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Top 20 Important Skills to Put on Your Resume

Top 20 Must-Have Skills to Put on Your Resume

It’s up to you to make sure that you’re worth hiring.  That seems kind of obvious, but standing out from the crowd can be tricky when everyone else seems to have the same experience as you.  So, make sure that you stand out from the crowd by taking some time to think about the skills that you want to list on your resume.  You know that you need soft skills and hard skills, but how do you make sure that your resume isn’t just a carbon copy of someone else’s?  You should take care to mention key skills, but also be specific on why you’ve included them in particular.

The best skills to mention on your resume:

Here are some prime examples of resume skills that will impress recruiters and other professionals that are going to be taking a look at your resume and cover letter.  They are split into two categories: soft skills and hard skills.

Soft skills are traits and skills specific to you as a person.  These are skills that you would take from job to job with you and from position to position.  They are more indicative of your personality and mindset rather than your education or background.  These skills often are broad and that’s the point of them.

Examples of soft skills:

1. Problem-solving and thinking on your feet:
2. Critical thinking
3. Communication and flexibility:
4. Attention to detail:
5. Time management:
6. Leadership:
7. Teamwork:
8. Empathy:
9. Integrity and honesty:
10. Ongoing education:

When recruiters see these kinds of skills on your resume, they’ll know that you can handle yourself in a variety of situations and that you are going to be someone who will be experienced I noted right skills that, really, can’t be taught.  That’s why it’s important to list these if they apply to your professional personality. 

Hard skills, on the other hand, are specific kinds of skills that refer more to your past experience when it comes to education and/or job experience.  This is where you’ll really want to put the time into getting these skills in the first place.  While they can be taught to those who don’t have them, it’s nice for the recruiter or potential employer to know that they won’t need to teach you because you’ve already learned them.

Examples of hard skills:

1. Data analysis:
2. Computer skills:
3. Experience with Adobe programs:
4. Retail experience
5. Public speaking experience:
6. SEO experience:
7. Web and graphic design:
8. Project management:
9. Writing skills:
10. Foreign languages:

You’ll want to have a careful and refined balance between hard and soft skills.  Quite a few will list those skills out in categories, though some may choose to blend them together in the same section.  What you decide to do will depend on your template as well as the actual list of skills that you want to put forward.

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Tips for listing resume skills:

One of the mistakes that inexperienced job applicants make is to list all of their skills in both categories for every single job that they apply for.  Their reasoning is that they want to make sure that they include everything so that the employer can see how skilled they are.  This is great reasoning, but it’s important to resist the urge.

This is where researching the job is going to really come in handy.  You’ll want to put the time and effort into taking a look at the job application and details and then use that to guide you as to what skills to definitely include or leave off since they aren’t really mentioned in the job ad.  In essence, this is like keyword research and it will help you gain the recruiter’s respect.  They’ll see how all of your skills are relevant and even if they notice that you connected them via keywords to the job ad, it’s not a problem.  If anything, they’ll admire your dedication and research in order to do so!

Another tip to keep in mind is the actual skills that you are listing.  Both hard and soft skills can be put down without, really, any kind of verification.  Some people will say they have experience with, for example, Adobe programs when they really only have experience with Adobe Acrobat Reader (the PDF viewer).  This is an example of resume padding and you should not do it. 

Sure, it seems tempting to want to say that you can do all of these things or that you have all of these soft skills when you really don’t.  Unfortunately, you will eventually have to test those skills out in either the interview or the actual job position and it will never end well for you.  If you don’t have a skill they’re looking for, that’s okay.  Just focus on similar skills that show recruiters your use.  It’s better to do it that way than to deliberately say you have experience with something when you absolutely do not have that experience.

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Listing resume skills is one of those things that seems really scary at first but actually isn’t.  You just need to give yourself time and experience to get used to it.  You’ll get used to listing the right skills and even the order in which you should list those skills per job application.  If you need some guidance, take some time to take a look at example resumes online and see how it’s been done by successful and experienced applicants in the past.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

If you’re ready to use all of this to put the best version of your resume together as possible, allow our resume builder to help you do just that.  Available online with a series of templates right there for you to choose from, you can craft the professional, detailed and properly formatted resume that you need to make the right first impression that you are going for with the recruiter that gets your resume.  Not only will it do wonders at showing off your skills and experience, but it will also look the part of professionalism, too.   When you’re on the job hunt, that’s critical.

How to Write a Cover Letter: 10 Easy Steps & Tips

Your cover letter is often the only thing that recruiters read during the first round.  It’s not because they don’t care, it’s because they have to decide whether you make it through to the resume reading stage or not.  As such, you’ll want to put some time and effort into your letter cover and make sure that you are going about it the right way.  Here are some steps to use to help you, and some general tips to help you make it pop out (in a good way) against the competition.

10 Easy Steps to Write a Cover Letter:

There are some general steps that will help you make sure that you’ve thought about, and planned, each stage of the cover letter itself.

1. Use a template: There is nothing wrong with using a template to help you out.  There are all sorts of options out there that will help you get justifications, paragraphing, font and more right without you having to mess around with the formatting yourself.
2. Find examples: Also take the time to read through a bunch of cover letter examples before you start with yours.  It’ll help you learn some of the general tone and language to use and it’ll make your cover left draft that much easier.
3. Get the header right: When it comes to actually start your cover letter, the first thing to think about is the header.  This has your contact information as well as that of the company you are applying for.  Make sure there are no typos or errors in either section. Recruiters will scan it.
4. Use a personalized introduction: Make sure you take the time to figure out the recruiter’s name.  It shows that you are really interested in the job opportunity and that you are applying for.  It also means that you’ve taken the time to get to know the company, the staff, and other information online,  In short: it shows you’re interested.
5. Create an engaging first paragraph: The first paragraph — particularly the first sentence — is what is going to pull them into the rest of the cover letter.  The paragraph should highlight your successes in similar positions before.  It should also show them that you’ve been just waiting for those job opportunities to open up so that you can slot yourself in.
6. Explain why you’re a fit for the job: Explain relevant past experience in a job position and give them quantifiable results that will show them just how good you are.  Keep it sort of bragging, but don’t be afraid to use those real numbers and statistics.
7. Express how excited you are to work for them — professionally: While keeping your tone professional, make it clear that you’re a genuine fan of the company and you can’t wait to work with them.  Explain what you like about the company and about how you are looking for that in your job search.
8. Close strong by showing how you add value: Finish it by reminding them how you can bring your skills and passion to the position.  This should be re-iterating your points above, essentially, and bringing them to a final close with a “let me help you” kind of approach.
9. Use the proper ending salutations: Go with a formal but not-stilted ending salutation to the letter.  For example “Thank you for your consideration” or “Best regards”.
10. Make use of a postscript for a little extra tidbit: While PS doesn’t look professional, it’s a great trick to add a little bit of “hush-hush” detail that they don’t want to miss (special skills or a particularly impressive statistic).  It also will draw their eye, so make it worth their time to read!

This will help make the cover letter for a resume as strong as possible.  All of these factors will work together to form a great introduction so that they can’t wait to read your resume.

Tips for making your cover letter pop:

For a little extra detail to help make all of those sections even better, here are some reminders. 

• Focus on strengths and not what you’re missing: A lot of us want to apologize for the things we’re missing.  We’ll say “Even though I only have 2 years of experience…” and it’s a drawback.  You can still say the same thing, but you should frame it differently.  “In the past two years, I have…” for example.

• Don’t be too formal: We all want to be professional, especially when the writer covers letters for a big job, but don’t come across as stilted.  Omit the “thus” and “therefore”.  Use professional language, but keep it approachable too — just like you would in an interview.  Better yet, take a look at their online presence and mimic the tone they use. 

• Be bold and forward: We all need to be bold and forward about showing ourselves off.  If you aren’t going to show what you can do in a job application for your dream job, then when?  Your cover letter is the place to show off your skills and talents and accomplishments.  That’s what they’re looking for, after all.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Your cover letter format should be professional, detailed but still not too long.  Ideally, go for 100-300 words and always try to keep it on the shorter side, wherever possible.  This will show the recruiter further respect, as you aren’t trying to waste their time with filler content and unnecessary sentences.            

Still, need some help on making sure that your resume is ready to go in the best form it can be?  Take a look at our resume builder and see just how it can give you the confidence that you’re looking for.  It is fast to use, easy to navigate and input with your own information, and it will help you to see just how good your resume can look.  All of the professionalism and none of the stress!  Your dream job awaits you, and the right cover letter will help get your foot in the door.