A resume allows you to sell yourself as a professional in search of employment. It lets you showcase your work experience, academic background, and other vital credentials. However, it’s best to highlight your key skills, which is an excellent way to enhance your employability.
Why? About 70% of leaders believe there’s a skills gap in their company or organization. This gap negatively impacts employee performance and business success. As a job applicant, it makes sense to showcase the skills employers are looking for nowadays.
Fret not, as employers DO read resumes to be further discussed below. As some business experts have shared, learn what soft and hard skills to put on your resume.
Read on.
Do Employers Read Resumes?
The straightforward answer is yes! While some employers skim and scan several resumes, others read them intently from one page to another.
As you can see, a resume is sent to human resources (HR) for a job application. This professional document summarizes your employment experience, educational attainment, and other pertinent details. It often comes with a cover letter expressing your interest in an available job. Many organizations use HRM software to streamline the application process and manage resumes effectively.
But how do employers handle resumes?
Job portals usually generate leads for recruitment and staffing companies. Whenever they post job openings, they receive a pile of resumes from potential candidates. However, many job applicants wonder if HR personnel read them.
ResumeGo conducted a survey on resume preferences among nearly 500 hiring professionals (recruiters, HR personnel, hiring managers, and C-level executives). The survey primarily aimed to uncover whether they prefer a one-page or a two-page resume. It revealed they were 2.3 times more likely to choose two-page resumes over one-page resumes.
Further, the survey surprisingly found that hiring professionals read resumes. They are willing to read even those that are two pages long. They indeed spend time reviewing them rather than scanning and skimming their content.
Now, that gives you the confidence to add your skills to your resume since employers read them. But what soft and hard skills should you indicate? Of course, they vary from one industry, employer, and job to another. However, there are popular skills that are in demand these days.
In the next section, learn what top skills to highlight in your resume, as shared by some business experts.
What Soft and Hard Skills To Include in Your Resume
Skills are abilities developed and acquired through training, practice, and/or experience. They are usually required in the workplace for specific jobs or positions. It’s best to highlight them on your resume, whether one or two pages.
That said, discover what soft and hard skills to include in your resume below.
Soft skills
Soft skills are non-technical abilities usually needed in the workplace. Over 90% say they matter as much as or more than hard skills. Likewise, 80% believe they are vital to organizational success.
Below are essential soft skills to add to your resume:
Communication skills
Communication skills are the ability to convey your message to others effectively. They involve relaying information, active listening, and understanding others. Whether oral or written, this skill can make a world of difference in a company or organization.
Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, believes communication is one of the most important soft skills needed in the workplace. “This skill is crucial for promoting solid employee interactions and building good customer relationships. As they say, effective communication is almost always the key to business success.”
Leadership skills
Leaders play a critical role in a company or organization. Not only do they manage a team, but they are also responsible for motivating and engaging team members. They also set goals, delegate tasks, and make business decisions. That makes leadership an essential skill in the workplace.
Roman Zrazhevskiy, Founder and CEO of MIRA Safety, cites the value of leadership skills in the workplace. “I also have my fair share of understanding what it takes to be a good leader. I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about getting others to work for you; it’s about serving them for the good of all.”
Emotional quotient (EQ)
EQ equates to emotional intelligence, an essential skill in the workplace. Harvard defines it as “a set of skills that help us recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions as well as recognize, understand, and influence the emotions of others.” Simply put, EQ entails managing one’s emotions and relating well to others.
Derek Pankaew, Founder of Listening.com, underscores the importance of EQ in the workplace. “In the business world, we put too much emphasis on IQ for solving problems and accomplishing tasks. We fail to realize that an organization consists of people of different backgrounds. So we need those with high EQ, who can work well with others.”
Problem-solving skill
Intelligence quotient (IQ) is as equally important as EQ in the workplace. However, the accurate measure of IQ is the ability to identify and solve problems. That’s where the problem-solving skill comes in—a skill many employers look for!
Nothing beats employees who can see potential issues and find ways to address them. For example, one worker notices that it takes time to accomplish a particular task. He suggests automating tasks to reduce manual work and accelerate processes. That’s how problem-solving works!
Time management
Time management is essential in everyday life, especially in the workplace. It’s the ability to organize time to get things done more efficiently and effectively. The key here is to use your time wisely without compromising your work-life balance. This skill should be reflected on your resume.
There are popular time management techniques you can employ. Think of the Eisenhower Matrix for tackling tasks based on their order of urgency and importance. Consider the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working for 25 minutes, resting for 5 minutes, and repeating. Lastly, employ time blocking by setting time blocks for a series of tasks to accomplish.
Hard skills
Hard skills are specialized abilities required in the workplace. They are usually technical skills you’ve studied, undergone training for, and become certified for. The in-demand hard skills business leaders need today are data analysis (44.1%), project management (43.9%), and artificial intelligence (36.1%).