Are you someone who just graduated college, is about to graduate or just looking for jobs in general and is faced with the biggest and most important task/challenge; that is to make a good and appealing resume? What skills to put in there to get the most out of it?
If this sounds like you or even if not but if this is something you just happened to be curious about, then this blog has got you covered.
The skills that one should or should not put in their resume are highly role-specific. However, the skills that are going to be discussed here are equally relevant to every role. And these can give the employers a great sense of things that they need to know, to decide between hiring you.
Now let’s dive a little deeper into what these skills are and what exactly makes them so significant for a good resume.
1. Communication
As relevant are good communication skills in the real world, they hold even more importance when it comes to workplaces. And while recruiting someone new, this is one skill that the employers are definitely looking for in potential candidates. Be it communicating within the workplace or outside, this skill always comes in handy and that explains its importance.
Resume Tip: Do remember to state words like interpersonal skills, and even state an instance of its application if you get an opportunity.
2. Problem Solving
Challenges are common to workplaces, it can be within or can be a concern raised by a customer/client. So that’s why employers tend to lean towards hiring people who showcase good problem-solving skills, to integrate seamless work processes and systems.
Resume Tip: While sharing your work experience, try stating what you did along with role and functions.
3. Digital Literacy
Technological breakthroughs like AI are making space for skills and job opportunities. Workplaces require a balanced human capital to technology ratio so that they can maximize their efficiency. And so being technologically or digitally literate becomes very important since most of the jobs require an individual to work with technology and more or less with stuff related to it. Now this may again require specific skills for specific roles, but there are certain ones that are relevant almost everywhere like MS Excel, etc.
Resume Tip: Clearly mention the skill you possess along with the level of expertise in the same.
4. Adaptability
Working in a new environment comes with its own set of challenges. Adapting to a whole new workplace or changing work dynamics in an existing workspace is a life skill. Hence, people with an ability to quickly learn and adapt to new environments and technologies are highly preferred by employers.
Resume Tip: Use keywords like ‘strategic planning’, ‘analyst and problem-solver’, ‘crisis management’ in the experience section.
5. Critical Thinking
As we already discussed earlier, individuals with good problem-solving abilities are highly preferred by employers. Similarly, strong analytical and critical thinking is another highly required skill set at a workplace. Making it extremely likely for a person to get hired by potential employers if they possess these skills.
Resume Tip: Use clear language and short sentences to demonstrate expertise.
6. Extra/Co Curriculars
It sounds pretty absurd if we think about it, that extra curricular activities could also play an important role in getting a person hired! But it makes total and complete sense. Let us explain how; if a person has extracurricular activities on their resume, that shows the employer that this person participated in a lot more things than just school work, which is an indicator of qualities such as initiative and dedication in that individual, which can prove to be a great asset to the employer.
Resume Tip: If you have played a sport or been a part of society/club in school/college, mention it briefly.
7. Leadership
If we had to name a few of the most important skills mentioned here then leadership would definitely take up a significant spot there. It is the most important skill a person can have and not just in respect to career.
Employers look for individuals with good leadership skills and experience. For each and every role that they might be hiring for, since it’s a direct indicator of how well can someone manage their teams and responsibilities that are given to them. It also saves employers time of conducting leadership training programs for their staff.
Resume Tip: Mention managerial tasks taken, if any. Do mention how you undertook the opportunity and successfully completed the task with team-effort and aligning of all stakeholders.
8. Intrapersonal Skills
This can also be seen as a continuation of the previous point since good intrapersonal skills are one thing that help make a person a good leader. How someone interacts with people around them, manages their relationships with their colleagues (seniors as well as juniors), how well they understand the workplace dynamic ; all of these things are a reflection of how good their intrapersonal skills are.
Resume Tip: Do not proclaim the skill or ability, rather demonstrate it.
9. Creativity and Innovation
In this day and age every job requires the ability to think unconventionally and creatively. Since jobs require innovations and advances to be made on regular intervals, these can only be made possible when there are people who can be relied on for making it possible, and that’s where creativity comes into place.
Resume Tip: Share projects or initiatives undertaken during internships or previous jobs.
10. Time Management
Ability to manage time, projects and tasks in hand is a life skill. Good time management skills always play a huge role in getting work done timely and efficiently without creating last minute hassle. Making it the reason employers look for them in every potential candidate. Even if you are someone who struggles with managing time efficiently, it’s a skill that can be worked and improved with practice.
Resume Tip: While sharing work experience, you can use phrases like:
– completed in timely manner
– within the given time frame
– in limited time, etc.
11. Teamwork and Collaboration
Individuals who thrive on collaboration are a huge asset for any organization. Since every organization consists of smaller groups and teams, it’s highly likely that if someone is going to work. They will have to work within a team setup. Having good intrapersonal and communication skills also play a major role here, making working in a team setup more convenient and effective.
Resume Tip: You can use terms like “with the team”, “combined efforts”, “in collaboration with” and more.
12. Emotional Intelligence
Talking about teamwork and collaboration further boils down to the topics of emotional intelligence. It affects your ability to navigate through intrapersonal dynamics in your workplace. Emotional intelligence can differ within each person. But, it is of great relevance when it comes to intrapersonal relationships especially within a working environment.
Resume Tip: Combination and execution of above skills can navigate employer in understanding your emotional quotient. Nevertheless, it stays a significant skill for workplace and personal success.
This list can be altered and be made specific to whichever job/role you are targeting. But, these skills give us a general overview on what employers look for when hiring someone. One important thing to take away here is that while mentioning anything in your resume make sure to include relevant examples supporting it so that it gives your employer an idea of exactly what you’re talking about.
