Identifying the skills that make you a desirable job candidate and the skills you must include in your resume is key to the job search. But it can also sometimes be surprisingly difficult to know what to include in a resume and what to leave out.
Some skills are applicable only to certain jobs and some skills are applicable to almost any job.
Here we list the skills that everyone should include in their resume for pretty much any job. We’ve broken them down by topic: the skills that everyone should include in their resume are technical skills, communication skills, organizational skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and adaptability and resilience skills.
Be sure to include all the skills you possess under these umbrellas in your resume. Here’s a closer look at the skills to put on a resume.
The skills you must include in your resume:
Technical skills
It’s essential to be tech-savvy for almost any role in today’s workforce, and this means actually possessing tech skills. When listing skills on your resume, take a moment to think about a) whether they actually qualify as "skills" and b) if you do indeed, possess them.
It’s common, for example, to include Microsoft Office as a skill on your resume, but when people do this, they usually mean they can use Word. Nobody is going to be impressed that you can use Word or send an email in 2021. Computer skills are still important, but they’re more specialized than they once were. If you possess advanced MS Office skills, say that. If you’re really good with Excel, for example (or Google Sheets) that is something to include in your resume. A lot of people hate spreadsheeting and are not good at it. Can you create an incredible PowerPoint? That’s a skill.
If you’re great with design tools like Photoshop or InDesign, those are skills to put on a resume. If you can build amazing websites with WordPress templates, that’s a skill. Can you analyze data and pull insights from it? That’s a skill. Knowing how to type in the Google Analytics URL is not a skill.
Include all of your real technical proficiencies when listing skills on your resume.
Examples of technical skills:
Excel/Google Sheets
Powerpoint
Photoshop
InDesign
Website building
Template design
Analytics
Communication skills
Communication skills are the ability to effectively transfer and receive information and ideas. These are at the top of every hiring manager and recruiter’s list of desired skills, and they are even more essential now that many people are working remotely. This is primarily to do with less face-to-face interaction happening, and we need to know how to communicate through a variety of other mediums.
Communication skills include oral communication, the ability to communicate information and ideas verbally, and written communication skills. Writing is a top desired skill for employers because almost any job can be done better with good writing skills. A job may require writing reports and presentations and also just day-to-day communication through email, text, and messaging apps like Slack. Effective presentation and public speaking skills also make candidates stand out. Listening is another great (and rare) skill, as is the ability to take feedback.
Examples of communication skills:
Oral communication
Writing
Presentation skills
Public speaking
Listening
Organizational skills
Organizational skills are the abilities to prioritize tasks and efficiently use your time, space, and resources. Time management is an organizational skill that is very attractive in job candidates these days, as managers need to be able to trust those working remotely to get the job done and meet deadlines.
The abilities to effectively plan, manage projects, and delegate are more excellent organizational skills. Prioritizing is another skill that is key to success in almost any role. An example of this is setting clear goals, creating your to-do lists in order of importance, and focusing on individual tasks until you have a completed whole. Multitasking is also key to many roles. If you can juggle tasks and deadlines without dropping any balls or losing quality, keep your cool, and get it all done on time, that is something to be proud of.
Examples of organizational skills:
Time management
Planning
Delegating
Goal setting
Prioritizing
Multitasking
Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills are related to communications skills, of course, and are highly sought after by hiring managers. Being easy to get along with and working well with others makes a job candidate highly appealing. People want to like you, and they want your coworkers to like you. “Fit” for the workplace culture is high on the list of almost any hiring manager.
Collaboration and teamwork are must-have skills in many workplace environments. Conflict management skills can make a candidate extra attractive and become increasingly important for more senior roles. Managers must be able to effectively manage conflict among their team members. Listening is another highly valuable interpersonal skill. Yes, we included that with our communication skills but these skills often fall under a few umbrellas, and they do overlap. Dependability/reliability are also extremely important now that we’re working more remotely. Managers need to know that they can depend on their team members.
Examples of interpersonal skills:
Communication
Collaboration
Teamwork
Conflict management
Listening
Dependability/reliability
Problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills are abilities to identify and solve problems, and they are highly sought after by employers. Managers want to see that you can independently solve problems without running to them every time a new issue arises. Problem-solving skills include paying attention to detail, because this gives you the ability to spot issues before they get out of control, and creative thinking to come up with solutions. Creativity was, in fact, identified as the most in-demand soft skill by LinkedIn in 2020, and study findings suggest that as children, we are very creative, but our creativity diminishes over time. If you can demonstrate this skill, you will be more hireable. Critical thinking is another key to problem solving.
Self motivation and decision making are among the skills that allow you to implement the solutions to these problems, and a strong work ethic gives you the drive to want to solve them rather than throw your hands up and claim “it’s not my problem.”
Examples of problem-solving skills:
Attention to detail
Creativity
Critical thinking
Self-motivation
Decision making
Strong work ethic
Adaptability and resilience skills
Adaptability and resilience have become extremely important to hiring managers over the past year and a half. As the employment and business landscapes have shifted dramatically, the need for employees who can adapt, change, and withstand the storm has grown tremendously. Charles Darwin famously noted in his “Origin of the Species” that, rather than the most intellectual or the strongest of the species, it’s the one that is best able to adapt to change that is most likely to survive.
If the year 2020 taught us anything, it’s that a disruption can come along at any time and that we don’t know what it will be. That’s what makes a true disruption so disruptive.
Businesses need to be ready to adapt to change, and so their employees must also be.
Skills that demonstrate adaptability and resilience are flexibility and a willingness to learn. One who is always willing to learn will always be growing and improving, and that is a very desirable quality in a team member. Creativity and problem solving are also skills that demonstrate adaptability and resilience.
Examples of adaptability and resilience skills:
Flexibility
Willingness to learn
Creativity
Problem solving
Include as many of these skills and/or related ones in your resume as you can. And, if you don’t possess them, it’s time to start learning them!
