Crafting a winning resume is essential to secure an invitation to an interview. However, this task is not an easy one. Resume writing rules have been transforming since the emergence of the applicant tracking systems (ATS) that aiming to finally put quality over quantity.

Nowadays resume content has literally turned into a leaflet telling what you achieved and what you can do, should you get employed at the targeted company. There is no place for vague sentences and irrelevant information any longer.

Skills are especially critical for your resume. They also serve as keywords helping your resume climb higher to the top of the candidate list generated by the ATS. Yet, it’s hard to determine what skills to add or avoid, which ones are common or specific, and which look more advantageous, et cetera.

With skills for a resume being a big and interesting topic, we turned to specialists to find the answers we’d been looking for. And we’ve come up with the list of skills that any and every resume should include. Wonder what capabilities made it to our chart? Here we go!

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving skills are essential for all positions you intend to apply for regardless of the field. You should definitely know the key skills needed for practical problem-solving. Recruiters look for strong candidates who can take ownership of the situation and manage tricky issues on their own. Problem-solving is not only about you being able to solve what has already gone wrong. It’s also about being proactive and mitigating issues before they arise.

Communication

Communication is a critical skill for all internal processes. Whether you lead a team or are a part of it, you need to communicate to successfully perform your duties. Clients, colleagues, and third parties – they all rely on your ability to explain and sell your idea.

Emotional Intelligence

This skill will look great on any resume. However, you should only add it if you actually have it. It means you're capable of controlling your own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Such a skill is a great asset when the jobs you intend to land are project-based or team-oriented.

Attention to Detail

Being attentive is not only about detecting errors in documents or processes. It’s also about following all the instructions, which is especially important if the work of others depends on the part you contribute. Paying attention is your duty while being attentive to detail is a skill that can help fix potential mistakes and avoid future troubles.

---

---

Computer Competency

Even if your dream job does not specifically require you to be familiar with certain types of software, you’ll definitely be working with one or two tools. Mentioning your computer software and application knowledge will help you hint at being tech-savvy and forward-thinking when it comes to emerging technologies.

Project Management

Almost every job demands candidates to be good at project and time management. This skill becomes especially useful in the modern dynamic, fast-paced working environment. Most roles you performed before required project management; just think of all your duties through this lens. If you know a few tools used in project management, that would be a plus too.

Data Analysis

You are not required to be a big data guru to put this skill on your resume. It is a bit vague, but most jobs will require you to work with certain metrics and analyze them. If you can do or have already done it, why not include data analysis in your skillset and add value to your resume?

Negotiation

If you are a confident negotiator, this skill must go on your resume whatever position you want to get. Negotiation is more than just communication. It’s an ability to establish rapport, broker deals, and build trusting relationships for years. Negotiation can secure your career growth if you indeed are great at persuading other people.

Marketing

If you are knowledgeable of marketing tricks and techniques without any formal experience to prove it, do put this skill on your resume. Today marketing drives sales, product development, and fuels business. Not being a pro but being able to speak the same language with experts also makes your candidacy stand out.

Writing

Many jobs require employees to be good at writing. In any workplace, you will have to communicate with your colleagues, write business letters to management and clients, compile reports, and so on. Writing becomes a must even if it’s not mentioned in the job description. So, putting it on your resume might be the right move.

Foreign Languages

If you know a few foreign languages, add them to your skills. This can set you apart from your competitors, especially if this language coincides with the company’s demographics. Even if foreign languages are not required in the job listing, this skill still puts you ahead of other candidates.

Numerical Skills

Lots of fields look for specialists who can count well and work with numbers. Being competent in math is a great skill that can make you more successful in the competition. Just consider the best way to word this ability based on the nature and the role of the positions you apply for.

---

---

Final Words

Building a successful resume that gets an interview often requires you to assess your abilities and skills from several perspectives. Some of them are very field-specific while others are so generic that you may not even recall them professional tips to improve your CV. Sometimes, it’s generic soft skills that make your resume stand out from the crowd because they don’t seem so obvious to others.

That is why we encourage you to list as many skills as you can recall and then filter them based on their relevance. Skills you find easy and not-a-big-deal, others may consider an advantage.

---