile skills make it simpler to change professions or adapt to different work settings.

For employers, transferable skills help them maintain a high standard of behavior in their company by choosing employees who already understand the workplace behaviors required for success.

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Different Skills Employers Look For

When you are applying for a job, it is important to show off your best skills on your resume and cover letter. This helps employers quickly understand what you can bring to the table. The more your skills match the job, the more likely you are to catch the attention of hiring managers.

While different jobs may require specific skills, there are abilities that are important no matter where you work. Here are eight different important skills that employers look for in job candidates:

Communication Skills

No matter where you work, communication is important. Employers prefer employees who can understand instructions and communicate effectively with others. When you are making your resume, remember to mention different skills like writing, speaking, listening, and negotiating.

Leadership Skills

Employers often want to see if you have leadership skills. These skills can be useful no matter where you are in your career. If you lead a group or play a key role in a project, leadership skills help you inspire others and ensure you complete tasks on time.

On your resume, you can mention different skills like listening, being reliable, giving and taking feedback, and being patient.

Adaptability Skills

Learning and adaptability skills are essential abilities that help you acquire new knowledge and adjust to different situations at work. These skills are crucial because workplaces are always changing, and companies need to keep up with innovative ideas to stay competitive.

Having strong learning and adaptability skills can make you stand out to employers and demonstrate your eagerness to learn and adapt when needed. Some examples of these skills include working well with others, effective communication, and thinking critically.

Teamwork skills

Teamwork skills are vital for anyone in a job or organization where they work with others regularly. No matter your job or where you work, most employers value teamwork skills highly when they are hiring new people.

Some examples of teamwork skills that are important to highlight include working well with others, being honest, communicating effectively, and taking responsibility.

Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills mean being able to handle tough situations at work in a helpful and positive way. This is important for people in big companies or teams and is also useful in almost any job. On your resume, you can highlight problem-solving skills like effective communication, making good decisions, and doing research.

Time management skills

Time management skills help you finish your work on time and still have time for your personal life. Being organized helps you decide which tasks to do first. To manage your time well, it is important to know your own goals, your team's goals, and what your company wants to achieve. This gives you a good place to start planning your day.

Computer skills

Computer skills mean knowing how to use several types of technology. Hardware skills are about using the physical parts of a computer, like turning it on and off. Software skills are about using computer programs and apps effectively.

Some software skills, like using spreadsheets or knowing a specific coding language, are important to some employers.

  • Strong work ethic

Having a strong work ethic is an important quality to show when applying for jobs. Employers want employees they can rely on to do their jobs well and on time without needing constant supervision.

A strong work ethic means you can finish your tasks and manage your work independently, even without someone always watching over you.

How to Highlight Your Different Skills

Employers check your different skills in several aspects, but the most critical ones are your resume, cover letter, and interviews. Here is what to consider when displaying your skills in these contexts:

On your resume, the "Skills" section is the ideal place to highlight your top skills. List them using bullet points and include brief descriptions or examples for each skill. Additionally, mentions of these skills into the descriptions of your job duties in the experience section.

Cover Letters

In your cover letter, mention two to three of your most important skills that align with the job you are applying for. Include these skills in the body of your cover letter and provide examples of how you have used them in your previous work.

During a job interview, openly discuss your valuable skills with the employer. Offer examples of how you have applied these skills in past roles. Make sure to emphasize skills mentioned in the job posting that are relevant to the position.

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In conclusion, effectively presenting different skills on your resume is essential for capturing the attention of hiring managers. By understanding the distinction between hard and soft skills, highlighting transferable skills, and aligning your abilities with the job requirements, you can significantly enhance your chances of securing your desired position and advancing in your career.

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What Employers Look For in a Resume (20+ Things)

The first thing that employers look for when searching for potential candidates is a well-written resume. That is why you, as a job seeker, need to ensure that your document speaks volumes about you and your skills.

But then again, what would capture the attention of the recruiters and hiring managers? What would help you get on the top of their list?

According to professionals, here are the things employers look for in a resume:

Matthew Warzel, CPRW

Matthew Warzel

President,  MJW Careers, LLC

The résumé needs to be logical first and foremost. If the reader is crinkling their forehead, you’ve lost the initial battle.

Ensure it has optimized keywords, quantifiable content, and well-formatted

Ensure it has optimized keywords, quantifiable content (even if there are no metrics, but metrics are preferred), and a format/layout that attaches to applicant tracking system mandates.

Think about quantifiable content and write it pragmatically . Also, stick to brevity while making those bottom-line achievements shine.

Again, you’ve done your job as long as you aren’t wrinkling the readers’ foreheads when they’re reviewing your résumé. Now, if you fit the qualifications, it’s interview time!

Ensure you set the tone with what you want and what you offer

The key to standing out in the match is to guarantee you set the tone in the first top half of the résumé with what you want and what you offer.

Any key buzzwords that speak to your abilities to transition into those new positions seamlessly, and any transferable skills and achievements that instantly relate to this new role.

Do not write your experience as task-based

Do not write your experience as task-based, but rather quantifiable and bottom-line driven.

This will make sure you are letting the employers know that you are concerned with what they are concerned with ⁠— either making them money or saving them money.

Identify your relevance in terms of value to a prospective employer

My best advice for candidates dealing with career shifts is to identify their relevance in terms of value to a prospective employer.

Internalize what their passions are and some transferable skills and accomplishments to relay to hiring managers, a solid résumé, some email communication templates (or cover letter), and a lot of patience and willpower.

A good rule of thumb for the early career job hunter seeking a new role in a new industry is identifying your transferable skills and portraying those first on your LinkedIn profile and résumé.

Have a solid summary upfront mentioning your ability to transfer seamlessly into the new role based on your previous experience and education.

Make sure to incorporate key buzzwords/skills that you offer

Make sure to incorporate key buzzwords/skills that you offer and that the new role will mandate. Utilize some accomplishments after your skills and summary sections (maybe around 4-7 sentences ), including any courses you’ve taken that transfer over to the new role.

For instance, a teacher trying to transfer into corporate/marketing may be able to discuss training, performance reviews, and documentation handling.

Maybe some sentences communicate their ability to handle branding and advertising from some tasks they completed in school. Try to keep it applicable, though, without too much fluff.

The hiring manager and recruiters are sharp and can see through a lot of the fluff . If I read a résumé, I am concerned about the candidate’s credentials , qualifications , and work history .

Your summary should be 3-5 sentences (written in one paragraph)

Since the summary is the first section a hiring manager sees, you want it to make the most positive impression possible. This is a significant part of your messaging! WOW them!

I have a few comments that will help you make yours even better. The summary should be 3-5 sentences (written in one paragraph) that capture the best of what you have to offer an employer.

Consider it your “elevator pitch,” or what you would say if you had 30 seconds to sell yourself for a job.

Here’s how I would break it down:

  • Sentence 1 (Who you are) : Overview statement including years of experience and career focus.
  • Sentence 2-3 (What you can achieve) : Results you can accomplish for a company.
  • Sentence 4-5 (How you can achieve it) : Your unique skill sets or areas of expertise.

Make sure you follow the rules of a tightly written résumé

Make sure you follow the rules of a tightly written, well summarized; brevity is a key résumé with quantifiers and strong action verbs. It’s essential to stand out amongst the ocean of competition.

Related: How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

Next, you will need a new résumé packed with qualifications proving you as a competitive candidate.

Think of a layout including a:

  • key skills/buzzwords
  • contributions
  • experience section
  • education/certifications
  • affiliation/volunteerism

Ensure that the experience section demonstrates your value

Ensure that the experience section establishes your value in terms of the bottom line. Show the hiring manager you care about their company’s money. If you need to, use transferable skills!

What are transferable skills, and how important are they when writing a career change résumé? Think of these skills in terms of what you are currently doing at your job related to what you would be doing in the new role.

Key proficiencies can help the hiring manager see your ability to slide into the role with minimal training.

It’s essential to have these skills displayed on your résumé to demonstrate your fit into the new role, showcase your keywords, so the hiring team discovers you in their respective applicant tracking systems, and help win over the readers to receive that interview request you’re hoping for initially.

I think the résumé’s format is unique to each candidate’s background, but I do see a majority of career changers utilizing a combinational résumé over the other two types.

This allows the writer to position your skills , qualifications , credentials , and PAR (problem-action-result) impact statements for the experience section more competitively than a traditional résumé format.

PAR allows for a bottom-line-driven, quantifiable statement, even if it does not have a metric (saved time, reduced waste, drove profitability, streamlined efficiency, etc.)

Stick to the traditional format

It draws eyeballs to the important transferable items first. I stick to the traditional format when the client has a solid work history. A shaky work history usually means a functional résumé format to help offset some red flags.

I stick to a professional format because it draws attention to the content, remains professional for hiring managers, and works. Most importantly, it prevents you and your information from getting jumbled in an ATS and deemed not readable.

Here is the proper layout (in order) in case you want to shift things around some:

  • Contact information (name, email, phone, city/state)
  • Key skills/technical aptitude
  • Accomplishments
  • Certification
  • Affiliation
  • Volunteerism

Add a little color without overdoing it

You may add a little color without overdoing it, and résumé writers use this as a great technique ( dark gray , gray , or dark blue are always acceptable).

The reason for this suggestion is the use of color draws the readers’ eye to the color. Research shows reviewers typically only spend a few seconds looking at a résumé, particularly at an initial glance.

When I first look at the document, it draws my eyes to the margins , but there’s no content there. Instead, I’d rather the reader immediately be drawn to the key content you want to highlight.

Sarah Doody

Sarah Doody

Founder & CEO, Career Strategy Lab™

Exact skills, examples, results, and experience related to the candidate

Most people’s résumés don’t effectively communicate the details of their skills and experience and read like an overly SEO-optimized web page, full of industry jargon and buzz words.

If you want your résumé to stand out to prospective employers, you must ensure it quickly and clearly, highlights your strengths and areas of expertise.

To achieve this, you need to reframe how you think about employers when creating your résumé.

In your job search, you need to think like a lawyer . And, you consider the people involved in hiring (e.g., HR people, hiring managers, people who interview you) are like members of a jury.

As a lawyer, it’s your job to convince the jury that, in this case, you are the right person for the job.

In trials, the best lawyers come equipped with undeniable evidence and deliver that evidence in a way that connects with the jury.

Your résumé is like a critical dossier of evidence in your job search. You need to treat everything on your résumé as pieces of evidence to prove to and build confidence with employers that you are the best person for the job.

Follow these three tips to ensure the content of your résumé is rooted in evidence and does everything possible to position you as the most qualified candidate:

Tip 1: Pair skills with examples and context

For the bullet points in your job history, avoid the mistake of bullet points that are too vague.

For example, “Helped with search engine optimization and our email marketing strategies” tells an employer what you did at a surface level.

Re-writing the bullet point with examples and context tells a more compelling and evidence-based story:

“Lead the development and execution of an SEO strategy, resulting in a 50% increase in organic search traffic. Researched and created our keyword strategy and oversaw a 4-month redesign of our design and content teams’ blog and e-commerce product detail pages.”

Tip 2: Results speak louder than responsibilities

Only listing responsibilities will result in a résumé that sounds like a job description. To stand out, when possible, quantify what you did to demonstrate how awesome you were at executing your responsibilities.

Instead of “I was responsible for the sales process, from sourcing prospects to closing deals.”

You could write:

“As the top salesperson in 2021, I brought in 500 new prospects and had a close rate of 60%. My deals totaled $2,600,000, represented 25% of the 10-person sales team’s revenue.”

Tip 3: Tailor the evidence to the job you’re applying for

Using the same résumé for every job you apply to can hinder your chance to stand out.

When you consider how lawyers present evidence, they constantly reframe and tailor how they talk about evidence as a trial evolves. The same strategy applies to your résumé.

To help employers see the exact skills , examples , results , and experience related to the candidate they are looking for, you must tailor your résumé.

Specifically, you could re-order bullet points in your job history, so the most important ones are first, slightly re-write bullet points to use language in the job description.

Add more relevant bullet points or remove ones that might not relate to the role and others.

Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA

Kirk Hazlett

Adjunct Professor of Communication, University of Tampa

Getting the attention of a hiring manager is a challenge . More often than not, they are reviewing dozens, if not hundreds, of applications for a position.

If you want to make the cut, your résumé has to clarify why you are the perfect fit.

As a former hiring manager and now as a college professor coaching future generations of professionals, there are specific things that I look for to determine your qualifications for the position:

Work experience

Do you know what it’s actually like in the workplace? Can you handle the (sometimes) not-so-comfortable interactions with co-workers and bosses?

Can you “roll with the punches,” dropping one “must-do” assignment to deal with an unexpected challenge?

Especially if you’re a recent or soon-to-be college graduate, the work environment is different from what you’ve experienced over the past four-ish years.

There are no “study guides” to help you handle day-to-day activities. You’re on your own most of the time.

Although it’s no longer on my own résumé, I often make sure to mention that my very first job while in high school was as a “bagboy” for my local grocery store.

I was very good at fast bagging of groceries, but I also made sure that each customer realized that we all appreciated their business.

Although I didn’t actually connect the dots until many years later, the end result was that I was given broader responsibilities, including supervising others.

Relevant work experience

Have you ever done any of the things that I want you to be able to do in this position? Yes, I know this is an “entry-level” position, but have you taken courses or done it as part of an internship or job?

What do I expect you to be able to do? Read the job description carefully and make it clear in the descriptions of the various jobs/internships that you have had that you have that experience.

An example that I often use when counseling students who are interested in getting into the public relations profession is that of being a waitperson in a restaurant.

As I say time and again:

  • “You didn’t “wait on customers”; you assisted customers with their decision-making regarding meal choice; “ problem-solving .”
  • “You didn’t “provide prompt service”; you ensured that each and every customer had a positive experience; “ attention to detail .”

“Stick-to-it-iveness”

Will you stay with us long enough to make my efforts in recruiting you and then introducing you to your new job worth it?

Granted, you probably have held several part-time jobs throughout your high school and college life. And that is completely understandable.

But I’m going to be impressed if you have held a part-time job (restaurant waitstaff, department store clerk, whatever) for more than six months. Relative longevity in a position is impressive !

Show me that you’re interested in various things and that you want to understand the rationale that lies behind a decision. In today’s world, “same-ol’/same-ol'” doesn’t cut it.

My business (whatever it might be) needs innovative thinking, which comes from curiosity. As part of a class assignment, if you conducted a research project and developed a program proposal from the information you gathered, tell me about it!

Asking “Why?” is not a bad thing! Make this clear in your descriptions of your accomplishments.

A clear and compelling case for your qualifications

The bottom line is that you are “selling” an unknown product (yourself) to a prospective customer. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, you have to make a clear and compelling case for your qualifications.

Read the job description carefully. Look for “keywords” that indicate what’s most important for that particular position and the organization itself, and tailor the wording of your résumé to meet those needs.

And you thought “Creative Writing” was a slough course!

AJ Silberman-Moffitt

AJ Silberman-Moffitt

Senior Editor,  Tandem

If there are typos or mistakes on a person’s résumé

As an editor, one of the first things I notice is if there are typos or mistakes on a person’s résumé.

If it appears that an applicant didn’t take the necessary time to create an impressive résumé, it would concern me that this person might not be diligent in their work.

Take the time needed to review your résumé and ensure that there are no blatant typos.

Specific education

Depending on the position, some require a specific education while others do not. For example, if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you need to have higher education.

Education might not be as necessary for other positions, but this still can indicate skills that an applicant has obtained, though in a school setting as opposed to real-world experience.

Past work experience

Even if your experience does not directly correlate to the position you are applying for, it’s still important to include past work experience on your résumé.

Having job experience lets potential employers know how long you have stayed in previous positions, indicating what they can expect from you.

Skill level

Illustrating your skill level is essential to potential employers. What happens if the company uses Google Docs for their communications, but you only have experience using Microsoft products?

They will want to know that you can learn how to use their tools. Showing a vast amount of experience using many different tools will help them understand how easily you might be able to adapt to something new.

The overall flow and look of a person’s résumé

The overall flow and look of a person’s résumé also help illustrate how a person might work.

  • Is the résumé in an order that makes sense?
  • Does it read easily?
  • Is it formatted consistently throughout?

It might be challenging to understand their work if it’s hard to read a person’s résumé. Your résumé needs to make sense to someone that doesn’t know you.

Remember : First impressions are lasting impressions. Make sure that however you choose to create your résumé, the impression your résumé leaves is a good one .

Biron Clark

Biron Clark

Former Executive Recruiter | Founder,  CareerSidekick

Evidence you can step into this job and be successful

When you apply for a position, the first thing a recruiter or hiring manager thinks is, “Does this person have the skills and experience needed to step into this role and be successful?”

They’re comparing your résumé to the job description, essentially.

This is why it’s critical to review the job posting before applying for a job and ensure that your résumé highlights your ability to perform well in the job you’re pursuing.

Consider adding content , reordering content , and removing irrelevant content to show that your skills are well-suited to the specific role you want.

Past successes, accomplishments, and results

Employers notice your résumé work history section, especially the bullets within that section, very quickly .

One great way to make this section of your résumé stand out is to include specific results you’ve achieved for previous employers.

Employers always notice and appreciate metrics and data on a résumé, yet most job seekers include none or very little.

Specific skills and keywords

Employers will glance at your résumé looking for mentions of key skills and keywords from the job description.

If a role is heavily involved in customer support, they’re looking through your employment history to see which of your past roles involved customer interaction or customer support.

The more, the better.

Writing an effective résumé is all about showing relevancy .

You can also include these skills and keywords in a dedicated “Skills” section, but employers always want to see when and where you used these skills, so always include important skills in your work history section.

Career progression

Next, employers will look at:

  • the job titles
  • dates of employment
  • general career progression

Be sure to show any promotions you’ve received from past companies. Do your best to ensure your résumé tells your career story and shows upward progression.

Related: How to Tell a Story With Your Resume

This isn’t always possible, but do the best you can because employers look at all of your previous job titles, from the bottom of the page upward, to understand your career story and path.

Jennifer Hartman

Jennifer Hartman

Staff Writer | HR Specialist,  Fit Small Business

An effective résumé catches the employer’s eye and shows your skills and qualifications. Employers will be looking for the following details found within a resume.

Personal contact details

Include your name and either your phone number or email address so the employer has a way to contact you should they decide they would like to interview you for a position. While not necessary, a picture can be added to your résumé.

Schools you have attended and degrees you have received

List any schools you have attended and degrees you have received, and be sure to include any certifications along with the expiration date.

This helps employers know that you have the education requirements to be successful in the position.

Highlights of the skills you have obtained

Provide a section in your résumé that highlights the skills you have obtained during your employment history. This can be anything from technological skills to job-specific skills .

The key is to highlight them on your résumé, so potential employers know what you bring to the table. This also helps when employers use AI technology to scan résumés for specific skills or keywords.

Relevant job history

Be sure to include relevant job history on your résumé. It is best to keep it to 3 or 4 past employment positions that closely match the job you are applying for.

It is not necessary to list every job you have had since you began working–a job at a retail store may not be relevant if you are applying for a Software Engineer position.

Your résumé should reflect your work history and skills, and it is recommended that you not include things like hobbies on your résumé.

However, a summary that highlights your work attributes is recommended .

Dr. Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.

Dawn D. Boyer

CEO,  D.Boyer Consulting  | Author, “ 520 Tiny – But Terrific – ‘How to’ Tips for Job Searches and Career Improvement “

There are several pieces of information that recruiters, hiring managers, and/or career coaches look for on résumés (noted in order of appearance on the résumé):

Point of contact information

Name, city, state, zip, phone number, and email (you would not believe the number of job seekers who don’t add an email)

A list of generic types of work

A list of generic types of work and the number of years they have been in that general type of job.

For instance, instead of saying: “5 years, Tier One Ticket Analyst” you want a broader description “5 years, System Administrator.”

A good example would be (using general types of job titles versus more specific job titles (e.g., XYZ software app developer):

Experience Summary

  • Five years, Team Lead, Software Engineering
  • Four years, Senior Software Engineering
  • Three years, Director / Senior Manager, Technical Product Architecture
  • Three years, Manager, Software Engineering
  • Three years, Software Developer

Dates of employment, job title, company, city, state

Underneath this sub-header, you want a set of bullets that “objectively” describe what the job seeker physically did (e.g., Tracked trouble tickets, Managed X subordinates, Supervised ten Hot Dog cookers, etc .), of which all objective descriptions can be documented and proven.

You do not want subjective terms (e.g., I brilliantly did something, I “assisted” someone, I magnificently completed this task and was given verbal kudos ), which are opinions and not documentable.

Formal education

College courses, degrees, and/or high school diplomas (no date on this one).

Training and certifications

Listed with the date of completion, the full name of the certification, the organization that did the training, city, and state. Also, it is essential to include the languages , awards , recognition , and/or volunteer work .

Related: How to Include Language Skills (Proficiency) on Your Resume

Sanya Nagpal

Sanya Nagpal

Head of Human Resources,  Leena AI

A candidate’s uniqueness in a résumé

The important thing is to make your résumé stand out. Recruiters often keep an eye out for uniqueness in a résumé.

Make sure your résumé is visually appealing

Firstly, make sure your résumé is visually appealing . Use soothing color tones that are pleasing to the eye of the viewer, but it also does not hurt to put some color to it.

Personalize your résumé as per the job description

Secondly, personalize your résumé as per the job description. Try to match keywords so that your résumé is the right fit for the role. Focus on your achievements, both professional and personal , and not just duties and responsibilities.

Try to keep it concise

Thirdly, recruiters want to know and understand you through your résumé. Ideally, a résumé should not be more than two pages. Try to keep it concise .

Proofread your résumé to make it grammatically correct

Lastly, proofread your résumé to make it grammatically correct . Ensure there are no errors or mistakes in the résumé before applying for a job.

Have different résumés that highlight multiple aspects of your skills

Apart from these, try to ensure that you have different résumés that highlight multiple aspects of your skills.

If you are a content writer with experience in graphic designing and SEO, make three separate résumés highlighting each aspect of your career.

This helps you segregate and apply for a broader spectrum of job roles at various companies. Try not to put everything in one résumé because it might seem off-putting and crowded for an HR professional or hiring manager to evaluate you.

Claire Sofield

Claire Sofield

Managing Director | Co-Founder, Four Recruitment

All of your experience

Employers will, of course, be looking for all of your experience, so start with your current role and work backward.

Under each heading, include the sector and size of the business and mention any other elements such as overseas or unionized business . List any achievements such as leading on projects or quantifiable statistics .

Make sure you tailor this to the specific role you are applying for to highlight what makes you a good fit for the company.

Be sure to explain any career gaps, e.g., time to travel , raise a family , etc . If you’ve moved around roles within the same business, explain why, such as promotion , relocation , or a fixed-term contract .

If you’re new to the job market and have no experience, outline any transferable skills or work experience you’ve gained so far.

Again, tailor this to the job role — there are a lot of soft skills needed across all sectors that you can showcase.

Education and qualifications

You should list your qualifications in chronological order . Again, start with the most recent first and include the most detail about this, e.g., any university/college qualifications should list the name of the university/college, dates attended, and qualifications gained.

What you’re like as a person

This is especially important for those working in retail, hospitality , or any other people-focused industries.

Including a section about your hobbies and interests can be very advantageous to demonstrate your personality and character.

Related: How to List Personal Interests and Hobbies on Your Resume

This could be anything from running a marathon to volunteering or joining a support group. This can offer additional background information about what you could bring to the role.

Anna Berkolec

Anna Berkolec

HR Manager,  ResumeLab

Number of years of relevant experience, technical skills, and achievements

Most often, employers look for three things on résumés.

  • The number of years of relevant experience
  • Technical skills you’ve developed
  • Achievements prove that you’re willing to go above and beyond the call of duty

Considering the (in)famous recruitment rule that résumés, on average, get looked at for 7 seconds, it is essential to highlight your strongest suits quickly and effectively .

Have a robust summary section

One way to do that is by having a robust summary section and a stellar skills section.

Well, because the former is the first thing on your résumé, while the latter is most easily noticeable. The summary section is the 2-4 sentence elevator pitch where you should quickly list your best accomplishments and big career wins .

Here is also where you include how many years of experience you possess and what you’re looking for . Effectively a teaser trailer meant to intrigue the employers to read on.

Skills section-wise, aim to include between 5-8 of your most vital and relevant. Be ready to back each and every one of them with real-life examples if it comes up in an interview.

Tony Rens

HR Manager, Motor Spider

The layout of the résumé

When I was recruiting new students for the Assistant Psychologist post, the first thing the team and I looked at was the layout of the résumé. The résumés with a lousy layout were immediately placed at the bottom of the pile.

A recruiter will undoubtedly focus more on the technical and educational stuff, but they’ll still notice the overall layout of the résumé. Use proper grammar, Error-free spellings, and whether the layout is a modern or traditional pattern are followed.

Most recruiters are interested in past experience

Secondly, this varies according to the job description, but most recruiters are interested in Past Experience: A recruiter will notice the past companies you’ve worked with.

Company recognition reveals a lot about candidates, like their skills and abilities . If you’ve worked for a huge company, your résumé can have more impact than others.

They also notice your:

  • responsibilities
  • achievements
  • date of employment
  • company name

Keep it as visible as possible and easy to locate on your résumé.

The use of keywords

Third and lastly, make the recruiter’s life easy, and he’ll benefit you. I have noticed in my experience that people undermine the use of keywords. The keywords used in the résumé help the recruiter find specific things quickly .

Candidates can make it easy for recruiters by creatively demonstrating important content. Like they can use stars/bars to show their fluency of languages or have a chart to present their overall academic or professional experience and excellence.

Akhila Nagabandi

Akhila Nagabandi

Head of HR,  Pearl Lemon

So, while looking for contact information, employees first look at various things in the résumé. If a student is responding to applicants, they may need to conduct videos such as email, phone number, or anything else to read him out because there are four most vital.

Talents and experience

The talents and experience are sought by the next employer. Let’s pretend I’m looking for a designer, a UX or UI designer.

I’ll look to see if the candidate, in this example, has any expertise with WordPress or anything related to developing roles, and if he does lead for the role, I’ll look at his experience and skills . That is the most important thing to look at in a résumé.

Next, what does it generally imply thus far, and if there is any reference, is it some type of manager or clinical experience role? We will undoubtedly seek referrals. It might be two or three , but two would be the most enjoyable.

Related: How Many References Should You Have On a Resume (With 40+ Tips)

Basic abilities and contact information

So these are the major characteristics we look for in a candidate, such as basic abilities and contact information .

Also, just in case of any social media profiles, let’s say LinkedIn because you’ll be able to find all of their experiences and the goals which you’d like to achieve.

Today’s businesses actively seek out any recommendations for his profile. So he’s only here to assist us in figuring out if he’ll be a good match for the part.

So, as males, please let me know if you have any questions. We also looked at the proper structure, which is to say, first, he explained his educational qualifications, then his experience.

The skills that are handled in depth are next, and they must be completed one by one. So we’ve been waiting two years for a defined structure and a clear record of this event.

Samuel DeCroes

Samuel DeCroes

President, Stock Trend Alerts

Teamwork abilities

This, in my opinion, is an excellent ability to emphasize when applying for employment and one that recruiters would indeed search for on your résumé.

Teamwork skills are a crucial tool for any employee who works in an organization or with other people regularly. Regardless of your job title or industry, many companies look for teamwork abilities when interviewing candidates for open positions.

Related: 30+ Real Life Examples of Teamwork

Some examples of teamwork abilities to highlight:

  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Responsibility

Interpersonal abilities

This, in my opinion, is another excellent ability to emphasize when applying for employment and one that recruiters would surely search for on your resume.

Interpersonal skills enable you to engage and collaborate effectively with others. Even if you aren’t working directly with clients, you will undoubtedly be working with colleagues and managers.

Thus interpersonal skills are essential. These abilities allow you to form relationships , communicate successfully , and manage problems appropriately .

Employers search for interpersonal qualities such as:

  • Flexibility

Stine Jorgensen

Stine Jorgensen

Director HR, HeatXperts

Educational background and the technical skills

When recruiters go through a candidate’s resume, we always focus on the relevant work experience if the job is for a higher level.

In case the role is for an entry-level position, we focus on their educational background and the technical skills they have included.

Leadership skills and experience

Moreover, leadership skills and experience are extremely important since they demonstrate how well the candidate can lead a team or a project.

However, just having the content on your resume would not make it stand out if your structure is confusing and misleading .

Therefore, having a structured resume with different sections with headings for education , work experience , leadership experience , awards , and technical skills is extremely important.

Moreover, when submitting a resume, you should ensure that it looks professional and has no grammatical errors.

Having a properly structured and well-written resume shows that the candidate is willing to put in effort for the role and that they pay attention to detail.

Tracy Acker

Tracy Acker

CEO and Recruiter,  GetPaydayLoan

There are some skills employers look for in the employees they seek to hire. In their advertisements, they need some specific skills and requirements.

Employers look for keywords

Most employers use a computer system to look for keywords that they expect in candidates’ resumes. They do a keyword search . It searches for the keywords that they require in the resume.

Employers check if the candidate has the required skills

Secondly, they check the skills part of the CV to see if the candidate has the required skills. Employers also look for overall career development.

They need to see progress from when the candidate got the first job to the present day, what the candidate has gained, and the candidate’s consistency in the previous employment places.

Employers look for the personal brand

Employers also look for the personal brand in the candidates. They want to see what skills the candidate has perfected and can do with the skills.

The organization of the resume also reflects the personal organization of the candidate. When the resume is well organized, the employer might be more interested in it.

Previously held roles, general experience, and candidate achievements

Employers will also be interested in the candidate’s education. The academic qualifications have to match what the employer had advertised. The employer also looks for previously held roles, general experience, and candidate achievements.

Christa Reed

Christa Reed

Head of Job Market Research,  JobSearcher

Being eligible

This means you are legally ready to work at the company you’re applying for.

Since your location is not an issue anymore, you probably apply for jobs worldwide, but not all work authorizations will allow you to join the company in the US if, let’s say, you are from Spain.

If there are two similarly qualified candidates, but one needs a sponsorship, they will likely choose the candidate that doesn’t.

Having relevant experiences

It is essential to have relevant knowledge about the tasks you will be doing. This can mean having experience with specific apps and software the new company uses or simply being trackable about doing the job well at your previous employers.

E.g., Include dollar values of troubleshooting you’ve done that show your contributions to the employer.

Scannability

It’s not just about having a great list of experiences in your résumé but presenting them in a quickly readable way . And to do that, you need to optimize it with the best keywords, almost like an SEO specialist.

Add these keywords, combine them with all the important information and make it easy to find. You have about 6 to 10 seconds to convince your future employer that your experiences resonate with the requirements.

Hannah Dworkin

Hannah Dworkin

Recruiter | Leader,  USScrapYard

When I am looking at résumés, there are three things I usually go over.

How the résumé itself is presented

I first usually consider how the résumé itself is presented, and I always lean towards a well-organized , neat , and consistent one. A résumé is the first impression for an employer, and the candidate applying for the job must know that.

So taking the time to create a well-presented résumé definitely says a lot about their identity.

The progress that candidates made in their career

Second, I go over the progress that they’ve made in their career. I look for the time they’ve stayed working at a particular place, and their responsibilities, and check if there is any progress in their careers.

When someone is moving forward and takes higher positions as time goes by, they’d definitely be considered by me as a recruiter .

What soft skills they have listed

Finally, I always check what soft skills they have listed in the résumé. I consider the mentioned skills as complementary to their work experience.

And if I do the candidate, I would take them up for their word regarding those interview skills. So if someone mentions punctuality yet manages to arrive late for the interview, that would be a red flag for me.

Frequently Asked Questions

What mistakes should i avoid when creating my resume.

Avoiding common mistakes will help ensure that your resume gets noticed by employers. Here are some mistakes you should avoid:

Spelling and grammatical errors:  Spelling and grammatical errors can make your resume appear unprofessional. Make sure your resume is free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Lack of clarity:  Make your resume clear and concise. Avoid jargon or technical terms that aren’t commonly understood.

Too much information:  Your resume should focus on the job you’re applying for. Avoid including irrelevant information that has nothing to do with the job.

Inconsistent formatting:  Make sure your resume is consistently formatted throughout. Consistent formatting can make your resume easier to read and understand.

Missing contact information:  Ensure your contact information is included on your resume. This can help employers contact you for an interview.

Remember that your resume is often the first impression employers have of you. Taking the time to craft a high-quality resume can help you stand out from your competition and increase your chances of getting an interview.

Should I Include a Cover Letter With My Resume?

Yes, a cover letter on your resume can help you stand out from the competition and show your interest in the position. Here are some tips on how to write an effective cover letter:

Research the company:  Research the company to understand its culture and values. Use this information to personalize your cover letter and show your enthusiasm for the job.

Use a professional tone:  Use a professional tone when writing your cover letter. Avoid slang or informal language.

Highlight your qualifications: In your cover letter, highlight your key qualifications and show how they match the job requirements. However, avoid repeating information from your resume.

Tailor your cover letter:  Customize your cover letter for your applying job. Use the job description to highlight the key skills and attributes the employer is looking for.

Keep it short and sweet:  Keep your cover letter concise and to the point. Avoid writing a long letter that might bore the employer.

What Is the Best Way to Proofread My Resume?

Proofreading your resume is important to ensure it contains no errors and reads well. Here are some tips on how to proofread your resume:

• Read your resume aloud to catch any errors you might miss while reading it silently. • Use spell check to catch spelling errors. • Ask a friend or family member to proofread your resume. A fresh set of eyes can catch errors that you may have missed. • Check for consistency in formatting, font, and spacing on your resume are consistent. • Take a break and come back to your resume later. This can help you view your resume from a new perspective and spot errors you may have missed.

By carefully proofreading your resume, you can ensure that it’s error-free and professional, increasing your chances of getting an interview.

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How To Display Levels of Skills On Your Resume + Examples

How To Display Levels of Skills On Your Resume + Examples

Table of Contents

What skills should I put on a resume?

The skills section of your resume should be an outline of your relevant abilities and demonstrate your fitness for the role you are applying for. There are two main types of skill types: hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills are skills that are quantifiable. Hard skills examples are programming, SEO, operating machinery, languages, etc.

Soft skills , on the other hand, are more subjective and harder to measure. Examples of soft skills are communication skills, negotiation skills, conflict resolution, conceptual skills, etc.

While it may seem that your employer would only care about seeing quantifiable (hard) skills on your resume, this is not exactly the case. In fact, according to the research conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center, 85% of success in the workplace actually comes from well-developed soft skills — with only 15% being attributed to technical skills and knowledge.

Conceptual Skills: Definition and Examples

When deciding what skills to emphasize on your resume, it’s always a good idea to see what skills the employer is looking for . To do this, go over the job description again and check what skills are required in a candidate. This way, you will be able to tailor your resume to the position you are applying for and make sure the skills you include are relevant to the job.

Learn more here: Hard Skills vs Soft Skills: What’s the Difference?

Where should I put skills on a resume?

Where you place your skill section on a resume depends on several factors. The main consideration here will be the resume format you are using. In a skills-based resume, your skills will be the focus of your resume and till next listed first, before your work experience. In a reverse-chronological resume, on the other hand, your work experience will take center stage and your professional skills will come later.

Within the skills section itself, you can create categories for different skills , especially if you have many. This can help you separate skills into groups according to the different aspects of the job where they might be useful. You can also categorize skills into soft skills and hard skills to make it easier for the hiring manager to scan through your resume.

The 5 Most Important Work Ethic Skills

What are skill levels for a resume?

levels of skills

Skill levels are used to evaluate the degree of proficiency in specific skills. Skill levels typically apply to hard skills only. Hard skills for a resume may include programming skills, language skills, etc. As we’ve mentioned above, soft skills are quite subjective and may be hard to evaluate. To prove to your employer that you are good at communicating or negotiating, you will need to illustrate this via specific work situations that you have experienced.

While listing your skills on a resume is very helpful, simply stating what skills you have gives little insight into how good you are at it. Providing a skill level next to the corresponding skill is optional — but definitely helpful to the hiring manager .

How should I list skill levels?

There are many ways to list skills levels on a resume. You may use numbers or bar graphs to show the level of a certain skill. But this may be quite vague.

Here’s an example. Say you use a ten-point scale to illustrate your language proficiency. And you give yourself a score of seven for your proficiency in Spanish. You may think that this will show your employer that you are proficient in the language. However, your employer might think that a score of seven is too low compared to a score of eight or nine. So you may end up downplaying your knowledge of the language without even knowing it.

Because of this, it’s a better idea to use a universally accepted metric to demonstrate the levels of skills you possess.

One of the best ways to describe the levels of skills you have is by using words. For instance:

  • Beginner . If you are a beginner at something, you can perform basic tasks and have an understanding of what the skill involves. However, you can’t handle more complicated tasks or troubleshoot any issues. In most cases, if you only have a beginner level of a skill, it may be best to leave it off your resume.
  • Intermediate . Starting from this level, you can put skills on your resume. An intermediate skill level shows that you can already handle a wider range of tasks and troubleshoot simple issues. However, when it comes to more complicated tasks, you will still need to rely on support materials and other resources.
  • Proficient . If you are proficient in a skill, you can take on most tasks related to this skill completely independently. You have advanced knowledge of the skill and can troubleshoot most issues.
  • Expert . If you label your skill level as expert, it will tell your employer that you have a deep knowledge of the subject and can deal with most related issues that come up. It also means that you can consult others on the subject. If you tell your potential employer that you are an expert in something, they will assume that you can take on anything related to the skill.

How should I list skills?

Here are some best practices for listing skills and levels of skills on a resume.

First, choose the skills that you want to include (10 to 15).

When selecting the skills to include in your resume, do your best to make it a job-specific and targeted list. Use the same key words when describing your skills as the ones mentioned in the job description.

What Collaboration Skills are Important?

Next, think about how to organize these skills.

If there are a lot of skills that you want to include, consider organizing them into categories or groups . This will make things easier for the person reading your resume.

Make sure to offer evidence to back up your skill claims throughout the resume. When it comes to hard skills, you can prove them by mentioning your certification and education in the field. For soft skills, on the other hand, you may need to include specific examples from your work experience. For instance, you can mention deals you were able to achieve for your company to showcase your negotiation skills.

The final step of listing your skills on a resume will be adding levels of skills. As we’ve mentioned above, you should use a clear and universally recognized metric for this. It’s essential that you demonstrate your skill proficiency in a way that is clear to others and not open to different interpretations.

Examples of listing levels of skills on a resume

Here are a few examples of how you can list skills on a resume :

Skills: C++ programming (expert) UX design (proficient) Agile project management (intermediate) Negotiation and mediation Teamwork and team building Problem solving
Foreign languages: English (native) Spanish (C2) Majored in Spanish at San Diego University DELE C2
Hard skills Managing accounts payable and receivable functions (expert) Managing vendor accounts (expert) Handling payroll (proficient) Forecasting budgets (proficient) Financial reporting GAAP (proficient) Soft skills Attention to detail Conflict resolution Problem solving Time management Critical thinking Active learning

Learn how to master essential soft skills in How to Develop Effective Verbal Communication Skills .

How to display levels of skills on your resume: conclusion

Now let’s sum up what we’ve learnt.

  • There are many ways to list skills on a resume. If you have a lot of skills to include, it’s best to organize them into groups.
  • Keep it brief. According to a recent study by The Ladders, employers can spend only 7.4 seconds scanning a resume. So, put your most eye-catching skills first and avoid generalities.
  • There are two primary types of skills: soft skills and hard skills. Hard skills are easily measurable and proven while soft skills are more subjective.
  • When listing your skills, try to use the same keywords as the ones used in the job description.
  • When mentioning the level of your skills, use a universally recognized evaluation system. For instance, you can label your skills as expert, proficient, intermediate or beginner.
  • It’s best to only include the skills in your resume starting from the intermediate level.

Learn more about what skills to put on a resume .

  • Resume and Cover Letter
  • 11 Best Administrative Skills...

11 Best Administrative Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)

11 min read · Updated on February 15, 2024

Ronda Suder

Discover the top administrative skills to make your resume stand out

Having strong administrative skills means you're able to plan events and projects, manage time, and keep things organized and running like a well-oiled machine. It also means you come to the table with the ability to communicate and engage with the customers, clients, and stakeholders of a company. 

Though administrative skills are necessary for jobs like Administrative Assistants, Receptionists, and Office Managers, they also add value to virtually any position across the various industries you might find yourself employed in. Since they're highly valued by employers, it benefits you to ensure you highlight sought-after administrative skills on your resume. 

In this post, we cover:

What administrative skills are

Why administrative skills on resumes are important

Some of the most in-demand administrative skills for resumes

How to highlight administrative skills on resumes

Where to include administrative skills on resumes

Administrative skills defined

Administrative skills are a series of qualities that, when combined, allow you to help manage a business or department or run an office. They include both hard skills, like knowing how to use a specific software application, and soft skills, like communication and problem solving. Examples of essential administrative tasks might include communicating with employees, filing, running reports, calendar management, and answering client questions. 

Why administrative skills are important to employers

People with strong administrative skills tend to be reliable self-starters with the ability to organize and manage time well. With a diverse skill set, they're valued by employers because they help organizations to maintain productivity and keep things running smoothly - they're a cornerstone of a company's success.  Any successful business will not only have administrative staff with strong administrative skills on their resume, but will also have other employees throughout the organization that apply these types of skills in their various jobs.

Administrative skills are also some of the most transferable skills between industries and job types. Administrative skills required for a role in the marketing sector would be applicable and transferable to the energy sector, for example. 

What are some of the most in-demand administrative skills for resumes?

When it comes to administrative skills on resumes, there are many that can make you stand out to hiring teams. Here are 11 of the top administrative skills to consider for your resume, and why they're important. 

1. Communication

Communication - both verbal and written - is a daily requirement for virtually any position. Those in administrative positions often need to communicate in different forms with a variety of people, both internal and external to the business, from employees and executives to clients and contractors. 

2. Microsoft 365

We're all familiar with certain Microsoft 365 applications, like Microsoft Word and Outlook. However, those with solid technical administrative skills on their resume tend to be knowledgeable in how to use all applications in the suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive. 

3. Organization

With the many plates employees often have spinning all at once, it's vital they hone in on the administrative skill of organization. In fact, it's one of the most important administrative skills to ensure things run smoothly within a team, department, or business. When you're organized, you tend to have good time management and planning skills as well, which are also sought-after administrative skills on resumes. 

4. Problem solving

We're constantly solving problems every day, including at work. A good problem solver identifies the problem, proposes solutions, chooses the best solution, and implements the it. Strong problem solvers support business continuity, innovation, and inspiration, making it a highly valuable administrative skill on resumes.  

5. Scheduling

Though essentially all employees have to maintain their schedules, administrative positions, in particular, often have the daunting task of keeping up with several schedules at once. In addition to calendar management, Administrators often have to coordinate and schedule meetings, travel arrangements, and events for the teams or individuals they support, making scheduling a vital technical skill to have.  

6. Flexibility

Change is the only constant, as they say, which requires flexibility. Employees need to be flexible to successfully adapt to changing priorities, demands, and requests. Without flexibility, work can be more stressful and productivity can take a hit.  

7. Working well under stress

Tight deadlines, quick turnaround times, multiple requests, several projects all at once, and day-to-day tasks can feel like a lot for any employee. Being able to work well under stress is necessary to stay on top of things without becoming overwhelmed, which can slow things down. When you work well under stress, you also tend to be good at multitasking, another valuable administrative skill. 

8. Customer service

For positions that are customer and client facing, strong interpersonal and customer service skills are necessary administrative skills. This is especially true for service and support-oriented positions. 

9. Teamwork

Though administrative professionals tend to be on point to keep things operating as needed, they do so as part of a team. The same goes for individual contributors who, while being responsible for their own tasks and activities, contribute to the department and generally work as part of a team to accomplish department and organizational goals and objectives. 

10. Detail orientation

When you're managing calendars, sharing business information, planning events, or drafting presentations, you must pay attention to the details to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Mistakes in these areas can be costly - if not in terms of dollars, in terms of added stress and lost time. As such, employers want to know they can trust you to adequately cross all the t's and dot all the i's when they hire you to do a job, making attention to detail an in-demand administrative skill.    

11. Event coordination

Administrative professionals, in particular, are often responsible for planning events of varying sizes. Coordinating company events, holiday parties, staff meetings, and more can all fall under the administrative umbrella. What's great about highlighting event coordination skills is that you're showing several other administrative skills at the same time, including organization, communication, multitasking, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Additional administrative skills for resumes 

The above list is just a launching point to help you get started with your own list of administrative skills to include on your resume. Below are some additional hard and soft skills often found on administrative resumes to provide even more inspiration.

Administrative hard skills for resumes

Office equipment use

Database management

Videoconferencing

Expense reporting

Google Docs

File management

Administrative soft skills for resumes

Decision-making

Interpersonal skills

Prioritization

Active listening

Critical thinking

Open-mindedness

How to highlight administrative skills on your resume

Make a list of your administrative-related skills and accomplishments. Using this post as inspiration, sit down and thoughtfully list all of the administrative skills you possess. From there, make a list of all of the administrative duties and responsibilities you've held, as well as any work accomplishments related to administrative skills you've applied or positions you've held. 

Refer to the job description. Review the job description you're interested in and highlight any administrative skills and experience required. Then, compare that to the list you created based on your work history. Be sure your resume includes the administrative skills and experience you have that align with the job description. This is a great way to incorporate keywords into your resume to pass an employer's applicant tracking system , or ATS, and grab the attention of hiring managers.

Showcase soft and hard (technical) skills throughout your resume. For maximum benefit, highlight both hard and soft administrative skills throughout your resume. Hard skills are measurable and learned skills, whereas soft skills are intangible and difficult to measure, though vital for job success. We discuss where and how to include hard and soft skills in the next section. 

Highlight soft skills through on-the-job accomplishments and achievements. Unlike with technical skills, you don't want to merely list soft skills on your resume. Instead, you want to show off your soft skills through the achievements you choose to highlight. For example, consider the following:

Oversaw and coordinated a 5-hour corporate event for 1,000 employees, showcasing the executive team and highlighting employee achievements and milestones for 2023

This achievement highlights organization, time management, attention to detail, critical thinking, and creativity administrative soft skills, to name a few. 

Where to highlight administrative skills on your resume

Now that you know how to come up with administrative skills to include on a resume, where can you incorporate them? Any of the following are excellent options:

Resume Summary

Skills or core competencies section.

Experience section

Certifications section

Additional sections.

Your resume summary , that sits just below your contact information, is where you can pack a punch to entice resume readers to keep reading. Here are a couple of examples of how to include administrative skills in your resume summary:

Administrative professional example

Administrator with over 5 years of experience working with C-suite executives to navigate organizational challenges and provide solutions to maintain business continuity and operations. Managed up to 15 calendars at one time using effective scheduling, time management, and organizational skills. 

What are some of the administrative skills this summary speaks to? How about:

Communication

Organization

Problem solving

Time management

Stress management

Multitasking

Non-administrative individual contributor example

Focused engineering professional with 10 years of experience in the oil & gas sector. Leverages solid problem-solving skills to address concerns in high-stakes environments, with the flexibility required to adjust priorities and maintain productivity. Organized and led a $2M pipeline construction project to upgrade pipeline requirements, meeting current industry standards. 

Some of the administrative skills that this summary highlights include:

Prioritizing

Flexibility

Attention to detail

It can be beneficial to include a Core Competencies section just below your resume summary to showcase your technical skills, as well pertinent soft skills. For example:

Core Competencies

Customer Service | Microsoft 365 | Quickbooks | Research | Scheduling   |   Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) | Oracle Applicant Tracking System | Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) | Event Coordination

Alternatively, the hard skills listed could all also go under a Technical Skills section near the end of your resume:

Technical Skills

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)   |   Microsoft 365   |   Quickbooks   |   Research   |   ATS Proficiency   |   Event Coordination   |   Scheduling

Avoid being repetitive and listing the same skills in both a Core Competencies and Skills section - only choose one of the two if you don't have different skills to include in each list.

Work Experience section

Another section to highlight your stellar administrative skills is in the Work Experience section. Here's an example that showcases focus, stress management, communication, filing, organization, switchboard management, time management, and more, all in just three bullet points!

Receptionist

ABC Company, Houston, TX

July 2021 - Present

Managed switchboard for three office buildings housing over 750 employees

Answered client questions regarding products and services, handling a high call volume of 40 to 50 calls per day

Spearheaded development of a new filing system for improved organization of client cases related to issues and concerns

If you hold any administrative-related certifications, you can choose to include them in a Certifications section on your resume. Relevant certifications not only showcase acquired administrative skills and knowledge, but also indicate your dedication to professional development. 

Examples of in-demand administrative certifications are:

Microsoft 365

Certified Administrative Professional (CAP)

Administrative Assistant Certification (CAA)

Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (MOS)

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence (PACE)

Finally, some might choose to highlight administrative skills on their resume by including additional sections, such as:

Volunteer Work

Hobbies & Interests

Extracurricular Activities

Special Projects

Including additional sections on a resume can benefit those who have gaps in administrative work experience, skills, or education.

Top tip: why not check out our Office Administrative Assistant resume example ?

Administrative skills = valuable assets for any resume

Whether you're applying for an administrative position or any other type of position, administrative skills on resumes add value and tend to stand out to hiring managers. Now, you're equipped with some of the most in-demand administrative skills to include on your resume, as well as advice on how and where to incorporate them. With these tips, you'll be landing those interviews in no time! 

Are you representing administrative skills on your resume appropriately? Why not submit it for a free resume review to find out?

Recommended reading:

How to Use a Reverse Chronological Resume Format

How to Check if My Resume is ATS-Friendly for Free

How to Show Promotions on a Resume (with Examples)

Related Articles:

How to Write a Cover Letter (With Example)

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

See how your resume stacks up.

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resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Top 7 Skills Employers Want To See on Your Resume

In Employment Help by Justin Kohl October 19, 2023

Top 7 Skills Employers Want To See on Your Resume

The job market is tough as you must constantly compete with other candidates for the same position. By making yourself stand out as a top contender, you increase your odds of landing the job since more employers will review your resume. One of the best ways to capture the attention of hiring managers is by showing off the incredible assets you possess. As you create your resume, ensure you list the top skills employers want to see on your resume.

7 Soft Skills Employers Prefer Seeing

Soft skills are important because you can apply them to any role regardless of the industry. Employers often examine all listed soft skills on a resume to better understand whether the individual appears well-rounded. Seven key soft skills to add to your resume include:

Communication

  • Active listening
  • Time management

Organization

Flexibility.

  • Problem-solving

These skills are vital because they demonstrate that you possess the necessary attributes to excel in your role and handle stressful situations. Furthermore, soft skills show that you can collaborate with other professionals and work independently when needed.

Employers want employees who can articulate their thoughts and ideas effectively; this skill also goes hand-in-hand with collaboration. It’s important to remember that communication is a two-way street. While speaking and presenting skills are essential, so are listening and nonverbal communication skills.

Think of a time you had to work through a misunderstanding in the professional world when listing communication skills on your resume. Note the moments of miscommunication in college and how you used your incredible communicative skills to work through the issue if you’re a recent college graduate.

Active Listening

Active listening is a skill that allows individuals to fully understand what someone communicates to them. Employers prefer this skill as it shows that the employee is paying attention and helps avoid misunderstandings. Actively listening during job interviews, team meetings, and client interactions is essential.

Keep in mind that active listening often means asking clarifying questions during a conversation by restating information from the speaker.

Time Management

Employers appreciate employees who can manage their time effectively. Time management skills help employees to prioritize their tasks and complete them efficiently.

Bonus points to employees who are also self-starters, meaning they don’t need constant supervision! Becoming a self-starter often requires amazing time management along with a sense of independence.

Being organized is a soft skill that employers love. It shows that employees can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and keep track of all the details. Organized employees are likely to be more productive than disorganized ones, which helps the company save time and money. Having superb organizational skills also enables you to note due dates for tasks to turn everything in early or on time.

Flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing situations. Employers want employees who can think on their feet and react to different scenarios. This skill is especially important for industries facing unexpected circumstances requiring quick thinking and improvisation.

Problem-Solving

Solving problems effectively is another top skill employers want to see on your resume. It shows adaptability and the ability to think critically. You can hone your problem-solving skills by planning, creating, and testing solutions and refining them until you reach the best possible outcome.

Creative thinking helps us see the bigger picture and develop innovative solutions to problems we may encounter. Employers often prefer this mindset because it allows the individual to get more done and benefits the company.

Don’t Overlook Hard Skills

As you detail the top skills employers want to see on your resume, never overlook the importance of your hard skills. Unlike soft skills, listing specific hard skills you need to add is a bit trickier as it varies for every industry. You’ll need hard skills such as negotiation, customer analysis, and experience if you work in sales. On the other hand, an accountant needs hard skills such as data analysis and proficiency in Excel.

Enhancing Hard Skills

While we can always improve our soft skills, most of us learn them through experience. You can’t take a college course on time management, but you can discover ways to enhance your skills by completing projects. On the other hand, we learn and improve our hard skills by boosting our knowledge base; working with a mentor or taking a class are two amazing ways to do this.

Work With a Mentor

Consider getting a mentor to learn more about the field if you don’t know which hard skills you need in a specific industry. You’ll build crucial hard skills as you educate yourself.

Take a Class

You might need to improve specific hard skills to thrive in your desired industry. As an accountant, you may need to enroll in a course on data analytics. Taking a class also helps you familiarize yourself with the software often used in the industry, which boosts your resume.

How To Show Skills on Resumes

Showcasing your skills on your resume is crucial. List the skill alongside an achievement that shows how you’ve exemplified it in the past. For example, instead of writing “good time management skills,” you should write “managed multiple projects simultaneously, achieving all deadlines.” This specificity is an effective way to showcase your skills on a resume.

Getting more detailed about how you explain your skills also gives hiring managers talking points during an interview. They can ask you to further explain the projects you worked on and examine what it says about your time management skills.

You also give potential employers specific information to ask if they contact your previous employer or referrals. Additionally, providing brief examples makes your resume appear more professional.

Avoid getting overly detailed in your resume. Generally, explanations are a single line across the page; most people use bullets. Our previous example, “managed multiple projects simultaneously, achieving all deadlines,” is an ideal length.

Contact an Employment Agency

Finding work isn’t always easy as you sift through countless job listings. Staffing services , such as Burnett’s Staffing, work to help job seekers find the ideal position. We can also help you craft the best resume and provide career counseling. Get help from the experts so you can find your next career!

Top 7 Skills Employers Want To See on Your Resume

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How to Thrive in the “Skills Economy”

  • David Blake

resume helps employers visualize what your skills are

Experience can be just as valuable as a college degree.

Many organizations are dropping degree requirements when hiring, and emphasizing experience and skills instead. As a job candidate, you can use this shift to your advantage. Here’s what you need to know.

  • As the emphasis on skill acquisition grows, so do more accessible and affordable learning methods. Among others, methods include online learning platforms that offer industry-specific and skills-based courses, massive open online courses (MOOCs ) , apprenticeships, microcredentials, simulations, and skill-specific bootcamps.
  • You can make it easier for an employer to understand what skills you’re bringing to the table by putting them front and center on your resume. At the top of your resume, include a “Relevant Skills” section with the most role-relevant hard skills put first, and more transferable soft skills placed towards the end.
  • Even if you reviewed the job description thoroughly when crafting your resume, study it again, in-depth, before your interview takes place. If your job requires technical skills, hiring managers will likely test you on them — whether that includes a skills assessment or asking your for examples of how you’ve demonstrated those skills in the past.
  • Stat on top of the skills required to grow in your particular role or industry and seek out the proper training and development support as your career progresses. This effort will support your growth and help you stay relevant and maintain yourself as a strong, promotable performer.

Securing a great job and climbing the career ladder no longer hinges on obtaining a college degree . The Great Recession’s impact in 2008 played a big part in eroding the long-held belief in degrees as a sure path to success. During that time, new grads entering the job market found that having a degree did not necessarily equal well-paying jobs or lasting careers , particularly those in for-profit institutions.

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  • David Blake believes that learning is too important to stay the way it is and has spent his entire career innovating in higher education and lifelong learning. Prior to Degreed, he helped launch a competency-based, accredited university and was a founding team member at Zinch (acquired by Chegg NASDAQ: CHGG).

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UMGC Career Connection 6 Soft Skills Your Resume Needs

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Smiling black male with laptop in library

When putting together your resume, you’ll want to include your education, work history, achievements, and skills. Most often, a resume showcases both hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills consist of technical abilities such as working knowledge of the Microsoft Suite, while soft skills closely relate to your personality and how you interact with others. Here are some of the best soft skills you should seek to develop right away.

The ability to effectively collaborate with others is very important, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an employer who isn’t looking to improve its teams’ efficiency and productivity. If you’re particularly skilled when it comes to working with others, don’t forget to add it to your resume. Even if you’re a first-time job seeker, you’ve probably worked collaboratively with other students on any number of major projects, and this is also suitable for your resume.

To demonstrate your ability to collaborate with others on your resume, try using words and phrases such as “team building,” “networking,” “leadership,” and of course, “collaboration.” Here, you could include something along the lines of “Collaborated with a team of five other members.” If you have a quantifiable example such as meeting a deadline or increasing sales, you could also attach that to your teamwork skill on your resume.

Adaptability

Being able to adapt to changing environments and circumstances is crucial for almost any professional role, as technology and practices are always evolving. Additionally, your day-to-day isn’t immune to unexpected scenarios such as a coworker calling out sick or quitting suddenly, which can complicate matters when there’s an ongoing project with a deadline quickly approaching.

When you demonstrate your ability to adapt to potential employers, it shows that you handle stress well, and that you can think on your feet. If you want to include this skill on your resume, use words such as “patient,” “cooperative,” “positive,” and “flexible.” Let’s say your previous job required you to learn several new programs in order to complete your daily tasks—listing this on your resume is a great way to demonstrate your ability to adapt.

Reliability

Employers like candidates who are dependable and consistent. Are you a great independent worker who self-motivates to get the job done? Do you hold yourself accountable and can the other members of your team rely on you during challenging circumstances? If so, it would be to your advantage to include it on your resume.

There are lots of ways to demonstrate your reliability to potential employers. Some great words and phrases to use are “independent,” “organized,” “multitasking,” and “time management.” If you’ve completed a major project ahead of schedule or taken charge during a particularly difficult moment, those are great examples to include if you’re trying to show potential employers that you’re reliable.

those are great examples to include if you’re trying to show potential employers that you’re reliable.

Being able to think creatively is an excellent quality. Creativity leads to innovation and is great for devising new strategies and solving complex problems. In addition to this, creativity can help you develop hard skills such as graphic design or copywriting. People who think creatively are often able to examine a situation from a variety of different angles, and employers really like that.

To show your creative thinking skills on your resume, build off of words and phrases such as “imaginative,” “outside the box,” “conceptual,” and “brainstorming.” If you have an example where you employed creative measures to solve a problem, add it to your resume. Always remember, employers prefer problem-solvers over problem-identifiers, which leads us to our next entry.

Problem-solving

Every boss loves a good problem-solver. This ability often goes along with being creative, as certain problems require a little extra brain power to solve. The best problem-solvers are highly resourceful individuals who think quickly and take the initiative. If this sounds like you, then you’ll be able to make yourself stand out with your problem-solving skills.

To demonstrate your ability to solve problems on your resume, choose words and phrases such as “innovative,” “resourceful,” “level-headed,” and “analytical.” As always, if you have an example of a time where you solved a problem, include it on your resume. For the best results, provide examples that are tied to quantifiable data, such as sales numbers or a successful social media campaign.

Communication

Communication is arguably the most important skill on this list because without good communication, all the other skills are nearly useless. When team members communicate well with one another, progress is made, problems are solved more easily, and new and exciting ideas emerge. Keep in mind that being a good communicator also includes being a good listener and understanding different forms of communication such as non-verbal cues.

If you’re looking to showcase your communication skills to potential employers, use words and phrases such as “public speaking,” “conflict resolution,” “presentation,” and “confident.” This is one of those skills you might have started to develop in college, perhaps through a public speaking course. If this is the case, it’s appropriate to include mention of that on your resume.

It’s also worth mentioning that soft skills are often transferable skills. In other words, most soft skills you develop are relevant to any industry or role. Transferable skills are great if you’re looking to upgrade your current role or if you want to change careers. For more on transferable skills, check out our previous blog here . In certain cases, soft skills are more sought-after than hard skills, so make sure you include them on your resume.

This article is reposted with permission from Vault .

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IMAGES

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