How to Highlight Your Skills for a Successful Resume

In the job-search process, emphasizing the right skills on your resume will give you an advantage. Employers want to know that the person they are hiring has relevant job skills as well as transferrable skills. Transferrable skills, such as communication abilities, can be applied to any job.

Knowing what the top skills are and how to incorporate them into your resume can help you stand out in a crowded job market.

Resume Skills Categories

Some skills are applicable to all jobs, while others are only applicable to specific jobs due to their technical nature. There are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.

What exactly are hard skills?

These are skills that are specific to a specific industry, job, or trade. Hard skills are acquired through a training program or on-the-job experience. These abilities may include expertise in the following areas:

• Engineering in computer science
• Music
• HVAC

What exactly are soft skills?

Soft skills are also known as people skills because they include the abilities required to communicate effectively with others. You don’t need a certificate or a college degree to learn these skills because they are innate in you. However, you can improve these skills through workshops or specialized training. Soft skills examples include:

Dispute resolution

Leadership

Communication

As you can see, hard skills are easier to acquire because they can be learned through classes. Soft skills are a part of your personality and are more difficult to acquire.

Top resume skills employers look for

Employers will look for a combination of hard and soft skills on resumes. Some hard skills required by employers will be job- or industry-specific. The following top skills, on the other hand, are universally desired:

Active listening abilities

Active listening entails paying close attention to the person speaking and comprehending what they are saying. Because of the verbal and nonverbal feedback you provide, others will notice that you are paying attention to them. People will feel heard and valued as a result of this.

Computer abilities

Almost everyone requires some level of computer proficiency. Even rudimentary skills will be preferable to none. It’s a plus if you know how to use a variety of software applications and can quickly learn new ones. Include whether you have “hard skills” in this area, rather than just a natural aptitude or working knowledge of computers.

Teamwork abilities

Everyone believes they can work well in a team, but when it comes down to it, that is not always the case. People can be obstinate in their beliefs and unwilling to compromise. This creates a difficult working environment, with the team failing to meet their objectives. You will be a top employee if you can work well with your coworkers.

Communication abilities

Effective communication requires both verbal and written skills. In the workplace, you will almost certainly need to use both types of communication skills. Verbal communication is essential for getting along with coworkers, and if you’re in management, you must be able to communicate your point without offending anyone. Written communication skills are also important because many communications take place in writing.

Customer service abilities

Dealing with customers necessitates a unique set of skills. A customer may be difficult to deal with, demanding, or have complex requests at times. People who work directly with customers must be patient, problem solvers, quick thinkers, knowledgeable, effective communicators, and pleasant. To excel at customer service, you must possess a number of characteristics.

Leadership abilities

Leaders possess a distinct set of abilities. They are firm in their decisions when necessary, but they are also open to other people’s advice. Leaders have a way of motivating their employees and assisting them in reaching their full potential.

Problem-solving abilities

Situations arise in all aspects of life, including the workplace. People who are adept at resolving issues before they escalate are extremely valuable in the workplace. Problem solvers tend to remain calm under pressure, analyze the issue, and find a reasonable solution.

Time management abilities

Juggling multiple tasks at once is a common theme among employees. Some people are very good at it, while others struggle to keep everything in order. Employees who have time management skills and use them are more likely to achieve their objectives.

Improve your resume by adding skills.

It’s time to put your top skills on your resume once you’ve identified them. You can list your skills in one of three ways:

Make a separate section for abilities.

You can list your hard and soft skills in a separate section of your resume. Include a header with an appropriate label and bullet points to list your skills. With a two-column resume, this looks best. Your main work experience would go on the left side of the page, and your skills would go on the right. Also, the columns should not be evenly spaced, with the left column being wider because it contains more relevant information.

A functional resume should include a list of your skills.

If you have gaps in your work history or experience that isn’t relevant to the job you’re applying for, the functional resume format will be ideal for you. This format is also ideal for people with highly relevant job skills.

This format can be used for a functional resume:

Your experience in summary

Relevant skills that can be broken down into sections that explain each skill in detail

Working knowledge

Background in education

Make sure to include your top skills in other parts of your resume and cover letter, regardless of the type of resume you use. When describing your work experience and writing your resume objective or summary, you can highlight your skills.

Other abilities to include on your resume

If you have the following skills, you can include them on your resume:

• Institution
• Empathetic
• Promptness
• Serviceability
• Bit of information
• Main objective
• Interactional interaction
• Versatility
• Speaking in public
• Precise
• Templates
• Perseverance
• E – mail administration
• Building a team
• Capability to Teach
• Keep in mind that whatever skills you list on your resume, you must be able to deliver on them. Be honest about your abilities while avoiding overselling yourself.