How to Describe Your Communication Skills
in a Resume
See also: Writing a Covering Letter
The aphorism "You never get another opportunity to make a first impression" is never more accurate than when you send your resume or CV to a potential employer. Since this is likely to be your first introduction to the business or organization, you should spend the time needed to make it an amazing introduction. An excellent resume or CV can open doorways to your future career, while a deficient one can similarly shut that door fast.
When you are seeking a position that expects you to speak with associates, customers or the public, you may have to explain that you have excellent relational and communication skills. By featuring your relational and communication skills in your resume/CV, you can demonstrate your strengths so that your future boss quickly recognizes you as a top up-and-comer.
This article examines how to describe communication skills in a resume or a CV and will assist you in identifying a suitable layout and model.
Communication is a delicate ability that takes a lot of time and practice to master. If you are particularly gifted in this area, including examples and proof of your excellent communication skills on your resume/CV will help to demonstrate that you grasp the concept of cooperation and are likely to cooperate and communicate well with other people.
Excellent communication skills are particularly significant in roles where you deal with people, for example, promotional roles, advertising or negotiation. Nevertheless, they can also be of benefit in a wide range of other enterprises. When drafting your resume, it is important to know how to write a resume introduction as this will not only make your CV great but also give it a professional look.
Ten Communication Skills to Feature in a Resume/CV
Here are ten different ways to feature relational and communication skills in your resume/CV:
- Writing
- Speaking
- Presenting/demonstrating
- Listening/concentrating
- Negotiating/talking terms
- Team building
- Giving and Receiving feedback
- Motivation/incentive
- Honesty/righteousness
- Empathy/sympathy
1. Writing
Regardless of whether the work expects you to write business reports, create promotional copy, or send compelling messages, having excellent writing skills is important in many positions. When highlighting writing skills in your resume/CV, consider being explicit by including terms such as copywriting or report writing, with examples.
2. Talking
If you are seeking a position which requires you to make verbal presentations to clients or other stakeholders, you will need solid verbal communication skills. Featuring these skills on your resume/CV, with examples, can be a savvy way of demonstrating that you understand the best way to share your thoughts succinctly and convincingly.
3. Presenting/Demonstrating
Jobs that expect you to make presentations to partners or the public will require you to have excellent presentation skills. When you include examples of these abilities in your resume/CV, you can demonstrate your power to dazzle and ability to persuade large audiences with your public talking capabilities.
4. Listening/Concentrating
The ability to really listen is a rare skill that will be significant if you are applying for a position in customer service, social work, on the board, or in numerous other fields. Featuring and including examples of your excellent listening skills shows that you really understand what others are saying and appreciate how to make partners and customers feel special.
5. Negotiating/Talking Terms
In many fields, such as making deals, the law, or as an executive, you may need to understand how to negotiate. Including evidence of your negotiation skills, with examples, on your resume/CV proves that you can evaluate other people's requirements precisely, convey your requests clearly, and bargain successfully.
6. Team Building
Every enterprise demands team building abilities, and strong skills in this area demonstrate your suitability for an administrative role. Demonstrating these abilities in your resume or CV shows that you can engage in group discussions, inspire teams to accomplish objectives, and value your colleagues appropriately.
7. Giving and Receiving Feedback
Giving and receiving feedback is a fundamental part of working with a group. Include examples of situations when you either acted on feedback given or were able to skillfully give feedback to others. These experiences, and the expertise gained, shows that you can cooperate with other people and appropriately gauge their reactions.
8. Motivation/Incentives
If you are working in an influential position, you should have the ability to inspire others. Including examples of times when you inspired others in your resume/CV shows that you can share your knowledge and motivate colleagues to work productively and meet their set objectives.
9. Honesty/Righteousness
Honesty is an effective way of building trust with others. Demonstrating that you value fair and open relationships shows that you hold others in high esteem, are truthful and straightforward, and value these characteristics in within your team.
10. Empathy/Sympathy
Sympathy and empathy are regarded as fundamental characteristics for experts in any industry, particularly at the management level. When you include these abilities within your resume/CV, you show that you value other people’s perspectives and are receptive to other’s thoughts and beliefs, which will help you excel in your chosen career.
Tips for Writing A Resume/CV That Shows Your Communication Skills
While writing a resume or CV, make each section as succinct as possible to demonstrate good writing skills. Focus on incorporating the most important and relevant details, omitting any filler words or conventional data that does not add value. Design your CV so that each section is straightforward, and its contents quickly understood.
Remember that human resource professionals assess hundreds of resumes/CVs for each job opening. Making your own resume simple to understand and the relevant information easy to extract can help you stand out top potential employee.
Always use an expert textual style when composing a resume or CV —picking a standard text style guarantees that your resume/CV will be easy to understand, which again demonstrates your excellent relational and communication skills.
Consider using standard typeface such as Calibri, Georgia, Helvetica, Arial, or Times New Roman. Use a standard font size like 10 or 12 to make your resume as easily read as possible.
Further Reading from Skills You Need
The Skills You Need Guide to Getting a Job
Develop the skills you need to get that job.
This eBook is essential reading for potential job-seekers. Not only does it cover identifying your skills but also the mechanics of applying for a job, writing a CV or resume and attending interviews.
The Bottom Line
Merely listing your abilities and skills on a CV means little as these capabilities are self-declared.
Anyone can claim they are persevering, genuine, committed, wise, and quite a few another incredible sounding, yet unsupported terms. If you are a self-starter, how will they know this? You're an issue solver. Demonstrate it! Just referencing your abilities with no supporting evidence is not very persuading.
We have seen resumes/CVs where the up-and-coming have professed to have extraordinary relational and communication skills. Be that as it may, the resume/CV was loaded with syntactic and other blunders. What's more, the resume/CV didn't convey the applicant’s skills relevant to the job posting. These are not the signs of a decent communicator. Focus on demonstrating your abilities by evidencing what you have achieved and what quantifiable or determinable outcomes you have delivered.
About the Author
Idrees Shafiq is a Content Marketing Manager at Cognizantt with diverse experience in the field of Digital Marketing. He has helped companies achieve their marketing goals through creative, well-researched content that follows the best SEO practices.