With a key skills section on your resume, employers can quickly see how you fit the job requirements. It allows you to demonstrate your competence in a particular job and emphasize your strengths. Unfortunately, many job seekers ignore this section, hoping that a spectacular description of work experience and education will suffice. However, employers don’t have time to guess exactly what you are good at and how you performed your job. Impressive results are great, but without an accurate description of the key skills that made those results possible, your accomplishments may seem lackluster. The same job can be done in different ways using different approaches. There are many programming languages, foreign languages, teaching methods, accounting programs, design tools. The list could go on endlessly!
That’s why employers pay special attention to your skills to find a professional who is just right for the position.
What skills should I include on my resume?
When deciding what to include in the key skills section, focus primarily on the requirements of the job you’re looking for. Carefully review the position description and write out the skills the employer expects from you. If you realize you have the right skills, be sure to list them! For example, an accountant may be required to be proficient in MS Excel and 1C, a programmer may be required to know PHP and Python at Junior level, and an internet marketer may be required to have experience with Google Ads and English at C1 level. However, don’t limit yourself to the skills listed in the job posting. Think about your strengths and experience that could be useful for the position. Make an accurate list and choose only those skills that best match the requirements of the position in the specific industry. Why it’s necessary. First, employers may prescribe a minimum set of skills required for a position to screen out inexperienced candidates.
If they don’t use such screening methods, then by specifying additional professional skills, you can show that you are versatile and can fulfill more than what is expected of you. This will greatly increase your chances of success.
Expert Tip
It’s best to tailor your resume to each individual job you apply for. Therefore, it is important to adjust the key skills section for each position. This way, you will meet the employer’s expectations as much as possible and stand out among candidates who use generic resumes. But under no circumstances should you lie!
Key skills on a resume: Soft skills and Hard skills
You’ve probably heard these terms before. They refer to the figurative division of skills into strictly professional and personal skills. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Soft skills
Usually it is the ability to resolve conflicts, maintain a comfortable atmosphere in the team, cope with difficulties, criticize on the case, concisely express their thoughts, have leadership skills, as well as time management. Of course, “soft skills” include much more than the above examples, but their main purpose is to ensure effective and productive work with other people (whether they are subordinates, business partners, or departmental colleagues). There are some professions where having these skills is a must: teachers, support staff, doctors, and any other job that involves regular interaction with people. But even if the job doesn’t involve constant customer contact, these skills are valued in all industries. They are versatile and contribute to the effective performance of not only the individual employee, but the company as a whole.
What good is extensive experience and outstanding technical skills if an employee is an abuser, terrorizing colleagues and not able to listen to the opinion of his superiors? You won’t get far with such a person. Having “soft skills” is key to ensuring that employees can maximize their technical and professional skills, benefiting both themselves and the company.
Hard skills
“Hard skills” are the technical knowledge and skills required to perform well-defined professional tasks. These skills are easily measurable and can be put to the test, making them an important part of any resume. They include skills such as proficiency in programming languages, knowledge of foreign languages at a certain level, basic accounting, and working with specialized equipment or software. It is technical skills that are most often listed as mandatory in job descriptions, as they are needed to perform specific tasks in the workplace.
These technical skills enable an employee to perform clear, understandable and measurable tasks, achieving specific results. These skills, although not universal, make each candidate unique in the eyes of the employer, emphasizing his or her professional competencies and ability to solve the company’s specific tasks.