4 Ways to Describe your Skills in a Resume: Tips and Examples

Everybody wants to get a good job, with a generous salary as well as engaging tasks. But how many people can present their attainments and advantages in their CV in the best way? The skills section of a resume can highlight the merits that represent you as a promising employee if you make it with a clear structure as well as relevant keywords.

So, how to create a functional resume, what combination and methods will be useful for this? Also, there are examples of creating skills section, read on.

Way 1. Simple bullet list: brief and to the point

Simple-bullet lists are one of the easiest and at the same time effective ways to highlight the attainments. It can help the job seeker to tell about him-/herself shortly but capacious, using just key information about the skills. Thus, the simple-bullet list of the knowledge of the Product Manager’s CV, for example, can look like this:

• Leadership;
• Detail Oriented;
• Time Management;
• Problem Solving;
• Analytical thinking.

Also, the job seeker can indicate some hard skills or specific expertise, as:

• PowerPoint;
• CRM (Customer relationship management) systems;
• Digital Marketing;
• Project Management;
• Defining Product;
• Customer Expertise;
• And other attainments that can show competence.

The main thing is to name your skills clearly, exactly and truly. Note: if you want to convince the recruiter that you’re a decent employee, indicate the knowledge with a context. For instance, if you named Project Management in the list, you should specify the experience in this skill, as it will interest the employer firstly. So, try to add info about your job experience, especially in the context of the concrete skill: how long did you work with it, what results were achieved, etc.

Even if you use the rating systems and indicated certain skill with high points ( 5\5 or ‘master-level’), don’t forget about the context and experience description, or recruiter can get doubts about the trustworthiness of your words.

Way 2. A detailed list (with an example)

By the way about the context, lists with expanded bullets can uncover the context of each point of the list. Check out an example:

• JavaScript – 3+ years worked as a JavaScript developer in Soft Solutions company. Got JavaScript certificate in 2016, after that a Master’s Degree in Computer Science in 2018. I have experience in Jasmine, MOCHA, Yarn.

This method takes more space in the resume template, so it’s a better focus on the 4 – 5 necessary qualifications of your job. If there is something to add, it can be mentioned in the job experience section or personal qualities. Try to write about key skills only.

Way 3. What did you learn from the previous job?

The detailed job experience list with indicated key attainments after each point is a good approach to describe a career path and emphasize the employee’s qualities. To make such a text easier to read, you can write the experience as key words after text block about the recent job. Or you can write about hard skills in the context of job experience, at the same time to mention soft skills bellow, or in other sections.

Read the example:

Animal Health Center, Starkville, MS

Worked as a veterinary assistant from 2014 to 2019. My main responsibilities were: animal care, surgery assisting, laboratory tests control, consultations, assisting with X-ray positioning. Passed the courses about veterinary software, worked with such tools as VETLINKSQL and Smart Flow.

Took part in World Vet Conference in 2017 with the report about mammary tumor statistics at dogs. From 2016 got a certificate for surgery practice, including mastectomy, sterilization, lithotomy.

Achieved skills: Working with a hematological-, urine analyzer, X-Ray, Ultrasound scan diagnosis, operative surgery.

Thus, you can represent the experience in a chronological format, with accenting on professional attainments and applying it.

Way 4. Separation on categories: why is it effective

Some roles require wide set-skills, especially if you apply for Manager’s or Director’s position. In this case, the applicant should describe his or her abilities in detail but laconic. For example, you can separate the attainments into categories, like here:

1. Soft skills: Critical thinking, Conflict management, Empathy, Negotiation.
2. Hard skills: Decision making, Employee Relations, Legal knowledge.
3. Human Resources Skills: Project management, Customer service.

Or the applicant can set a list of disciplines that are in his/her competency to show the ability to manage employees and processes of these sectors:

1. Product Management;
2. Advertising Management;
3. PR Management;
4. Internet Marketing;
5. B2B or B2C Marketing.

Or you can even combine simple bullet lists of the specializations and detailed lists about it. It gives fairly exhaustive info about job seeker’s opportunities, so employer understands what prospects can the applicant offer for the company, what should an HR ask about.

Skills List: What is important to know

To sum up, the qualification list is your index of suiting the candidature to the employer’s requirements. That’s why experienced HR managers advice in this article to get to know the requirements of interesting positions first, after that, check out the list with needed ones and find out, what attainments do you need to master. Or you already have it, but forgot to add to the list.

A resume optimization tool Jobscan is at your service, to make an effective CV with time-saving. All you need to do is upload the resume and add it to the jobs list. The system compares the positions automatically, after what shows the result. It will be easier to see what skills were missed in the CV or how does the candidacy suit the job.

Use a smart tool, create an expert resume, set a perfect qualification section and get your dream job with minimum time.