Female hr reading cv during online virtual job interview by video call. Employer checking african ... [+]
Resumes are one page long. One page isn’t enough space for me to express my full thoughts on slight tweaks to the Instagram Reel algorithm—it’s not enough space for my professional life.
But, alas, we all must boil ourselves down to the one-pager. And between job experience, education, and summary statements, we must fit our skills. This is, after all, what you do at a job—use skills. I recommend not skipping the skills part—nearly 90% of resumes include it. Choosing what skills to put on a resume requires precision. You have a limited amount of space, and you need to strike the right balance of skills you have, skills the company wants, skills that are hard to acquire, and skills they might not know you have.
Read on for five tips on what skills should make the cut.
Technical Skills
Include relevant technical skills that are specific to your industry or the job you want. For example, proficiency in programming languages, software applications, data analysis tools, or design software. Technical skills also demonstrate a certain type of problem-solving ability which can be more broadly applicable, even if you’re not using those particular skills at work. Highlight your critical thinking and creativity via the technical tools you’ve mastered.
Collaboration
Working with others is a skill—and one that you should share (since you’re good at sharing!). Nearly 61% of recruiters say that soft skills are as important as hard skills, so don’t skip this. “People who enjoy team-based, collaborative projects, if even just a little, should highlight that fondness in cover letters and ensure their resumes include a prominent line or two that demonstrates relevant experience, aptitude, and training,” says Dr. Deb Mashek, collaboration expert, consultant, and author of Collabor(h)ate. “If you like collaborating with others, say so!”
To show off your collaboration skills, highlight experiences where you contributed to group projects,. Emphasize your ability to effectively convey information, listen actively, write, and speak in public. All of these demonstrate you can work on a team.
Leadership
If you have experience leading teams or managing projects, emphasize your leadership skills. This may include: team building, delegation, conflict resolution, and project management. Get specific about what you’ve learned as a leader, and be ready to talk through details of how you invested in developing your leadership prowess. Leadership is important even if you’re not going to be managing anybody—you may lead a small project, or even just have an easier time working in a team if you understand the benefits of leadership. If you know how to do it, put it on the resume.
Social Media
Even if the job doesn’t require that you use social media directly, it can help to demonstrate that you understand where the customers are. Furthermore, an understanding of the shifting social media landscape shows that you’re ready and willing to adapt. In today's rapidly changing work environment, employers value candidates who can adapt and thrive. Social media is essentially marketing, so understanding how to sell something on TikTok shows more than just dance skills—it shows you know how people in the year 2023 consume content.
Customer Service Skills
In many ways, we almost all have a customer service component to our jobs—even if the customer is internal. At some point, you’re providing someone else with a product or deliverable, and you want them to be happy with what you created. So if you’re good at working with customers and meeting their needs, include that in the skills section.
There are many other skills you may want to include on a resume, depending on which ones you have. Above all, the most important skills to highlight are the ones you feel most confident in. Just remember—everything on a resume is an invitation for a question. The interviewer could ask for details about any of the skills you claim to have, so be sure to be honest. And good luck!
