An Ultimate Guide Listing Your Skills on the Resume

Not sure how to put up the skills section in your resume, or what exactly this section looks like? We can explain to you how to write down the resume skills section and what skills you should include there. 

Irrespective of the resume format, industry, or experience level you prefer, the presence of an influential skills section is crucial for your resume. However, if you end up writing down this section carelessly, it will ultimately hurt your overall chances of getting hired. 

The core keys to writing the most effective skills section for your resume are:

  • Listing skills that tend to impress employers
  • Selecting the most suitable format for the skills section as a job seeker
  • Understanding what you are putting in the skills section

As you aim at covering these core areas, you tend to increase the overall chances of cracking your interview.

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Listing Skills on the Resume Skills Section

If you are a beginner, getting started with preparing the skills section of your resume can be a tricky part. Here are some tips you should know about:

List Down Your Most Marketable Capabilities

As a job seeker, you are equipped with specific marketable skills. As you prepare a physical list of your vital skills, you should choose the ones that are relevant to the job you are applying for. It will help you in creating the best possible skills section for your resume. 

You tend to learn most of your work-related capabilities during school or college. You master some of the essential skills in the corporate world. Some even get picked up during extracurricular activities. There could be some skills that are more inherent to your personality –referred to as soft skills. 

As you note down your skills, organize them into different sections like hard skills and soft skills. The combination of essential skills (both soft and hard) can be placed in your resume’s skills section.

Avoid All non-relevant Skills

The skills that you end up listing on your CV would ultimately depend on the type of job you are applying for.

For instance, if you are applying for a job at a bank, you should focus on accountability and time management skills. On the other hand, if you are applying for the job role of a yoga instructor, then you should emphasize placing teaching-related and certification skills.

Once you have narrowed down the list to only specific skills related to the given job requirement, you can achieve a good section for your CV.

Match Each Skill Set with Proficiency Levels

For every skill that you are listing on the resume, you should scale up the same with the help of matching proficiency levels.

  • Beginner: You have just started learning or not yet practiced any particular skill –usually fresh graduates who have just started out understanding the concepts.
  • Intermediate: You have used the skill in practice still requiring assistance –having room to grow.
  • Advanced: You are aware of the stuff! There is no requirement of getting help with the skills anymore. As an experienced, you can even deliver lessons for beginners to use the particular skill.
  • Expert: You have attained recognized authority in the given skill. You are expected to be consistently excellent in the given skill set. 

Pair with Your Job Description

If you wish to upgrade your skills section in the resume, you should aim at putting skills that remain:

  • Relevant to the given job position
  • Described in the job description

A job description might explicitly imply skills that are preferred or required. However, you can consider including additional skills as well that might be relevant to the job post.

  • Make Use of Transferrable Skills While Switching Jobs: Transferrable skills might not be related to the current job that you are applying for. However, these are still regarded as useful.
    For instance, if you are going to apply for a job that remains outside the established area of Big Data analysis, you can still go forward with mentioning skills like Financial Data Analysis. It will form a base around the job specification. 

If you are a beginner or a fresher, then you can also consider mentioning skills like documentation, writing skills, and doing research. You can make use of these transferable skills when you look forward to applying for an entry-level job. 

Specify Some Universal Skills

You can include soft skills that are required in all types of job profiles out there. You can consider including soft skills like effective communication, problem-solving skills, or time management. Hard skills can also be included including excelling in PowerPoint or speed typing.

You should consider including universal skills also –even when they might not be specifically needed for the job. However, avoid filling your resume with these skills. 

Top Must-have Skills on Your Resume

Not sure which skills to include in your resume? Here are some important ones:

  • Soft skills –including time management, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, attention to detail, and so more. 
  • Marketing skills –including data analysis, email marketing, digital marketing, web analytics, and so more. 
  • Management skills –including emotional intelligence, people management, strategic management, business development, and so more. 

Some additional skills could be with respect to sales, design, technical, and finance skills.

Conclusion 

If you wish to know more about resume-building tips, you can click here! Get the best out of your resume-building process by specifying essential skills.