Skills To Include On A Resumé

Your resumé is an elevator pitch. In 5 minutes or less, a recruiter will decide whether to give you a call or throw your resumé in the trash bin.

One of the best ways to improve your chances of getting an interview is to include relevant skills in your resumé. In this article, we’re going to explore a few key points, including:

• The difference between soft and technical skills
• The kinds of skills you should include on your resumé
• How to write about your skills
• How to tailor your skills to a job posting
• Mistakes and pitfalls to avoid when writing about skills

We’ll cover a whole lot more, too. Want to boost your resumé writing skills and increase your chances of being hired? Read from the top to get a full course on writing about skills, or skip to whichever section is most relevant to your needs:

1. What are the best skills to include on a resumé?
2. How to tailor your resumé to a job description
3. What are some examples of soft skills?
4. Emotional intelligence
5. Adaptability
6. Teamwork
7. Creativity
8. Openness to experience
9. Time management
10. Communication
11. Leadership
12. Attention to detail
13. Work ethic
14. What are some examples of technical skills?
15. Design
16. Project management
17. SEO/SEM
18. Language skills
19. Writing and editing
20. Data analysis
21. Science and mathematics
22. Human resources
23. Software skills
24. Accounting and bookkeeping
25. How to find skills the company values
26. How to create a resume skills section
27. Marketing jobs
28. Software Engineer jobs
29. Human Resources jobs
30. Financial Accounting jobs
31. Nursing jobs
32. Sales Jobs
33. How to write about your skills
34. Creativity
35. Leadership
36. Work ethic
37. Multitasking
38. What not to do on your resumé
39. FAQ

What are the best skills to include on a resumé?

The best skills to include on your resumé are those that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. You should tweak your resumé each time you’re applying for a new job—unless the positions you’re applying for are all very similar. We know that it takes extra time and effort, but it’s well worth it.

There are two types of skills that you’ll include in your resumé: Technical skills (sometimes known as professional skills or hard skills) and soft skills (sometimes known as personal skills). Technical skills show prospective employers that you have the knowledge and ability to perform specific tasks associated with the position you’re applying for, while soft skills show that you’re able to work with a team.

We’ll delve more into soft skills and technical skills later in this article, where we’ll go over specific examples of each. The skills you’ll need for a position vary from employer to employer, but there are some skills that are almost universally admired, including:

• Time management
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Computer proficiency
• Leadership
• Organizational skills
• Creativity
• Adaptability
• Initiative

You won’t list all of these skills, of course—you need room for your technical skills and the rest of your resumé. That’s why, even if you have hundreds of different skills, you’ll need to pare them down when you apply. Let’s take a look at the best way of selecting which skills to include in your resumé: 

How to tailor your resumé to a job description

Gone are the days of walking into a factory, handing the manager your resumé, asking for a job, and being hired on the spot with a quick handshake. Today, almost all recruitment efforts happen online—and very few resumés actually make it in front of a human being. That’s because the work of sorting the proverbial wheat from the chaff is automated. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are used to sort through resumés automatically. These systems are fed information about the position, including:

• The job title
• The required skills
• The years of experience needed

The ATS will then create a profile of an ideal candidate and automatically scan resumés to find the applicants that most closely match the ideal candidate.

Some people are intimidated by the new, automated resumé filtering process. You don’t have to be. Once you know that an ATS exists, it’s a matter of gaming the system (to put it bluntly).

In most cases, the ATS will literally scan resumés for keywords that match the keywords in the job description. The job posting you find online will contain those same keywords. To tailor your resumé to the job posting, you’ll simply scan the resumé for the same things the ATS is looking for: The job title and the required skills.

Let’s use one of our job postings, for example. In this posting, we’re looking for a Recruitment Consultant. We include the following in the listing:

What You’ll Do:

• Interview candidates over the phone/video chat and add to the candidate pipeline.
• Send testing and other screening tools to candidates to assess skills.
• Communicate with candidates about current and future opportunities.
• Place candidates on work assignments and liaise between them and our clients.
• Prepare and execute all onboarding and offboarding of temporary staff.
• Collect worker hours and disperse them to payroll accordingly.
• Ensure proper database management and tracking of activities.
• Participate in company meetings and share ideas.
• Conduct some Business Development activities such as cold calling, meeting with decision-makers, and engaging in soft sales during/after assignments.

Who You Are:

• A self-starter who isn’t shy and takes initiative
• Experience with recruitment and sales, mandatory for a permanent recruiter
• Understands and enjoys tight deadlines and challenges
• Computer savvy with sound MS Office skills, CRM experience an asset
• Excellent time management and delegation skills
• Professional written and oral communication skills in English, French bilingual an asset
• Thrives on pressure and teamwork

We’ve highlighted a number of the skills, both soft and technical, that can be found in the job posting. Other skills that aren’t explicitly spelled out can also be included—“Participate in company meetings and share ideas” is a reflection of creativity—but focus on trying to match the verbiage used in the posting exactly wherever you can. Instead of writing “Computer skills”, for example, you would write “Computer savvy”—and you’d do well to include MS Office skills in brackets beside that skill. 

Additionally, you’ll want to match the job title exactly. In our example, you might have held the position “Recruitment Specialist” for a number of years; in your resumé, you would change that job title to match “Recruitment Consultant”. It’s the same job—you’re simply shifting the title to match what the ATS is looking for. Computers take things quite literally.

Now that you know how to match your skills to a job listing, it’s time to delve a bit deeper into soft skills and technical skills. What are they, why are they important, and how do you describe your skills? Let’s take a look: 

What are some examples of soft skills?

Soft skills, or personal skills, are the intangible skills you gain over a lifetime of experience. Unlike technical skills, soft skills are difficult to test and measure concretely—they describe your personality, work ethic, and philosophy (among other things). 

Soft skills are a requirement for every job; whether you’re in an entry-level position or the C-suite, you’ll need to be organized, be able to work with others, and know how to take the initiative. 

When including soft skills on your resumé, ensure that your work experience reflects the soft skills you’ve gained or used over the years. 

Let’s take a look at 10 different soft skills you can include on your resume:

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence encompasses a lot of different skills. Empathy. Resilience. Self-regulation. These skills are key not just for teamwork but for getting you through the tough times in your own life. You won’t always be able to keep your home life from affecting your work life (or vice versa). With a high level of emotional intelligence, though, you’ll be able to mitigate the negative impacts of either. You’ll know when to push hard. You’ll know when to ask for help.

This soft skill is essential for all workplaces but is critical in spaces like healthcare and customer-facing careers. 

Adaptability

In life, it’s important to expect the unexpected. New hires have to learn a lot in a short time, and surprises lurk around every corner. Tenured employees have to deal with procedural and technological changes. When things shift, if you can go with the flow instead of fighting against it and learn to use change to your advantage, you’ll be prized in any workplace. 

Teamwork

Whether you’re doing manual labour or project management, you need to be able to work well with others. Teamwork means listening to other people’s ideas, coordinating with others to split up the work of large projects, empathizing with the concerns and needs of your teammates (there’s emotional intelligence again), and collaborating to find innovative new solutions to challenges. 

Teamwork is valued in every position but is critical in creative careers and positions where you’re making decisions for a team. 

Creativity

Creativity isn’t just about art or music—it’s about coming up with novel solutions to problems. The core of creativity is to create; you can create new ideas, new products, new processes, and new ways of doing things. Whether you’re interacting with customers, lifting heavy objects, or heading a team, the ability to brainstorm new, better ways of working will be highly valued by employers. 

Openness to experience

In a new job, you’ll be faced with a slew of new experiences—new colleagues, new work, new management, new ideas, and new ways of thinking. You’ll be given feedback on your work. Openness to experience is a growth mindset—it’s the knowledge that new experiences will help you develop. Employers value this openness because it signals that you’ll be willing to try new things, develop your skills, and grow within the organization. 

Time management

In almost any career, you’ll need to juggle priorities. Knowing what to prioritize, when to put your nose to the grindstone, and when to ease off to avoid burnout is absolutely essential. Learn how to schedule, multitask, delegate, and prioritize, and you’ll be prized by employers everywhere. 

Communication

Companies value both verbal and written communication skills, regardless of the position they’re hiring for. Written skills can take a backseat to verbal skills in positions where emails and other written communications are less common. Communication means your ability to convey ideas—but it’s a two-way street, and your ability to understand others will be equally valued.

Note that language skills and communication skills are linked but not the same. Language skills are considered technical skills, as they’re simple enough to test. 

Leadership

You might think that leadership is only essential for team leaders, managers, and C-suite executives. That’s not the case. No matter what position you’re in, it’s important to know when to take the lead and how to do so. Leadership skills mean the ability to take the initiative. It also means recognizing when you’re the person who is most qualified to make decisions. Understanding the skills and abilities of those around you and learning how to delegate tasks is also key. No matter who you are or what you do, knowing how and when to take the lead is valuable. 

Attention to detail

We live in a fast-paced world. Paying attention to detail means filtering out the noise, retaining what matters, and applying it when necessary. It means conscientiousness, the ability to deliberately move through work, ensuring that you’ve dotted all of your i’s and crossed all of your t’s. It’s a highly valued skill in any career. 

Work ethic

Work ethic is your willingness to put in the effort needed to complete projects on time. It’s your ability to go above and beyond what’s expected, not because you’re looking for a reward but because you’re passionate about doing the best work you can. Work ethic comes from within—it’s your desire to work diligently for the satisfaction that comes with a job well done. Great work ethic and growth mindset go hand in hand—it’s the knowledge that with hard work comes self-improvement, and it’s one of the skills employers value the most. 

Our passionate recruiters know exactly which skills employers are looking for. Let us help you find the perfect job for your skill set, tailoring your resumé to match the needs of Canada’s best employers. Get in touch today. 

What are some examples of technical skills?

Technical or hard skills are measurable skills—employers can use tests to verify the competence of prospective employees. Technical skills often have certifications associated with them, and specific experience is required to gain technical skills. This puts them in opposition to soft skills, which are gained slowly over a lifetime of varied experiences.

When including technical skills on your resumé, ensure that you support those skills by including certificates and other education you’ve received to gain those skills, as well as relevant work experience. 

The technical skills you’ll need vary from employer to employer: Let’s take a look at 10 technical skills that are highly valued by employers in Canada:

Design

Design is a multifaceted discipline—you can learn graphic design, web design, UX/UI design, interior design, or about other design-related fields. You’ll use a variety of tools in design work, but in almost all fields, proficiency with the Adobe suite (Photoshop, InDesign, etc.) is a huge asset. Knowledge of CSS/HTML and JavaScript is also a boon in many different design jobs. 

Project management

Leadership and creativity are soft skills—project management is a technical skill. Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certificates will help you demonstrate your competence. Knowledge of Agile methodologies, budget management, and software like Jira can help you secure a great project management career.

SEO/SEM

Search engine optimization and search engine marketing (SEO and SEM) professionals are in high demand. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate knowledge of Keyword Planner and Google Analytics, as well as various SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Screaming Frog. A track record of SEO-optimized content creation, Google Ads certifications, and knowledge of HTML/CSS and JavaScript will help you land high-level SEO/SEM analyst positions. 

Language skills

Language skills are, as we’ve discussed, distinct from communication skills. In Canada, written and spoken English is a must outside of Quebec—and still incredibly helpful even if you do live in Quebec. Knowing spoken and written French is a tremendous boon for positions offered by the government. As our immigrant population grows, knowing Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi, and other languages spoken and written by large immigrant populations is becoming more valuable. 

Writing and editing

Whether you’re writing emails to send to your colleagues, creating project briefs and guides, or crafting copy to post on social media, writing and editing skills are in high demand. You’ll need to showcase your ability to use common word editing programs like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Certifications in writing and editing play nicely on resumés, as do Bachelors in English (or whichever language you’ll be writing in), Marketing, and Communications. 

Data analysis

Data analysts and data scientists are highly prized (and well compensated) in modern society. Whether you’re working on data agnostic software or running market research, you’ll need a number of skills. Knowledge of SQL is essential, as is knowledge of Excel. Knowing how to use Tableau and Jupyter Notebook is also a boon for data analysts. Certifications like Azure Data Fundamentals, degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related fields, and knowledge of programming languages like Python are also boons. 

Science and mathematics

For careers in research science, programming, and other disciplines, you’ll need to have proven experience in the relevant field. This one is pretty straightforward—have a degree from an accredited university in the relevant field.

Human resources

Human resources is a broad field, with various employees being hired for recruitment, onboarding, conflict resolution, and more. Knowledge of software like BambooHR and PeopleSoft is an advantage. Certification in Human Resources will look excellent on your resumé, as will a Bachelor’s in fields like Business Administration. 

Software skills

Software skills are diverse—someone who is an expert at using most G Suite apps might know next to nothing about Microsoft Excel. When listing software proficiency as a skill, be sure to include a list of the software you’re proficient in. And please, don’t list Excel as a proficiency if you’re not actually proficient in Excel. It’s a common mistake—Excel does a lot more than just let you throw numbers into a table. 

Accounting and bookkeeping

Accounting and bookkeeping require very different levels of education and experience, but both benefit from certain skill sets. Knowledge of cloud-based accounting tools like QuickBooks is essential. For accountants, CPA designations are a must, as is a Bachelor’s in Accounting. Business administration degrees can be a boon for people looking to secure a career in bookkeeping. 

How to find skills the company values

We’ve talked about the key ways to tailor your resume to the job posting—pulling keywords from the posting and matching them verbatim in order to please the ATS. A great resumé, however, will go above and beyond this, looking for soft skills that the company values outside of the posting.

Start by reading reviews of the company provided by employees on websites like Glassdoor. They’ll give you a better idea of the work culture; in best-case scenarios, you’ll even find reviews by employees who are working in the exact position you’re applying for. 

One employee might say that the company fosters collaboration. Another might tell you the company is full of passionate people. They’re describing the company culture—if you describe yourself with these words in your resumé, it will be easy for recruiters to see that you fit that culture.

Another great method of learning about a company’s culture is to visit its website. Check out the About Us page and similar pages like “Our Philosophy” and “Our Mission Statement”. These pages can tell you how the company wants to portray itself—and from that, you can learn a lot about the kind of culture that it wants to foster. 

How to create a resumé skills section

Your skills section should be short and concise. In jobs where soft skills are primarily valued (like sales), a skills section can blend soft and technical skills. In very technical work (like programming), your skills section should focus primarily on your technical skills, while your professional summary can include your soft skills.

Generally, the skills section is reserved for the end of the resumé, though modern resumés often include them on the left-hand column, below your contact information and relevant education/certifications. 

Marketing jobs

To succeed in marketing, you’ll need to be creative, data-driven, and curious, all while communicating clearly to people within and outside your department. Useful skills include:

• Creativity
• SEO/SEM
• Adobe Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, etc.)
• Critical thinking
• Writing and editing
• Content management systems
• Analytics (Google Analytics, etc.)
• Market research
• Project management 

Software Engineer jobs

Software engineers are creative problem-solvers who know how to program, can learn new programming languages if needed, and collaborate with their teammates to build and maintain software. Useful skills include:

• Communication
• Programming (Java, Python, etc.)
• Database management (SQL, NoSQL, etc.)
• Project tracking (Jira, Rally, etc.)
• Project management
• Critical thinking
• Adaptability
• HTML/CSS
• Strong work ethic

Human Resources jobs

People who work in HR need a high degree of emotional intelligence, a knowledge of HR management systems, and an above-average ability to take the initiative and make decisions. Useful skills include:

• Communication
• Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
• Data analysis
• Recruiting and onboarding
• Retention
• Emotional intelligence
• Performance management
• Compensation structuring
• Leadership

Financial Accounting jobs

Financial accountants are detail driven and analytical, using their knowledge of accounting software and mathematics to guide the finances of a company. Useful skills include:

• Accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, etc.)
• GAAP accounting principles
• Financial reporting
• Leadership
• Communication
• Analytical
• Attention to detail
• Auditing
• Accounts payable/receivable

Nursing jobs

Nurses need an exceptional degree of emotional intelligence and the ability to take the initiative and respond quickly and effectively under pressure. Useful skills include:

• Clinical
• Communication
• Patient management
• Medical skills (life support, IV administration, therapy, etc.)
• Patient and family education
• Emotional intelligence
• Strong work ethic
• Documenting patient behaviours
• EMR tools

Sales Jobs

To succeed in a career in sales, candidates will need to be able to take the initiative, negotiate, and develop product knowledge. Useful skills include:

• Negotiation
• Product knowledge
• Customer support/after-sales support
• Client retention
• Teamwork
• Leadership
• CRM skills (Salesforce, etc.)
• Presentation software skills (PowerPoint, etc.)
• Needs analysis

How to write about your skills

As we discussed in the previous section, you’ll want to avoid literally listing your soft skills in most resumés—the exception to this rule is resumés with a large gap in work history, where skills become the main focus.

As you describe your role within different organizations, you’ll be able to showcase your soft skills without explicitly naming them. You’ll also be able to highlight soft skills in your professional summary, where it’s fine to describe yourself as “a creative leader”.

Here are a few examples to help you write about your soft skills:

Creativity

• Proposed a new product. Developed the product in tandem with multiple stakeholders and introduced it to the market. The product generated over $100,000 in sales.
• Developed artwork for a multi-channel campaign for a Fortune 500 brand. 

Leadership

• Chaired the 5-member employee appreciation committee dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments, birthdays, and work anniversaries in our organization.
• Led a 12-person sales team responsible for a 10% growth in sales. 

Work ethic

• Attained professional designation within 2 years of working at the company, less than half the average time it takes to attain the designation.
• Received “Employee of the Month” award 6 consecutive months in a row.

Multitasking

• Quickly switched between running the front cash register, cooking, and expediting food, all while training new employees.
• Prioritized work while managing marketing campaigns for 10 different clients.



What not to do on your resumé

Don’t lie. When you’ve got gaps in your resumé, or you don’t quite meet the qualifications an employer is looking for, it can be tempting to exaggerate the truth—or to make things up altogether. Don’t do this. Be as accurate as possible in your resumé—your would-be employer is likely to call your references and perform background checks.

Don’t be vague. Recruiters love numbers—they make the intangible seem tangible. Include numbers wherever you can in your resumé. You should also be precise about what education you have, how many years of experience you have, and what technical skills you have.

Don’t be lazy. Tailor your resumé for every single job application. Proofread your resumé before you submit it. Ensure that the resume you attach is the right one—verify twice, and send once. A little extra effort goes a long way.

Don’t use flowery language. The best resumés are concise—you should be able to fit all of your skills and experience on one page. You can use a thesaurus to switch up your verbiage, but don’t wax poetic—just tell recruiters (and the ATS) what they want to know. 

Our recruiters can help your business find the perfect candidates. With over 15 years of helping employers like you find and recruit top talent, you’ll never have to read an overly flowery resumé again when you work with StaffMax.