“Which skills should I add to my resume? What are the most important skills for resume?”
If you have tried to write just one resume in your life, you will have asked yourself these questions. And with good reason.
Your skills are important. And how you apply your skills to your resume is important. So important in fact that most recruiters, and Applicant Tracking Systems, will be on the lookout for the exactly right skills.
Thus, having a skills section in your resume is a must nowadays. And it is very important to treat this section with great care and an eye for detail. But don’t worry, we will be there to help you along the way.
This guide will cover the following questions regarding skills for resume:
- Hard skills and soft skills for resume - what is the difference?
- How do I choose which skills to add to my resume?
- How do I list my skills on my resume?
Without any further ado, let’s get started.
Hard and soft skills - what is the difference?
When it comes to skills for a resume there are several types to choose from. The two types we will focus on in this article are the hard skills and the soft skills.
Below are the definitions for each of these.
Hard skills
Let’s start with the hard skills.
They are called hard skills because they are both hard to come by and they are also (often) measurable. These are the skills that you acquire in a classroom or during training courses. In other words, they are teachable.
Another aspect of the hard skills is that they are rarely transferable to other job categories.
For example, let’s say you are a software developer. During your education towards becoming a skilled software developer you will have learned a specific set of skills. These skills will not be transferable if you want to change your professional direction towards, let’s say, truck driver. Being a truck driver demands a whole different set of hard skills than a software developer. This is what non-transferable skills means.
Examples of hard skills:
Soft skills
Soft skills, on the other hand, are not (usually) taught. Think of them as a combination between your interpersonal skills, social and emotional intelligence, your personal character traits, and social skills.
It is your soft skills that allow you to navigate in your environment, both professionally and privately. They are the skills that enable you to collaborate successfully with your colleagues.
Soft skills cannot be taught in a classroom (you are either born with them or you don’t possess them). They are highly transferable and can determine if you are suited for a position or not.
For instance, can you learn how to be more patient? No, you are either a patient person or you are not. And there is no right or wrong here. Being patient is a great soft skill if you are a kindergarten teacher. But if you are managing a team with a very strict deadline too much patience might not be desirable.
As you can tell, the soft skills are a bit fussier than the hard skills. They are no less important though since they are an integral part of who you are and how you interact with your potential colleagues. So they are important to know.
Examples of soft skills:
How do I choose which skills to add to my resume?
Choosing the right skills to add to your resume is crucial to get past both screening bots (ATS) and the recruiter’s famous 6 seconds scan. But how do you choose the right skills for your resume?
Well, first of all you need to create a master list of all your skills.
The good news is, you will only need to do this once. Then you can pick and choose from it for each resume that you make.
After that it’s all a matter of matching your skills, both soft and hard, to the job ad. Go through the job ad very carefully and highlight all the skills that are required. This process is very similar to adding power words to your resume.
Now, note down all the skills you’ve highlighted from the job ad and see, with which of your own skills there is an overlap.
You might have to change the wording of your skills to match the ones the job ad mentions exactly (this is very important due to the ATS bots scanning your resume). For example, if one of your hard skills is graphic design but the job ad says web design, you should go ahead and write web design instead. Because this is what the ATS will be scanning for.
How do I list my skills on my resume?
Okay, so now that we’ve covered the basics and uncovered your skill sets, it’s time to get hands on. How (and where) should you list your skills on your resume? Well, there are a few ways to list your skills, depending on where you are in your career.
In the following I will show how you list your skills in different ways depending on your needs.
Skills for resume with extensive experience
If you have extensive professional experience you will want to put the most emphasis here, not on your skills. Your skills will then support your work experience. List your skills either at the bottom of your resume or in a column on the right side of your resume.
See examples below.
Skills at the bottom
Skills on right side column
Skills for resume without extensive experience
If you are fresh out of school, you will need to go about it a little differently. In this case it’s a good idea to put a lot of emphasis on your skills, since you probably do not have extensive professional experience yet.
You do this by creating either a functional resume or a hybrid (combination) resume (our recommendation goes to the latter).
When adding your skills for a functional or a hybrid resume, you will have to create a skills summary section. Here, you type in your skills and don’t forget to describe how these skills transfer to the job you’re applying for.
Here is an example of a functional resume with a skills summary. Note, that it is listed as the first section after the profile.
Resume with skills summary section
Skills for different careers
When you add your skills to your resume the general rule is, the more specific you are the better. That’s why we’ve collected some of the most common skills for different careers below.
However, it can be a good start to look at some of the more general skills that you can use across careers.
We’ve listed some of the most in-demand skills that employers are looking for right now. You will find that they are a mix of both soft skills and hard skills.
Top general skills for your resume
- Data analysis
- Problem solving
- Collaborative
- Detail oriented
- Adaptable
- Creative
- Written communication
- Public speaking
- Critical thinking
- Bi-lingual
- Multi-tasking
- Organized
- Interpersonal skills
- Time management
- Accountable
- Leadership
- Results oriented
- Project management
- Budgeting
- Compassionate/ empathetic
Teacher skills
Being a teacher no doubt demands that you possess a certain skill set. Not least within your subject. But there are also some general skills that you will need in order to be a successful and effective teacher:
- Lesson planning
- Instructional skills
- Organizational skills
- Classroom management
- Effective discipline
- SMART board interactive displays
- Standardized testing
- Software (e.g., Haiku Learning, Edmodo)
- Subject knowledge (depending on the field of expertise)
- Knowledge of curriculum and state standards
- Sense of humor
- Rapport with students
- Creativity
- Teamwork skills
- Critical thinking
- Decision making
- Leadership
- Problem solving
- Time management
Marketing manager skills
As a marketing manager you will need to know a lot about what drives customers to buy your product. For that you will need a wide range of skills.
Here are the skills that will work wonders on your resume:
- 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
Front End Developer skills
A front end developer is the person who implements web designs through coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They are some of the most in-demand roles out there. We’ve listed some of the most essential skills for a front end developer here:
- HTML/CSS
- JavaScript/jQuery
- Frameworks
- Responsive design
- Version control/Git
- Testing/debugging
- Browser developer tools
- Web performance
- CSS preprocessing
- Command line
Electrician skills
An electrician’s skills consist of a wide range of both hard and soft skills. In the following are some of the most common skills mentioned for electricians.
- Calibrating level, pressure, temperature, and flow measuring systems
- Commercial experience
- Construction experience
- Conducting 3-phase motor replacement
- Conducting systems tests
- Accuracy
- Analytical skills
- Analyze blueprints
- Applying knowledge of programmable logic controls
- Carefully evaluating risks
- Dependability
- Good communication skills
- Independent problem solving
- Time management
- Attention to detail
- Mechanical aptitude
- Business skills
- Customer service skills
Secretary skills
A secretary is an essential part of any company. Without someone to keep track of administration and meetings a company would fall apart. Here are some of a secretary’s most important skills.
- Executive and administrative support
- Meeting and event planning
- Office management
- Training and supervision
- Customer relations and communications
- Records management
- Bookkeeping
- Multi-tasking
- MS Office (Word, Excel)
Cashier skills
The ability to manage time and provide great customer care is a core function of a cashier. Other top skills include:
- Cash register use
- Point of sale systems (POS)
- Merchant processing
- Scanner use
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Bookkeeping software
- Creating receipts
- Credit cards
- Exchanging purchases
- Inventory software systems
- Product knowledge
- Sales
- Customer service
- Accepting payments
- Integrity
- Basic math
- Attention to detail
- Accuracy
- Bagging calculations
- Cash management
Nursing skills
As a nurse you are often the link between the doctor and the patient. This requires a very special skill set besides your hard skills as a nurse. Below are some of the most sought-after skills a nurse can possess.
- Nursing supervision
- Care plan consulting
- Quality assurance
- Patient advocacy
- RN training and mentorship
- Clinical data analysis
- Change management
- Best practise development
- Excellent communication skills
Sales associate skills
A sales associate needs to be able to navigate in the interaction between them and many different customers. This requires both interpersonal and hard skills. Some top skills for a sales associate are:
- Communication and interpersonal skills when interfacing with customers
- CRM or POS software
- Customer-centric mindset
- Deep knowledge in product or inventory
- Creative problem solving and decision making
- Empathic attitude
- Ability to adapt and prioritize across multiple tasks
- Ability to handle unexpected situations
- Active listening and trust-building
- Basic math and money handling
- Time management
- Ability to learn quickly and accept feedback
- Retail sales experience
- Personal autonomy
- Persuasiveness
Truck driver skills
Great and reliant truck drivers will always be in high demand. Check out some of a truck driver’s top skills below.
- Time management
- Clear communication (written and verbal)
- Problem solving
- Customer service
- Flexible
- Good navigation skills
- Safe driving
- Focus
- Responsibility
- Math skills
- Technical skills
- Physical skills
Security guard skills
As a security guard you need to be able to navigate between being a person of authority and at the same time service minded. The top skills for a security guard are:
- A polite, calm and reasonable approach
- Good communication skills
- Spontaneity
- Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
- Good observational and monitoring ability
- Ability to follow instructions
- Technical knowledge of security systems
- A high level of physical strength and fitness
- Alertness
- Honesty
- Leadership skills
Key takeaways
We hope you’re feeling confident about adding your skills for resume in a professional manner. The key takeaways from this article are:
- Create a master document of all your skills, both hard and soft
- Pick and choose skills for each resume you create to tailor it for the job ad
- Re-write your skills when necessary to target the ATS
- Add your skills for resume according to your level of experience
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