Crafting a Winning Resume: Essential Skills to Showcase

When creating a resume, it’s important to include a list of your skills. This section can help potential employers quickly determine if you’re a good fit for the position. As you carefully craft a resume that’s tailored for the specific role you’re applying for, know that the way you report your skills for a job can determine how far you advance in the hiring process.

The skills on your resume can differentiate you from the competition so you can land the position you want. It’s no secret that many hiring managers spend only a short amount of time looking at a resume before deciding whether to pass on a job candidate or add them to the shortlist.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: Understanding the Difference

What you may not know is, employers today are looking for both hard and soft skills for a job. These skills and attributes, and others we discuss in this post, are essential for today’s workplace. Hard skills are the technical skills required to accomplish the tasks and responsibilities associated with the job. They’re acquired through practice, education and training. They’re measurable and easy to advertise: You either have the desired technical skills and experience, or you don’t.

Soft skills, or interpersonal skills, reflect one’s personality and personal attributes. They can relate to an ability to fit into a company’s work culture, handle stress, communicate clearly or play well with others, for example. Make no mistake, the soft skills on your resume can be of as much interest to a hiring manager as the technical skills you offer. Smart managers know that an experienced, highly trained new hire who doesn’t fit into the office culture, communicates poorly with clients and colleagues, or freezes under deadline pressures can take a heavy toll on the workplace.

Essential Soft Skills for a Standout Resume

Here are some crucial soft skills to consider including:

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Attention to Detail: Mistakes are expensive to businesses in terms of time and money.
Collaboration: How well you work with others, both team members and across departments, is going to be critical to your career success.
Communication: No matter the industry, no matter the position, verbal, writing and presentation skills are an increasingly important soft skill in the workplace. Focus on your verbal, writing and presentation skills, but also your collaborative and customer service skills.
Creativity: Businesses grow with the infusion of fresh ideas and new approaches to old problems. Creative thinking is a valuable skill in many industries, including marketing, advertising, and design. Being able to come up with new ideas and solutions is highly valued by employers.
Customer Service: A company’s prosperity-and an employee’s career prospects-is tied to good customer service. When customers have issues or concerns about a company, they turn to customer service departments to get their problems solved.
Decision Making: Most savvy managers want to give staff a measure of autonomy so leadership can focus on the bigger picture (they also know it can improve employee happiness and performance).
Empathy: Understanding the emotions of others is important if you want to effectively engage with coworkers, managers, direct reports, customers and clients.
Leadership: Even when they’re not hiring for a managerial role, employers look for candidates who can inspire and motivate team members, and act with integrity, fairness and a strategic mindset. You don’t have to be in a managerial role to show leadership. Taking charge on an important deliverable of a larger team project, working in an entrepreneurial manner independent of a team, burrowing deep into a problem above and beyond expectations to reach a solution all demonstrate leadership and an ability to inspire colleagues. Leadership skills are important in all industries, but they’re especially valuable if you’re applying for a management or executive position. Employers want to know that you can motivate and inspire a team, delegate tasks effectively, and make tough decisions.
Multitasking: Today’s workplace is in many ways busier and more complicated than in the past. It might be more challenging to show quantifiable results for multitasking.
Positivity: No, this doesn’t mean “excessively cheerful or optimistic.” Rather, show that you approach difficulties with a can-do attitude. Resilience and determination, not a negative mindset, are what gets a job done.
Problem Solving: What job doesn’t involve challenges and problems? And what employer wants to handhold staff when those challenges and problems arise? No matter what industry you’re in, you’re bound to run into problems. Being able to identify issues and come up with effective solutions is a highly valued skill. Employers want to know that you can handle challenges and make sound decisions under pressure.
Self-Motivation: No boss wants to keep lighting a fire under their workers.
Time Management: Whatever role you’re seeking, time management is a prime skill to include on your resume. Being able to manage your time effectively is essential in any job. Time management skills show that you’re organized, efficient, and able to prioritize tasks.
Work Ethic: Honesty, punctuality, responsibility and reliability are all integral to a strong work ethic.

Highlighting Essential Hard Skills for Resume Success

When listing hard skills on your resume, include specific proficiencies and certifications. Even if you’re not applying for a tech-heavy job, AI familiarity is becoming a sought-after competency.

Data Privacy: Cybersecurity is top of mind for any organization that deals with sensitive or proprietary client information.
Enterprise Resource Planning: ERP systems such as Oracle, NetSuite and SAP help employers manage their business and automate functions.
Human Resources: Companies rely on HR specialists to assess and hire job candidates, help onboard new employees and develop retention efforts. These professionals might also handle employee engagement, create wellness initiatives and develop training and team-building programs.
Mathematics: It’s not just the accounting world that requires workers to figure percentages, calculate margins and create accurate data charts. A marketing professional and a copy editor, for instance, will likely work with survey results from time to time. Accountants are expected to crunch numbers, but also to make data-driven conclusions and communicate them to people outside of their department.
Multilingualism: The more customers and clients you can serve, the greater value you are to an employer. Sought-after second languages depend on the industry and city, but Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, French and German are among the most in demand. Even if you’re applying for a position that doesn’t require interacting with an international clientele, fluency in another language is an important asset to mention.
Process Automation: Businesses can save resources and improve accuracy by using smart software and artificial intelligence, and they also rely on humans to configure, govern and validate those systems.
Product Design: Form and function are rolled into one in this field, which optimizes both user friendliness and visual appeal.
Project Management: In your work history and resume skills sections, show your familiarity with the software and best practices required for seeing a project through from beginning to end. Familiarity with project management tools and methodologies is vital for operational roles.
Research Skills: Whether for eDiscovery, competitor intelligence or internal data collection, employers are looking for job candidates who know how to use the right research tools and methodologies. Hard research skills on your resume might include experience interviewing, planning and scheduling, and analyzing and interpreting collected data to help stakeholders reach a solution.
Search Engine Optimization: SEO and its cousin, search engine marketing (SEM), are key aspects of any role that deals with online content-from writers and editors to publicists and HR professionals. Skills in search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and social media marketing are essential for marketing positions.
Typing Skills: Medical coders, transcribers, schedulers, clerks, data entry specialists and administrative professionals should have fast and accurate keyboarding abilities. How fast is fast? That depends on the industry and the job, but the job description should give you a clue.
Writing and Editing: Just as polished verbal and presentation skills are prized people skills in today’s workplace, strong writing and editing are highly valued hard skills in almost any field.

Tailoring Your Resume for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

Looking for a job can be an intimidating task, with all manner of new technology involved in the resume screening process. Many companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS), which acts as an electronic filter, to collect, scan, sort and rank resumes to narrow applicant pools to the most qualified candidates. If an employer is looking for a graphic designer with mastery in Adobe Creative Suite, for example, you wouldn’t just claim “experience with software for creative professionals.” List the software by name, give your expertise level, and-if you have it-highlight your Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) certification. Likewise, if an employer is searching for an accountant with “experience processing daily invoices and credit,” then use similar language in your resume. Repeat common words and phrases from other postings of the same role, too. But remember, every job description is different.

Showcasing Skills Effectively: Tips and Strategies

Keep in mind that your resume should provide examples of how you’ve used the hard skills that are most relevant to the job you’re seeking. Whenever possible, note specific, quantifiable achievements for each position you’ve held. If you’re a digital marketer, give conversion and click-through rates. If you’re a project manager, showcase projects that came in on time and on budget-and report their impact. You need to use the job description to customize your resume skills and work history sections. But don’t stop there. Research the employer to gain insight into the workplace culture and company values. If you know someone who works at the company, or has in the past, reach out to ask about the workplace culture and what the employer considers important in its workers.

When you write a resume, it’s important to organize the content so it’s succinct and easy to read. A three-column, three-row highlights section near the top of your resume, just above your professional experience, is a helpful way to list the nine soft and technical skills that speak directly to the posting’s required qualifications. You don’t need more than a couple words here to show what you bring to the table. This should be a bulleted list a reader can quickly scan. If you’re in a specialized field, such as legal or technology, another option would be to create a skills column on the side of your first page. The important thing is to make the skills section an attention-grabbing part of your resume.

Keep in mind that skills should be highlighted in your resume summary, work history and other resume sections, such as volunteer activities or professional certifications. Here, you would also give concrete examples of the impact you made at your current or past employer. Impressive skills on your resume will get you careful consideration.

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Skills for Specific Roles

Business Analyst: A business analyst wears many hats: data specialist, finance professional and problem solver.
Marketing Jobs: But in general, candidates applying for marketing jobs need to show a mix of soft and hard skills that reflect the creative yet analytical nature of the career.
Web Developers: Web developers need both the tech skills to accomplish their tasks and the soft skills to work with clients and internal stakeholders. Whether you’re looking at a front-end or back-end position, you’d want to carefully review the tech stack that the job posting describes, then tailor your resume to address the employer’s needs and work environment.
Graphic Designers: Graphic designers need to possess a combination of creative flair and technical mastery.

Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t exaggerate or lie about your skills: Never give in to the temptation to inflate a job title, add a certification or skills you don’t have, or embellish a job tenure that didn’t last as long as you say it did. Making false claims or stretching the truth isn’t worth the risk.
Don’t leave out numbers: No matter what position you’re applying for, you should try to quantify your value. Did you reduce expenses for your company, increase sales or reach new target markets? Did you respond to customer inquiries or process orders X% faster than the previous year?
Don’t misuse words: Check your resume for wordiness.
Don’t forget to proofread: Before you send in your resume, go over it with a fine-toothed comb for spelling, grammar and formatting mistakes. Then ask someone who understands your job-search goals to look it over.

The Evolving Landscape: Skills for the Future

As the job market continues to evolve, certain abilities are emerging as essential for future success.

AI and Machine Learning: Proficiency in AI technologies is becoming crucial across various sectors, with a significant rise in demand for professionals who can harness these tools to drive innovation and efficiency. AI literacy is transforming workflows and boosting productivity across every industry.
Data Literacy: The ability to interpret and leverage data for informed decision-making is paramount. Data is a decision-making tool that everyone should know how to use. Being able to spot trends and estimate impact turns you from a doer into a trusted decision-maker. Focus on the "so what" of your data: What changed? Why?
Digital Collaboration Tools: With the rise of remote work, proficiency in digital collaboration tools has become vital. Skills in platforms that facilitate teamwork and communication are essential for maintaining productivity in a distributed workforce.
Sustainability Practices: Knowledge of sustainable practices is gaining traction as organizations strive to meet environmental goals. Candidates who understand sustainability principles and can implement them within their roles are increasingly attractive to employers.
Creative Problem-Solving: The ability to think creatively and tackle complex challenges is highly valued. Employers are seeking individuals who can approach problems from innovative angles and develop effective solutions. This combination is an ultimate advantage. Creativity surfaces many possible solutions, while analysis tells you which ones will actually move the needle.

Continuous Learning: Staying Relevant in a Dynamic Market

In today’s dynamic job market, ongoing education is vital for preserving and enhancing your abilities. In an ever-evolving landscape, continuous learning empowers professionals to keep pace with industry trends and technological advancements. Regularly refreshing your expertise is essential to boost employability and helps you cultivate valuable skills to list on your resume, significantly increasing your appeal to prospective employers.

Key Considerations for Resume Skills

Be Specific: Avoid vague descriptors; instead, specify your expertise clearly. Generic phrases like ‘good communication skills’ lack impact. Instead, provide specific examples that illustrate how you’ve effectively communicated in past roles.
Tailor to the Job: Customize your abilities section for each application. Align your abilities with the job description to demonstrate your suitability for the role, which can significantly increase your chances of being noticed.
Include Context: Whenever possible, provide context for your expertise by detailing how you applied it in previous roles.
Prioritize Relevant Skills: List the most relevant skills first to capture the employer’s attention immediately.
Use Numbers: Incorporate specific figures to illustrate your achievements.
Highlight Impact: Emphasize the positive effects of your abilities on previous employers.
Use Action Verbs: Begin bullet points with strong action verbs to convey your contributions dynamically.

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