Resume Skills: Complete Guide on How to Showcase
5 Min read
The skill of resume writing has adapted over the years to numerous changes in the job market, progressing from being a mere listing of education/career history to a personal marketing strategy.
Through all this, the one aspect that remained constant was that at the receiving end of the resume, was a person involved in the job recruitment process.
However now even that has changed, in many instances it is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) doing the initial scanning of resumes, looking for keywords relevant to the advertised job.
It is estimated that about 70% of the resumes are rejected at this very stage, never even reaching the hiring manager’s desk.
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This aspect assumes primary importance for you when applying for any job.
For irrespective of the fact that you may be the perfect candidate for that job, if you haven’t listed out your skills as per the job requirements, chances are your resume may be amongst the 70% which are rejected.
So, wondering how you are going to get the skill listing right?
Let us start by understanding the meaning of the term ‘Skills’ in relation to the job market.
Your job-related skills, refer to the combination of knowledge base, inherent abilities and work/life experience which will help you excel at any job.
It is this combination of knowledge base, inherent abilities and work/life experience which are categorized under the broad headings of Hard and Soft Skills. We shall take a closer look at this categorization and how it relates to you.
Technical/Hard Skills
This refers to the knowledge base you have, namely the quantifiable skills you have acquired via your education, additional courses, certifications etc. It also includes the skills acquired over the course of your work experience.
For ease of understanding we have listed a few examples of technical skills under the relevant career fields. Have a look at them.
Information Technology Skills:
Programming Languages
Cloud Computing
Database Management
Networking
Data Mining and Analysis
Marketing Skill:
Brand Management
Competitive Research
Digital Marketing tools
Proficiency in Foreign Languages (refers to qualifications like a language proficiency certification, courses etc.)
Management Skills:
Organizational Development
Project Management
Mergers & Acquisitions
Business Re-engineering
Biotechnology Skills:
Tissue Culture
Flow Cytometry
Mass Spectrometry
Accounting skills:
Knowledge of Accounting Principles and Practices
Budgeting Procedure
Forecast Planning
Preparing and Interpreting Financial Statements
Proficiency in Accounting Software Tools (like QuickBooks, Wave Accounting, Xero)
These are your inherent abilities, which are not easily quantifiable and help you in every sphere of life. It refers to your personality traits, like interpersonal skills and other such creative abilities which come naturally to you.
Many of these skills are also acquired over the course of your work or life experiences.
List of Soft Skills For Resume
Collaboration and Teamwork
Effective Verbal and Written Communication skills
Active Listening
Problem Solving Capabilities
People Management
Adaptability
Ability to Multitask
Time Management
Organizational Skills
Listing all your skills (both soft and hard skills) under a dedicated ‘Skills Section’ in your resume is a good idea, as it will make for easy navigability.
While the tendency is to highlight your hard skills in your resume, remember that your soft skills are a great value addition and should get equal prominence.
Now, the question arises as to how are you going to ensure that, of all your skills, only the ones relevant for the advertised job are highlighted.
Let us look at ways you can do so, which will convince not only the hiring manager but also the ATS that you are the right candidate for the job.
In order to customize your skills section, you will first need to find out the list of skills required for the advertised job, by doing an online/offline search.
With this list in hand, you then have to do a comparison study to figure out which of the required skills are missing in your existing list.
It is only after updating your skills section to reflect the requirements for the job, that you will have the perfect attention-grabbing resume on your hands.
Sounds like too much work? Don’t worry, for we at HyreSnap, have simplified the process to ensure that all the comparisons and additions of skills get done at the click of a button.
So, without further ado, let us go right ahead and take a look at this process.
The process of finding the relevant skills (for a particular job title) using the HyreSnap resume builder is a very simple and straightforward process.
There are 2 ways you can go about this, let us look at them via an example:
Applying for the role of a Software Test Engineer
Method 1: Click on the ‘Jobs’ tab on the HyreSnap homepage
You will be taken to the search page where you can type in the role you are looking for, namely ‘Software Test Engineer’. You will get a list of the companies who are advertising for this role. Click on any company you are interested in applying to.
The job description page opens up, where you can also get an idea of the how well your skills match that of the skills required for the advertised job. Click on the ‘Match JD’ button.
The following page opens up, click on the ‘Match’ button.
You are then shown what skills required for the post of ‘Software Test Engineer’ are missing in your resume. To add the missing skills to your resume, just click on the ‘Customize Resume’ button.
Then you are giving the option of either adding the additional skills to your existing resume or creating a copy.
Once you make the choice and select the relevant button, the remaining skills are added to your resume.
Method 2:
Alternatively, you can do an online job postings search. Once you find an advertised job you want to apply for, just copy the job description provided there. On the HyreSnap website, select the ‘Job match’, tab.
Then
Select the ‘Back’ button, you will be taken here:
Paste the new job description here and then select the ‘Match’ button.
You then get the corresponding job match statistics. You can the click on the ‘Customize Resume’ button and the missing skills get added to your resume.
This process is definitely simpler, right! It also ensures that you do not overlook any relevant skills required for the advertised job.
So, go ahead and log in to HyreSnap now, to create not only the perfect ‘Skills Section’ but also your entire ATS complaint HR approved resume.
Conclusion
Including relevant skills on your resume can increase your chances of getting noticed by potential employers and help you stand out from other applicants.
It is important to tailor your skills section to match the specific job you are applying for and highlight the skills that are most relevant to the position.
Don't forget to include both hard and soft skills, as employers are often looking for a combination of technical proficiency and interpersonal abilities.
Use strong action verbs and quantify your achievements wherever possible to demonstrate the impact you have had in previous roles and showcase your potential value to future employers.
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