Your resume acts as your first impression on the recruiter. The recruiter goes through your resume and judges based on your skills and abilities whether you are a good fit for their company or not.
The skills that you mention in your resume, thus play a vital role. Adding skills relevant to the job position can help you get an interview call.
And so, having a strong and impressive skills section on your resume can help you take one more step towards your dream job.
Many companies make use of ATS, the applicant tracking system to scan and shortlist your resume. While it takes just 6 secs for an ATS to scan your resume, here are a few must-have skills and must-do things to consider while writing the skills section in your resume.
Why Resume?
The resume can be considered as a gateway that can land you into your dream job. Your resume is your first impression. It reflects on who you are, what are your skills and abilities, what are your qualifications, hobbies, and interests.
In short, this piece of paper forms an image of who you are in the recruiter's mind. You need to make sure that this image looks right.
Skill is better than strength
Having the abilities that the recruiters are looking for on your resume can help you attract potential employers. Mostly, recruiters throw a quick glance at the skills section of your resume and decide whether to shortlist the resume or not.
Along with having skills required for a position you wish to apply for, it is equally essential to update these skills in your resume according to the job requirements and industry type.
What are the skills that you must include in your resume?
Skills are your abilities. Skills define the way you handle a situation. You can showcase these skills by performing a task or a job.
These skills can be improved through practice. Before enlisting skills in a resume, it is necessary to check the job requirements and responsibilities.
Skills consist of two different types namely soft skills and technical or hard skills. Soft skills are majorly associated with your personality whereas hard skills define your education, experience, and expertise.
The major soft skills the employer looks through in your resume are:
Communication skills
Leadership skills
Computer skills or language skills
Problem-solving skills
People skills
Organizational and Time Management skills
Collaboration skills
Inculcating these skills and updating them on your resume can give you an edge in this world full of competition.
What are the technical or hard skills on your resume?
Technical skills or hard skills are the skills required to accomplish the tasks associated with the job.
Technical skills come through appropriate training and adequate practice.
These are required for the practical applications associated with a job.
In this section of your resume, you can include specific proficiencies and certifications.
For example, networking professionals include skills in troubleshooting computer hardware related, and have certification of CCNA, CCIE. Web developers are experts in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
A financial controller has a strong foundation in GAAP or SEC reporting. Technical skills vary according to your educational background, area of interest, and expertise.
Following are some of the examples of technical skills:
CRM Software (Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, Freshsales)
Programming Languages
Web Development
Data Analyst
Machine Learning
CAD
Troubleshooting
Typing Skills
Technical Report Writing
SEO/SEM
Human resources
Print Design
Photography and Branding
Financial Modelling
Project Lifecycle Management
Meeting Facilitation
Relating your skills with the job description
Various jobs require various skills. It is necessary to check and relate one's skills according to the job requirement.
While applying for different jobs of different niches, you must update your resume according to the requirements of the position.
It is necessary to subtly highlight the fact that you do possess the skills required to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the job.
Skills acquired from previous work experience, internships, and projects must be included in this section.
Thus, customizing your resume and cover letter before applying for a job can help you stand out from the crowd.
How to discover the skills the company values?
Having a plate full of delicacies will land you in a dilemma.
Similarly, listing irrelevant skills in your resume might land up the employer in a state of confusion.
It's good to possess a number of skills, but it's great to know when to bring up which one!
Since the recruiters go through the hectic task of shortlisting candidates from a huge number of applications, it is necessary to keep the skills section relevant and concise.
Understanding the job requirements, roles, and responsibilities, thorough research on the organization offering the job can help you to identify the essential skills to be included.
Gaining insights into the work culture, core values, and ethics of the organization, reviewing the organization on different platforms can give you a clear idea of what skills to include.
Things to remember while creating the skills section in your resume
Your resume is a simple, one-page document and yet has so much importance.
Hence, it is important to decide and organize which skills to include and where.
Create a separate section for skills with 5 to 10 relevant skills. Having a separate section with skills separated by bullet points makes it easy for the viewer to read.
Remember, past work experiences, internships, and certifications, also reflect on your abilities, and these need to be put up on the resume in brief, preferably in short sentences.
Here are some examples of what skills do experts from different industries list in their resume:
1. Customer service jobs:
When customers want information about the company's product or any issues with certain products they call customer service departments to get their problems solved.
To deal with the public, the skills required are:
Data entry
Analytical and problem solving
Active listener and patience
Positive attitude
Communication skills
Time management
Verbal and writing skills
2. Business analyst jobs:
A business analyst has to be specialized and updated in various areas, so skills may include:
Business intelligence
Research and Data mining
Client relations
Creativity and Strategic thinking
Verbal and presentation skills
Management
Collaboration
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
3. Marketing jobs:
Marketing jobs require both hard skills and soft skills as they need to reflect on both the technical aspects of the product or service and the convincing power to sell those in the market.
Following are some of the skills required for marketing jobs:
Content creation
Market research and analyst
SEO and SEM
Web analytics
Critical thinking
Content management systems
Social media (strategy, campaigns, etc.)
Creativity
4. Web developer jobs:
The technical skills to prepare the application and soft skills to work with stakeholders are essential for web developers.
So, skills for a web developer’s resume might include:
Coding languages and testing skills
Data analytics
Operating systems
Database software
UX and UI design
Project management
API design
Communication
Teamwork
Above are some of the points to remember while crafting or updating a resume.
The skills on a resume may vary from job position, education, experience, and different sectors. So take the time to review your skills and grab the attention of the employer to get shortlisted for the further interview process.
You need both hard skills and soft skills to stand out from the others. Skillfully mentioning your skills in your resume can increase your chances of getting shortlisted for the interview round.
So what are the skills that make you stand out from the crowd? Let us know in the comments.
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