7 Best Skills to Have on a Resume to Get Noticed by Recruiters in 2024

Employers are looking for applicants with the best skills.

In your resume, you must put the traits they request in the actual job description, but you can also add seven of the general core skills for every job, which are:

• Communication
• Initiative
• Technical know-how
• Interpersonal abilities
• Leadership
• Problem-Solving
• Time Management

These core competencies are crucial in almost every job and are good skills to put on a resume.

Most recruiters get inundated with resumes, so make sure that yours stands out by including as many of these core competencies as you can.

When you are thinking about resume ideas for skills, be sure to cover your bases well with evidence and data to back them up.

The Best Skills to Put on a Resume

1. Communication

Communication is crucial in almost every single job and one of the best skills to have on a resume.

You have to work with other people (whether they are customers, colleagues or stakeholders), and you have to be able to explain what you have achieved as well as what is still on your docket.

The ability to communicate well signifies someone who can move upward in an organization and who would be a good hire.

2. Initiative

The ability to take charge and get work done without being micromanaged as you progress in your career is really important.

Managers want to know that they can trust you to get on with things without having to look over your shoulder.

Also, if you see minor issues come up, and you are able to fix them without having to ask for lots of hand-holding, then that is impressive to your employers.

3. Technical Know-How

In today's world, technical knowledge is almost assumed.

Everyone should be able to use a computer and work using software like Slack or programs like Microsoft Excel without too much trouble.

Being able to handle the next level of technology, such as editing videos, uploading appropriate items to social media, and managing digital content is the next level.

The more of this know-how you can bring to the table, the more impressive and enticing you will be to recruiters.

Of course, if you have in-depth knowledge like coding ability, that will stand you in excellent stead for jobs in the field of software development or related ones like data analysis.

4. Interpersonal Abilities

Understanding people and getting on with them is the bedrock of most work and business.

The ability to communicate and interact effectively with different types of people is definitely a managerial skill that is sought after.

The know-how to handle conflict, negotiate with others, and to be able to understand and utilize the motivations of other people all come under the umbrella of interpersonal abilities.

5. Leadership

There are many definitions of leadership, but the one that might be most appropriate here is the ability to hold a vision in mind and bring other people along with you to achieve it.

Great leaders can be born or made – the ability to get things done and to keep people onside is highly important, so try and develop that skill.

If you can evidence strong leadership ability, you will definitely be in the top percentage of applicants for any job.

6. Dedication

Employees want to know that you are keen to do everything you can to get and keep your job with them. They want to know that you are focused and determined to do a great job.

In their world, the bottom line is really what matters, so finding dedication and reliability are hugely important when recruiting.

Show that you are hard-working and that you are committed to the role, and it will stand you in good stead during your application.

7. Time Management

We live in a busy world, and everyone has to manage their time effectively. This becomes harder when there are multiple demands on your time – for example, you may have an elderly family to care for or children who require extra attention.

If you can manage your time and show that you are able to give 100% of your energy while at work to what needs to get done, then that will be impressive to an employer.

If you can do a lot of things and do them well, it will impress the recruiters, so be sure to stress how well you can multitask effectively.

These above skills are all really important to be able to demonstrate and evidence, either in your application resume or in the job interview that follows.

You also want to be sure that you’re adding the skills that are specific to the job that you are applying for. These are more important than the general skills above and can be found in the job description or advert that you are responding to.

The Benefits of Adding Skills to a Resume

When you add skills to your resume, you are letting the recruiter know what you are able to get done in the workplace. They are specifically trying to hire people who are a good fit for the role – because, for them, turnover is expensive. They want you to be someone who sticks around.

You can make things easier for the recruiter by putting the keywords that relate to the skills that they are seeking into your resume.

When you do this, it makes your resume stand out amongst the others. Also, if they are using automated software, then your resume will be sifted to the top of the pile.

Again, the best skills to have on a resume are the ones that they are specifically looking for.

If you are nervous about how to do this, consider hiring a coach to help or a resume builder.

Where to Put Skills on a Resume

Typically, there are different formats you can use in your CV.

One format is an experienced-based resume which focuses on the previous jobs you have had.

Another format (usually used for school leavers or new graduates) is an educationally-based format or a skills-based format.

In an experienced-based resume, you can pepper your skills throughout the different work experiences that you have mentioned or have separate skills heading to go through them in detail.

In the second style, where you have less experience, you definitely want a skills section that specifies your talents and attributes, as you don’t have many job roles to fill up space.

If you are using an education-based format or skills-based CV, then the skills should be specified upfront and foremost rather than just drawn out through your experiences.

If you want to use a personal statement in your resume, as is now commonly done, you should make sure that your skills are spelled out clearly in this early section.

You may already know what your strengths are, so that’s a good place to start.

Again, you want to make sure that the skills you specify are an exact match or as close as possible to those given in the job description as requirements for the role.

What Are Hard Skills vs Soft Skills?

When talking about your skills for the first time, it can be hard to know what to include.

One way to structure the qualities that you want to talk about is by specifying whether they are hard or soft.

We will explain these now.

Hard skills are technical abilities that are specific and can be measured. For instance, those who want to be software developers could list the programs they know how to use.

Website developers could share the CMS systems that they have experience in.

Another hard skill might be knowing how to drive, for example. A lifeguarding license would also be a hard skill – something that is certified and cannot be disputed.

Then there are soft skills. These are personal skills or creative abilities that might come naturally or can be strengthened over time. These are not normally easily measured.

Some great soft skills to mention in general include communication skills, adaptability, self-motivation, people skills, time management and the ability to work under pressure.

What are the Best Professional Skills Examples to Include?

When you are applying for a job, you want to make sure the first skills that you put on your CV are the skills that are being sought after by the employer. These could be, for example, leadership skills, initiative, attention to detail and time management.

If you are looking most for a job when there are no descriptions or adverts — perhaps it's a cold application you are making — you should put in your CV key skills that are generally important.

There are several more skills to potentially include on a general resume on top of the core competencies mentioned in the introduction. These examples of skills to put on a resume include:

Problem-Solving Skills

Most jobs require you to solve problems.

The ability to get things done and fix issues is a powerful one. This could also be linked to ‘initiative,’ which is another popular item that employers love to see in a future employee.

Resume ideas for skills like problem-solving might require you to get creative, so think about all the contexts in which you problem-solve – even if it’s not obvious.

You can practice critical thinking tests and even use them as an example of how you enjoy solving problems in your free time – they’re not that different from Sudoku.

Teamwork

Working with other people is really important as you progress in your career.

The more senior you are, the more you will have to connect with other people and get things done.

You will have to delegate and plan with other people and motivate a team, as well as get things done for your business’s bottom line.

Organization skills

Being organized is important for every job — good skills to add to a resume are like this, applicable everywhere.

You need to multitask, as well as manage your time efficiently to reach your deadlines and coordinate your home life as well as your work life.

To not let things overwhelm you, you will need good organizational skills to keep you well-balanced.

Responsibility

Every employer wants to have staff that they can rely on.

Being responsible, turning up to work on time and generally being a good hire requires you to be disciplined.

Nobody wants to fire someone who is irresponsible, as it’s embarrassing all around, so make sure that you demonstrate yourself as someone with good judgment who can take care of business responsibly.

If you want examples of how situational judgment matters, you can look at questions online.

Project management

This is essentially the ability to get things done, and it is one of the best examples of professional skills.

Whether you are taking a project from start to finish — or if you are coming in partway — your ability to complete work is really important to an employer.

They don't want to hire people that they cannot rely on to get projects done.

Foreign languages

Sometimes, a job will specify foreign languages, but even if it doesn't, the ability to speak multiple languages shows a discipline that is very attractive to an employer.

Foreign languages are great job skills for resume applications because they show a breadth of learning and an ability to do more than just the basics.

Emotional intelligence

Having good emotional intelligence will help you progress in your career.

Like teamwork skills, the ability to understand other people and their emotions, as well as what motivates them, is crucial.

On top of that, the ability to manage your own emotions and handle these well in the workplace is really important to succeed.

Emotional intelligence, also known as EQ, is a soft skill that can be developed, and it’s a great thing to include in your resume.

These resume skills examples above give you more options of what to add, but remember to include the things on the job description first, as that’s what the recruiters are specifically looking for.

How to Demonstrate Skills on a Resume

When you talk about your skills, it's not okay just to say that you are good at a specific thing – you have to be able to give some evidence. For example, if you say you are a good leader, you would then have to showcase some leadership activities.

You might say that you led your soccer team to success in the 2022 City Championships.

A good way to talk about real examples is to use the STAR method.

Or, in another example, you could demonstrate your multitasking and teamwork as job skills for a resume by describing a school fashion show in which you raised $300 for a local charity.

If you are unsure about what counts as evidence, think in terms of data and numbers.

Factual or objective results go a long way to showing that you really have the skill that you claim on your resume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to talk about your skills on your resume is vital.

If you nail this and match your skills to the job description that you are responding to, you will go a long way toward impressing your future employer.

This article gave several examples of skills to put on a resume, such as leadership and initiative, so be sure to develop them further if you need to.

You must be careful to add data and evidence that really showcase the skills that you cover in your resume.

Once you learn how to perfect the skills on your resume, you will quickly get noticed by recruiters and the automated systems they often use.