Top skills to put on your résumé

Writing a good résumé is a difficult balancing act. Sometimes it can be a challenge to keep your résumé length short and sweet while also including enough quality information to make a lasting impression.

Hiring managers will also hold a particular interest in the skill set you possess. This means it’s very important to know what is relevant to the job when thinking of skills to list on your résumé. And though it goes without saying, we’ll say it just in case: any job skills listed on your resume should be skills you truly possess. 

So how do you figure out the best skills to put on your résumé? And what if you’re looking to find a remote job?

 Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills in Your Résumé

There are endless skills that you can include on any résumé, and you have to decide which ones will be the most effective. There are hard, industry-specific technical skills, as well as soft skills that every job demands.

Hard skills are technical abilities that are specific to a particular job and are often measurable. For software developers, their set of hard skills would include specific programming languages. Soft skills are personal skills or creative abilities that can come naturally or be strengthened over time. Some examples of soft skills are adaptability, self-motivation, people skills, time management, and the ability to work under pressure.

“Some great skills employers love to see on your résumé if you are looking for remote work are: written and verbal communication, the ability to work independently, time and task management, organization, comfort with technology, and specific knowledge of remote communication tools like Zoom, Skype, Dropbox, Google Suite, etc.,“ shared Toni Frana, FlexJobs’ expert career coach.

Let’s take a closer look at the skills section for your résumé.

 Top Skills to List in Your Résumé

Top Soft Skills For Your Résumé (Examples)

There are tons of soft skills (personal skills) that you can include in your résumé, but how do you know which ones to include? Here is a quick list of soft skills examples you should list on your résumé. (Be sure to carefully look at the job description and determine which soft skills you possess that are most applicable for the job.)

– Problem Solving Skills

No matter what the job is, eventually something will go wrong and employers want to know that you’re capable of coming up with a quick and effective solution. In fact, there are jobs that are essentially nothing but solving problems for the company, the clients, or both.

– Critical Thinking Skills

Being able to think rationally and thoughtfully is the basis of critical thinking. Employers want workers who can think through a problem or a project and determine the best steps needed. Critical thinkers come up with new and better ways to work, making it an invaluable skill to put on a résumé.

– Flexibility

Many organizations and industries covet employees who are dynamic and adaptable to every situation, or who have a natural ability to use a variety of methods and approaches in different circumstances to get the best end result.

– Communication Skills

Whether it’s written or verbal, being able to communicate with your boss, coworkers, and clients/customers in all situations is very valuable. The better you are at it, the better results you will generate.

– Teamwork

Most jobs will sometimes require you to work with other people at some point, and employers want to know that you can succeed in a team environment. Some jobs will prize this skill more than others.

– Organization Skills

This is not just about having a neat desk, but organizing tasks and projects for your coworkers, management, and at the very least, yourself! If you want to show off your organization skills, having a tightly structured résumé certainly helps.

– Creativity

Thinking outside of the box and coming up with creative solutions can be a real asset in any role. Perhaps you’re good at thinking about something in a way that hasn’t been done before. Creativity can be shown on your résumé through a problem you solved or through a creative skill like writing or design.

– Emotional Intelligence

According to Psychology Today, “Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.” In the workplace, this means you’re rational and even-keeled, and can handle ups and downs without losing control. While this is important for everybody, it’s a must-have skill to include on a résumé for management.

– Attention to Detail

On the job you need to ensure you follow all instructions in order to complete your work. This can be especially important when you work with others. Paying attention to detail will be needed at any role you have. Consider times when you caught or fixed a potential mistake due to your attention to detail.

– Responsibility

Part of being a good employee is taking responsibility for your duties and even owning up to mistakes. Most managers don’t want to have to check in on their employees to ensure every part of their job is getting done. Responsibility means doing what you need to do to complete your tasks.

Top Hard Skills For Your Résumé (Examples)

Hard skills tend to be more technical, and each industry or type of job will usually have its own required set. Finding out what range of hard skills you’ll be expected to have in your field might require some research. Here are hard skills examples that tend to be in-demand across many industries. (Be sure to carefully look at the job description and determine which hard skills you possess that are most applicable for the job.)

– Computer Software and Application Knowledge

The list of professions that does not require you to use computers and certain types of software is very short. You could very likely break up “computer skills” into two or three specific technical proficiencies for your field.

– Design

Aside from the obvious professions like graphic or web design, there are jobs in marketing, advertising, branding, engineering, and construction that require some type of design skills—even if it’s only for drawing up presentations.

– Data Analysis

Understand data is very much in vogue right now, and there are a lot of jobs out there where you will be called upon to analyze metrics and extrapolate a practical use from it, making analytical skills extremely valuable to put on your résumé.

– Negotiation

There are many jobs that involve selling a product or service, purchasing stock or merchandise, brokering deals for production or transportation, establishing partnerships for advertising or investments, and so on.

– Mathematics

Finance, business, engineering, construction, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and operations will require you to be competent with math in some capacity. If you’re in a profession that is more math-heavy, consider splitting it up into a few more specific skills areas.

– Project Management

Many jobs will require project management skills. The ability to manage your task flow and complete assignments on time is part of project management. Perhaps you have used project management software in the past or have completed a project early—these all show good project management.

– Marketing

Marketing involves selling and promoting products and services. Even if you’re not a marketer per se, many companies may desire this hard skill. Knowing the highlights and benefits of your company’s products and services, and being able to speak or write about them, can be valuable to many different jobs. If you have specific marketing or social media experience, even better.

– Administrative

Even if your job is not administrative in nature, it’s likely a part of your role. Administrative skills involve the things you do to manage your role: organizing, planning, scheduling, writing emails, managing files, etc. Employers want to know you’re able to take hold of the details.

– Writing Skills

Many jobs involve writing. Whether it’s to clients or coworkers, having a basic writing ability is necessary and an absolute skill to put on your résumé. Emails filled with typos and grammatical errors will not reflect well on you, and poor tone can send the wrong message. Demonstrate this skill through your cover letter and emails with the recruiter, and list any specific writing-heavy projects you’ve completed.

– Foreign Languages

Being bilingual can be a great hard skill and set you apart from your competition. Even if a role or company doesn’t initially have a need for a bilingual employee, they may look favorably on your ability. It is common to need someone with fluency in another language to help customers or clients, so play up this skill on your résumé.

 Look for Target Keywords

If you’re still not sure if any of these skills are right for your situation, one quick way to check which skills the employer is seeking is to check the job description.

Read through it a few times and you’ll likely spot three or four key skills mentioned several times throughout the document. If that’s the case, you should do your best to focus on those skills in your résumé, too.

 How to List Skills In Your Résumé

Sort Skills By Relevance

If you are applying for a sales job, your prior experience as a car mechanic is not the most relevant. You will want to emphasize experience that can be applicable to a sales role. However, if you lack the experience, search through your existing positions for relevant skills.

For example, if you were responsible for providing customer service as a mechanic, that is something that can be transferable to a sales role.

Add a Highlights Section

Modern résumés are built to be value-oriented, which requires providing information that is more achievement-based as opposed to task-based. If you’ve had multiple roles with varying achievements, select the top four you are most proud of and incorporate them into a Career Highlights section.

Try to avoid adding more than four as this section is meant to be the highlights of your achievements, and you don’t want to create sections with long lists of bullets, creating a very boring way to read content.

Categorize by Skill

If you are higher up in your career level, you likely have multiple responsibilities that cross several platforms or departments. If you are a manager or director of operations at a company, your responsibilities may include: managing staff, maintaining smooth daily operations, communicating with key stakeholders and/or vendors, developing and managing projects, and hiring and training staff.

With either your task-based information or achievements, you can categorize the content into sections to illustrate the diversity in your responsibilities.

For example:

• Process Improvements: information of responsibilities and/or achievements that relate to creating and implementing processes to improve operational efficiencies.
• Customer Service Skills: content that illustrates how you maintain or improve the customer experience at your company.
• Change Management: information that can relate to restructuring staff, developing training programs for employees, and coaching individuals or groups on company best practices.

Your soft skills and hard skills are the very things that will either qualify you or disqualify you for a job. Be sure to include some of these top skills on your résumé for maximum results.

This article originally appeared on FlexJobs.com and is reprinted with permission.