Summary:
What skills should I include on my CV? In this article, we dig into the 5 Top Skills to put on your CV or resume.
In today’s competitive job search market, you must tailor your CV.
For example, align your transferable, hard skills and experience with the position you apply for.
Here’s your essential guide.
The five top CV/resume skills are:
- Teamwork
- Clear communication
- Problem-solving
- Planning and executing
- Flexibility
Highlight your skills in your CV or resume skills section, and you will start receiving more interviews than you get now.
There was a time when all you needed to land a good job was a degree and relevant hard skills. You would see a job posting and apply.
And if you were qualified, you would likely get the job.
But times have changed. Now, there are always more people looking for jobs than are available.
And transferable skills or soft skills have become just as important as basic hard skills, technical skills, or industry-specific skills that companies want.
If you apply for a good job, you can be sure hundreds of other candidates also want it.
And many have similar soft and hard skills or experience to you.
Job scarcity has made the labor market tight and globally competitive.
As a job seeker passionate about landing a high-paying job, you must stand out.
And must-have skills play a big part in being successful!
One of the most effective ways to stand out is by honing your strategies to gain an edge.
So, ‘What skills should I include on my CV?’ Focus on your most important transferable and hard skills and relevant experience.
Marketing yourself to potential employers needs more than just going through the motions.
Invest the time and effort to be successful in your job search!
Here are three more in-demand skills to include in your CV to get employers and human resources managers to notice you:
- People management
- Project management
- Risk management
Even emphasizing your knowledge of stress management methods can help make you appear more attractive to hiring managers.
So where do you start?
You build a professional CV or resume with a soft and hard skills section that will impress any hiring manager.
Highlight the hard and soft skills employers or recruiters want to see.
Having the right skills to show potential employers can be the deciding factor in getting an interview or not!
If it’s your first time applying for a job, check out some examples below.
What Skills Should I Include in My CV Or Resume?
Apart from relevant hard skills and technical knowledge, here are the 5 Top Soft Skills you need on your CV or resume:
1. Teamwork
Contrary to what you may think, most employers are more interested in how well you work in a team.
Your ability to be a team player, not your individual hard skills. Surprised?
Years of experience have shown that candidates who can work well in a team are also fast learners.
Also, there is hardly any job that will not need you to work with others to complete tasks.
The ability to be a team player is a soft skill in much demand.
An HR manager or employer will value this skill.
Why? Because they know it can help achieve the organization’s goals.
A National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) identified teamwork as the number one soft skill employers look for in candidates.
The report mentions that most employers or institutions prefer candidates who are open to new ideas and inputs.
Another soft skill or attribute they seek is the ability to consider other people’s interests.
There is a place for independence and individuality at work.
But most management experts agree that ongoing growth comes from the collaboration of all organization members ─ teamwork.
Make sure you can provide examples of previous successful team experiences.
Prepare an example of how your skills contributed to the team’s achievement of a project or task at work on time.
2. Effective Communication
Your ability to communicate clearly with others is a critical skill.
Verbal and written communication skills form the starting point of any organizational activity.
You may need to communicate with many departments in the organization to complete a task.
Be it in the planning or execution of tasks or in coordinating a project.
Possessing excellent communication skills helps you both at work and in other aspects of life away from work.
Proficiency in communication has a positive impact on superiors, colleagues, clients, and customers.
With experience as an effective communicator, you will always be an asset to any organization or industry.
Make sure you can identify examples of when your communication skills helped achieve an organizational goal or objective.
Here are 13 various ways of highlighting communication skills.
Pro Tip
What skills should I include on my CV?
Imagine when your communication skills added value to a task or project.
By communicating clearly, did you manage to help a colleague or co-worker?
Did your communication skills help achieve a positive outcome in a work situation?
Developing your communication skills can also help you to become a good motivator and listener.
These aspects of good management and leadership will help you manage others.
And help them achieve positive outcomes in their jobs more quickly.
3. Problem-Solving And Decision-Making
Employers need candidates with highly developed problem-solving skills.
It is because almost every organization needs to solve problems of one kind.
So, your resume or CV skills section should include an example to show you have experience in identifying and solving problems.
It’s also a good idea to show an example of your creativity in problem-solving.
Well-developed problem-solving skills usually go together with good decision-making skills.
Being able to make the right decisions when solving a problem is critical.
So, if you have experience and a track record of good decision-making, make sure to highlight it in the skills section of your CV.
Meanwhile, CVJury offers free online CV builder and resume builder to help you crush your job search quickly to help you crush your job search fast and easily.
Most employers value candidates who can demonstrate a track record of good decision-making.
With good problem-solving and decision-making skills, employers and institutions will always value you.
4. Good Planning And Execution
Most projects and tasks employees work on need effective planning, time management, and execution skills.
The transferable and hard skills section of your resume or CV should include an example showing your organizational and planning skills.
Expertise in planning the various stages of a project and delegating tasks are critical job skills.
Also, highlight your excellent time-management and project-management skills and experience.
Why? Many projects or tasks are time-sensitive!
Consistently delivering results as a project manager on time is worth boasting about.
Don’t be shy about it!
Project planning and management skills make you finish tasks on time.
This ensures a positive outcome, something a manager or employer values.
Strong planning and execution skills help any organization to achieve its goals.
You’ll need to show on your CV or resume that you can prioritize and follow up on pending tasks.
Also, you can quickly adapt to any scenario changes and still achieve the company’s goals.
This is critical when applying for a position as a manager.
Pro Tip
Briefly describe a previous project that you worked on as a manager.
And demonstrate how you successfully planned and executed specific parts of it.
Planning and executing are essential to the success of every project.
You need to show you have the necessary critical thinking skills for completing tasks successfully, to impress hiring managers.
5. Flexibility
Many employers urgently need employees who are dynamic, agile, and adaptable to changing situations.
Include an example in your CV or résumé to demonstrate that you are adaptable, flexible, and can handle dynamic scenarios.
You must be able to evaluate and question the analysis of a changing situation and respond accordingly.
Overcoming unforeseen obstacles, dealing with delays, or reacting constructively to new circumstances are essential management skills.
Producing the best results in dynamic work environments will make you a sought-after employee.
And it will make you stand out and help advance your career.
Pro Tip
What skills should I include on my CV?
You must demonstrate relevant soft and hard skills in your job application.
A hiring manager recruiting for a Software Development group doesn’t care about your in-depth industry experience in marketing.
Your soft skills in marketing might be relevant if you’ve successfully marketed software/apps.
Or show how your soft skills in marketing have given you insight into how to achieve the goals of the Software Development group.
Closing Thoughts
Creating an interview-winning CV or resume is not a walk in the park.
You must highlight your soft skills and experience to make a significant difference to a potential employer.
Always remember to keep your CV or résumé short and concise to succeed in your job search. And ensure you include details and examples of the essential skills and abilities to make an excellent first impression.
Now you know the soft skills you should include in your CV or resume. Job skills will impress the next recruiter or hiring manager who receives your CV!
Pro Tip
Remember to tailor your CV and soft skills to the job description of the position you are applying for.
