A resume is your gateway to employment opportunities, so you need to make sure you are putting the right skills on it. It’s easy to be tempted to oversell yourself and throw everything you can think of onto your resume, but this can hurt your chances of landing an interview by making the hiring manager question whether you have the skills or not. While it’s important to showcase all of your accomplishments and strengths, it’s more important to choose only the skills that will get you an interview or job offer from the company that’s reading your resume.
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Have an objective
One of the most challenging aspects of resume writing is figuring out what skills you want to highlight on your resume. Once you figure that out, make sure you’re selecting them based on how relevant they are for your desired position. Be careful not to choose too many skills. It’s best if you have between five and ten skills on your resume- anything more than that just becomes cluttered and can look like a jumble of words.
You’ll also want to be strategic with what skills you include. For example, say you want to work as an accountant but there are two accounting certifications listed under the education category. Which one should you put? That depends on which certification is more highly valued by employers who hire accountants. In this case, it would probably be better to list the certification that is required for most accountants rather than listing both.
Avoid objective section
The objective section of your resume is a very important part of your document because it tells employers who you are and what you want. The problem is that most people don’t know how to write an effective objective statement. You can avoid this by not including any objectives on your resume. Instead, include a summary at the top of your resume that succinctly outlines who you are and what you’re looking for. This allows employers to decide whether or not they want to read more about you without wasting time reading through unrelated information.
List all skills on the resume
Learning how to cook is an admirable and highly marketable skill. In this day and age, people can never have too many skills on their resume. Here are some examples of your valuable skills that might belong on your resume – Painting: You can do house painting jobs as well as paint art canvases
– Writing: Produce content for social media or create business documents such as press releases
– Sewing: Sew clothes or fix up old furniture with a sewing machine
– Cooking: Learn how to cook nutritious food so you’re always prepared when hunger strikes. You don’t need to learn all types of cooking; just pick one type and go from there. Whether it’s Indian cuisine, Chinese stir-fry, Mexican tacos, or classic American grilled cheese sandwiches, picking one type of cuisine and mastering it will help you stand out as a candidate for potential employers.
Choose good skills
For a perfect resume, you must put down skills that make you the best for your desired job. Below are some examples of popular and effective skill words for different industries.
Construction – Mechanics, Riggers, Concrete – Installing Piping Systems, Surveyors, and Locators; Installation of Heavy Equipment, General Maintenance.
Transportation – Driving Vehicles; Office Management- Managing Company Resources and Assets; Basic Accounting-preparing Financial Reports; Basic Marketing- understanding Marketing Strategies. While all these are popular skill keywords, it’s also very important to tailor them according to the specific job description or type of work needed. Remember that employers don’t want anyone who can do everything, they want someone who can do one thing well. With this idea in mind, take time to identify and write out at least three skills that set you apart from other candidates so you can land an interview with ease.
Go beyond your comfort zone and use skills you are weak at or don’t have experience with
It’s important not to be too humble and think that you have enough experience for your resume. Including skills that are outside of your comfort zone will show hiring managers that you are willing to learn and can adapt. For example, if you have a lot of marketing skills but no public speaking experience, include Public Speaking on your resume even though it’s something you’re weak at or don’t have much experience with.
There is always someone who can help when learning a new skill, so don’t fear the challenge. Use these skills as examples -Public Speaking: Invite friends over for an informal presentation and record it using your phone. Share this video with potential employers as an example of your ability to deliver speeches effectively.
Computer Programming: If you want to work in software development, but lack any computer programming skills on your resume, offer to volunteer some time working at a non-profit organization or open source project doing the things you want to do (and know how to do) without pay.
Use skill keywords properly
There are a few ways to identify skill keywords that should go on your resume. First, take a look at your past positions and think about what kinds of skills were valuable in those roles. Next, see if you can incorporate those skills into new applications or skills you might be interested in developing. You should also tailor your search to reflect the desired position; for example, if you’re seeking a position as an office manager, don’t include examples of customer service representative work experience. Finally, research related job descriptions to help understand which skills are most important for the type of job you want. Take some time to decide which skills will best represent you. Include only the skills that show off your strengths.