What Employers Look For In A Resume Skills Section

Apr 17

Imagine you're a recruiter with a stack of resumes on your desk (or, more likely, a cluttered inbox). You're looking for the perfect candidate—someone who not only meets the job requirements but also fits seamlessly into the company culture. And you have multiple job openings that you're trying to fill as quickly as you can.

Enter the Skills section.

When you only have 6 seconds or so to filter through the noise and identify who has the right skills for the job, an easy-to-skim Skills section is your shortcut to assessing a candidate's qualifications at a glance.

What recruiters don't realize that you don't know is that ATS, the resume screening software they're using to narrow down that vast number of applicants to the most qualified candidates, is also relying on that Skills section. Many applicant tracking systems factor in the placement of keywords on your resume to determine the relevance of your skills.

A Skills section can also indicate to resume screening software and the recruiters behind it that these are your most recent, relevant, functional, job-related skills.

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Key Components of an Effective Skills Section

When it comes to the Skills section, clarity is key. Employers want to quickly find a clear breakdown of your functional expertise and technical prowess. Functional job-related skills are the knowledge, skills, and abilities you need to thrive in the role you're applying for. Technical skills, like programming languages or design software, are essential for demonstrating your proficiency in specific tasks.

Applying for technical roles, like Software Developer or UX Designer? A separate Technical Skills section is a strategic way to trim down a functional Skills section and make your areas of expertise easier to digest.

Let's talk about soft skills, such as communication or collaboration. Soft skills or interpersonal skills are extremely valuable assets to have in your arsenal. These type of skills just don't hold the weight that functional, job-related skills do. Instead, giving clear examples of how you demonstrated soft skills throughout your Experience section will be far more effective than highlighting "Problem Solving" in a Skills section.

Ultimately, your skills need to align with the job requirements. It's not just about listing every skill you possess; it's about tailoring your Skills section to the job you're applying for. So, before you hit "send" on that application, take a moment to customize your Skills section to match the job description.

Examples of Effective Resume Skills

Let's talk specifics. While this isn't a comprehensive list of skills that employers love to see, these are a few foundational functional skills sought after for these roles.

Software Developer

Agile Software Development Lifecycles
Version Control Systems
Cloud Computing
Cybersecurity

Registered Nurse

Patient Assessment
Care Planning
Electronic Medical Records (ERM) Systems
Medication Administration

Project Manager

Project Scheduling
Budget Management
Risk Mitigation
Stakeholder Engagement

Financial Analyst

Financial Modeling
Forecasting
Budgeting
Compliance

Sales Representative

Client Relationship Management
Negotiation
Territory Management
Pipeline Development

Marketing Manager

Campaign Management
Brand management
Data Analysis and Reporting
Conversion Rate Optimization

Data Analyst

Data Visualization
Quantitative and Statistical Analysis
Data Cleaning
Data Privacy Laws

Human Resources Manager

Employment Laws and Regulations
Talent Acquisition and Recruitment
Employee Engagement
Compensation and Benefits Administration

What about those soft skills we briefly talked about? You'll make a far better impression on hiring decision-makers if you can give clear examples of how you demonstrated soft skills instead of listing them. Here are a few prompts for the top sought-after soft skills:

Communication: Examples explaining concepts or updates clearly to customers or team members.
Leadership: Examples of guiding, motivating, or mentoring others to complete projects or tasks.
Problem Solving: Examples of identifying and resolving issues, collaborating with others, and implementing solutions.
Adaptability: Examples of learning new technologies, methodologies, or processes.
Teamwork: Examples of listening to the perspectives of others, contributing ideas, offering support, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals.
Time Management: Examples of prioritizing tasks, setting deadlines, and delegating responsibilities.
Critical Thinking: Examples of analyzing information, identifying trends and patterns, evaluating risks, and proposing strategic solutions or improvements.
Initiative: Examples of proactively identifying and resolving process inefficiencies or team productivity issues.

How to Showcase Skills Effectively

After compiling your skills list, it is time to present them in the best possible light. Creating an easy-to-skim keyword bank that's 2-3 lines maximum is best if you're applying for roles similar to your previous work history. Focusing on your top 6-8 job-related skills is more impactful than a dense Skills section.

If you're making a transition where you have fewer functional skills to highlight, use bullet points to make your skills easy to skim and organize your skills based on relevance and importance with the most critical skills at the top.

Common Mistakes

1 | Quality Over Quantity

Avoid the temptation to list every skill you possess. It is not about showcasing that you have a wide range of skills but rather you have expertise in targeted skills that are needed for the position.

2 | Don't Embellish Your Skills List

Be honest about your proficiency level—there's no shame in being a beginner and simply stating "Familiarity with X" instead of listing it as a hard skill.

3 | Avoid Plagiarism

Whatever you do, don't copy and paste generic skill lists from the internet. Recruiters can spot a phony (and even AI-generated) Skills section from a mile away.

Conclusion

The Skill section is the cornerstone of a compelling resume whether it is in the hands of a recruiter or being processed by ATS. This section bridges the gap between candidate qualifications and employer expectations at a quick glance. Job seekers can gain a competitive edge by prioritizing this section when developing a resume, keeping it concise and targeted to position them as the best fit for the job that they want.

Steph Cartwright, CPRW // Certified Resume Writer

Author Profile: Steph Cartwright, CPRW

Steph Cartwright is a Certified Resume Writer, LinkedIn Strategist, and Founder of Off The Clock Resumes. She helps job seekers get unstuck and get a foot in the door at the companies they’d love to work for with their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and job search plans.

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