What is the Resume Skills Section? Why Do I Need It?
The resume skills section is a summary of the talents you can offer to the organisation. It displays your abilities and matches you with the job position that you are applying for.
The resume skills section is important because most hiring managers and recruiters only take six seconds to decide whether your resume is worth reading in full. One of the quickest ways to evaluate your profile is to pay special attention to your resume skills section to decide if they should proceed with the hiring process.
Resume Skills Section Formats
There are several ways to showcase your skills on your resume:
1. At the top of your resume. This is good for fresh graduates with little or no professional experience. If you have little working experience, list your skills at the top of your resume before “Education” and “Work Experience” to quickly highlight your abilities.
2. A separate “skills” section. This is good if you have some work experience but would prefer to clearly highlight your specific skills or qualifications. Your work experience should be at the top, while additional skills can be listed in a separate section at the side or near the bottom of your resume.
3. Integrate your skills into your “work experience” section. When listing your work history and description, include the relevant skills, elaborate more and provide specific examples. This will help to prove your skills by relating them in helping you to achieve company goals.
For example, if you include the skills “SEO” and “Project Management”, elaborate further by saying: “Managed 9 digital marketing campaigns for 3 separate products in 2020, successfully achieved all metrics and boosted company revenue by 30%.”
Need help with creating your resume skills section? Here is our foolproof guide for Malaysian fresh graduates.
How to Write the Resume Skills Section？
1. Identify your skill sets
Skill sets refer to both hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are teachable abilities or skills that can be measured. It is also known as technical knowledge or training that you have received through life experiences.
Hard skills are abilities specific to the job and/ or industry that you are applying for. It is one of the first and the most important sections in your resume that employers will see and judge on.
Examples of hard skills include:
- Languages
- Database Management
- SEO/ SEM
- App and Web Development
- Adobe Software Suites
- Office 365
Meanwhile, soft skills are interpersonal skills or personal attitudes that determine your work ethics and how you work with others. These skills are much harder to measure and quantify. It is also known as “transferable skills”, meaning that they are transferable to almost every job that you do.
Examples of soft skills include:
- Communications
- Leadership
- Integrity
- Open-mindedness
- Critical Thinking
- Creativity
Soft skills are extremely valuable to employers because, unlike hard and technical skills, they are much harder to teach and develop. Soft skills can be used to complement hard skills and it is crucial to try to match both skills.
2. Research Company and Job Description
After doing a self-evaluation on your skill sets, research about the company and carefully read the job postings that you are applying for. Go through the job description and take note of any required skills that match your skill sets. In addition to job requirements, consider company culture as well.
For example, a marketing agency looking for a digital marketer may require “SEO” and “Adobe Suite” in the job description. Further research may also show that the agency values “determination”, “teamwork” and “time management”.
Identifying these keywords will be helpful towards creating a personalised resume skills section and set you apart from hundreds of other fresh graduates.
3. Personalise Your Resume Skills Section
Companies use a screening algorithm or an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to filter suitable candidates based on relevant keywords in their resumes – your skills and abilities.
Different positions have different job description keywords that show what the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate. You should only include skills that are relevant to the position or industry that you are applying for to pass the screening algorithm.
With that said, you should personalise your resume skills section for every job application, especially if you are applying for different positions.
If you are applying to be a fashion designer, keywords such as “meticulous”, “caring” and “Office 365” will not pass the screening process. That said, it is pointless to send out the same resume to different job positions.
In-demand skills Employers are Looking For
Here are some good skills to put on your resume (with examples):
1. Interpersonal Skills – behaviours we show while interacting with other people.
- Emotional Intelligence
- Communication
- Negotiation
2. People Skills – abilities that allow you to inspire others and spread positivity.
- Conflict Resolution
- Sense of Humour
- Honesty
3. Leadership Skills – abilities to create a vision, inspire people and see through execution.
- Problem Solving
- Delegating
- Organisation
4. Management Skills – abilities to handle responsibilities, supervise and lead teams.
- Planning
- Communicating
- Troubleshooting
5. Organizational Skills – abilities to prioritize tasks, manage time, and deliver results.
- Teamwork
- Project Management
- Time Management
6. Technical Skills – hard skills
- Data Analytics
- Website Design
- Automation
The Bottom Line
In short, evaluate your skills, conduct research and personalise your skillsets for different job positions. Both hard and soft skills should be included but hard skills are the priority. Soft skills are secondary and can be used to complement your hard skills and experiences. Limit your list to around 10 skills and you are good to go!
Did you include a resume objective in your resume? Have you created your cover letter? Or are you interested in filming a video resume? Our Job Majestic Blog has all the resources you need.
