Impressive Skills to Have on Your Resume

Prospective employers and recruiters spend precious little time reading your resume. Crafting a sharp and relevant skill section creates a strong impression quickly, and may even keep them reading longer.

When it comes to writing the skills section on a resume, many people offer a broad, generalized list of their skills. But what you really want is a narrow set of keywords that provide a snapshot of your relevant strengths. To catch the eye of hiring managers, your skills must demonstrate what you have to offer and why you are the best candidate for the job.

Generating Your List of Skills

To start, brainstorm a list of your skills (see the list below for help). Then, group them into 1-2 major categories that best fit your personal career goal as well as the job to which you are applying. To determine what these categories should be, read the job description carefully and determine which skills your prospective employer desires. Eliminate any skills that don’t fit into your top categories. Basically, you want to ask yourself, “Which of these skills will set me apart as the best candidate?”

Presenting Your Skills Effectively

Now that you’ve chosen the skills to include on your resume, think about where you will put them and how to phrase them. It may be helpful to follow the advice of Jennifer Little-Fleck from The Muse here (https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-make-your-skills-look-exciting-on-your-resume-because-that-list-you-have-now-is-meh), and think of your resume as comprised of 3 parts that tell a coherent story: 1. What problems you solve (Summary) 2. How you solve them (Skills) 3. Results achieved (Work Experience).

Write your list of skills using keywords and phrases to reflect your particular strengths and aptitudes rather than your previous job duties. Each skill should directly correspond to the results conveyed in the bullets listed in your Work Experience section. Employers tend to prefer hard facts or data over generalized statements. For example, you might write the following under Skills “Can increase sales by 45%.” To illustrate, you might then write “Sold over $250,000 of product in first quarter of 2018” under Work Experience.

Where to Put Skills on Your Resume

You have a few options here. Many resume builders allow you to include a short list of skills in the left column of the first page just alongside your Work Experience. This is nice because you always want your Work Experience front and center, and it also makes it easy for readers to cross-reference your skills and experience.

Alternatively, you may have a short section just underneath your opening Summary entitled “Areas of Expertise,” and list your skills there. Just make sure you keep things short enough that your Work Experience still dominates the first (or only) page of your resume.

Your last option would be to incorporate your skills into your Work Experience. This is a fine choice, just be sure to emphasize them with strong keywords.

Actual Skills You Can Include

Choose the type of skills that are the most relevant and desirable for your field. Decide if these include soft skills, hard skills, or a combination of both. Always tailor skills for the particular job at hand.

Soft Skills
These include interpersonal skills or personal qualities that speak to your abilities to interact successfully with bosses, coworkers, partners, and customers. People with strong soft skills excel in working through difficult situations to motivate teams, resolve conflicts, solve problems, and produce results. They include but are not limited to the following:

• Self-Awareness
• Perceptivity
• Active Listening
• Empathy
• Open Mindedness
• Effective Communication
• Growth Mindset
• Team player
• Collaboration
• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Negotiation
• Integrity
• Conflict Resolution
• Critical Thinking
• Leadership
• Decision Making
• Creativity
• Problem Solving
• Resourcefulness
• Execution

Hard Skills
These include the specific knowledge, aptitudes, and technical skills that are necessary to job duties and high performance. People with impressive hard skills have demonstrable training and experience in the tasks and activities particular to certain jobs and fields. They include but are not limited to the following:

• Account Management
• Project Management
• Data Management
• Fundraising
• Program Implementation
• Community Outreach
• Client Retention
• Research Skills
• Strategic Planning
• Consultation
• Outcome Assessment
• Editing
• Writing
• Computer/Program Skills
• Tech—Coding, Optimization
• Data Analysis
• Language Proficiencies
• Regulations Compliance
• Patient Care
• Accounting/Budgeting
• Financial Planning
• Recordkeeping
• Administration
• Interviewing
• Hiring
• Supervision
• Recruitment
• Team Building
• Training
• Educational Outreach
• Public Speaking
• Social Media Savvy
• Events Coordination