Top 10 Skills to List on Your Resume

Top 10 Skills to List on Your Resume Top 10 Skills to List on Your Resume Writing a good resume is a difficult balancing act. You have to keep your resume short and sweet, but still include enough quality information to make an impression. When reading through your resume, hiring managers will hold a particular interest in the skills you possess. This means it’s very important to know what is relevant to the job when thinking of the skills to list on your resume. But there are endless skills that you can include on any resume, and you have to decide which ones will be the most effective. There are the hard, industry-specific skills as well as the soft skills that every job demands. So how do you figure out the best skills to list on your resume? Here are the top 10 skills to list on your resume. Top Soft Skills There are tons of soft skills that you can include in your resume, but how do you know which ones to include? Here is a quick list of the most important soft skills you should be using in your resume. Problem solving: 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. Related: Crisis Management. 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. Related: Creative Thinking. Communication: Whether it’s written or oral, 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. Related: Interpersonal Communication. Teamwork: Most jobs will sometimes require you to do 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. Related: Collaboration. Organization: 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 resume certainly helps. Related: Strategic Planning. Top Hard Skills 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 a bit of research. Here are some hard skills that tend to be idealized by almost every industry. Computer Software 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: Big Data is very in vogue right now, and there are a lot of jobs out there where you will be called upon to analyze some type of data and extrapolate a practical use from it. 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 as with computers. 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 resume, too. Readers, how do you decide which skills to list on your resume? Share with us below in the comment section! ResumeTarget.com provides professional resume writing services for clients of all career levels across North America. We are the only resume writing company that offers a professionally written resume- coupled with the guidance of recruiter- to guarantee that your resume will get results. Tweet us with any resume questions you have at www.twitter.com/ResumeTarget, we’re here to help!