In a resume with a few headings and little space to talk about yourself, how can you highlight your skills? The lack of space may not be so bad, because it will help you to synthesize by keeping only the essential information. But what information should you communicate to recruiters? Which of your professional, academic or extracurricular experiences should you highlight? In what way? In this article, we present you 5 key points to talk about your skills in your resume.
The different types of skills
When we talk about skills, they can be technical or soft. The latter are also called hard skills and soft skills! Here are some examples to help you understand them better :
Technical skills
Among the existing technical skills, here are some by profession:
In the computer industry
JavaScript, Python, HTML, CSS...
In the commercial professions
Telephone prospecting, negotiation, writing commercial offers, mastering sales closing techniques...
In the finance professions
Accounting, analysis and interpretation of financial data, financial reporting...
In the management field
Project management, staff management, conflict resolution, delegation skills
In the marketing field
Development of a content strategy, copywriting, internal communication, ability to calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) of campaigns, natural and paid referencing, management of social networks, data analysis, mastery of branding...
In the field of nature protection
Knowledge of natural environments, fauna and flora, management of natural areas, naturalist diagnosis, animation and public awareness, maintenance of biodiversity...
In the care and health professions
Evaluation of the patient's condition, accompaniment of people in their daily activities, application of care procedures...
Soft skills
Here are some examples by profession:
In the computer industry
Rigor, time management, ability to solve problems, ability to question oneself, patience, listening, good communication, team spirit...
In the sales professions
Proactivity, organization, time management, active listening, resilience, benevolence, curiosity, autonomy, emotional intelligence...
In the finance professions
Rigor, adaptability, organization, time management, stress management, ability to communicate clearly...
In the management professions
Pragmatism, optimism, leadership, humility, flexibility, transparency, listening...
In the marketing professions
Organization, empathy, creativity, analytical skills, listening, flexibility...
In the field of nature protection
Organization, empathy, pedagogy, adaptability, public speaking skills...
In the care and health professions
Good interpersonal skills, rigor, empathy, teamwork, sense of responsibility...
Know your skills
Every experience, whether it is an association, a sport, a school or a job, has given you skills. Even if this internship wasn't the most exciting in the world, if you didn't get along with the team or if you don't feel like you learned much, you have surely developed additional skills. To identify your skills, you'll have to go back to your experiences! Here is an example of an experience, from which some skills are derived.
You have a first professional experience as an account manager in the SSE. And your missions were the following :
- Participation in client meetings: drafting of estimates and contracts
- Identification and response to customer needs
- Management of a customer portfolio on a dedicated tool
- Organization and animation of customer events
- Participation in the improvement of internal processes to better manage the customer relationship
What are the key skills you were able to develop during this experience ?
- Customer relations through meetings, understanding needs and group facilitation
- Organization and rigor through the management of a client portfolio and their data
- Patience with certain clients
- Strategic analysis to improve internal processes
- Perseverance to convince teams to change certain processes in the organization
Selecting key skills for your resume
Depending on the position and the organization of the employer you are applying for, the needs will be different. Therefore, you will have to select key competencies according to the needs of these organizations in order to catch the recruiter's attention and get an interview.
Using the skills acquired in the above example, here are 2 ways to present your experiences to the recruiter in order to highlight the skills adapted to the position to be filled and to make a success of your resume:
To find a job in a sales position, you could talk about
- your ability to manage a client portfolio
- organize and manage your time,
- understanding and responding to customer needs,
- to be proactive in improving processes
If you are applying for a project management position, you can highlight :
- your ability to adapt to different personalities
- your patience in managing human relations
- your ability to organize and manage your time,
- your perseverance in accompanying and leading organizational changes, because sometimes projects take time to materialize and involve many hazards
How to create a resume?
For more details on how to create a resume:
- present the purpose of your resume,
- present your academic and professional background
- highlight your skills
- choose an appropriate visual and typography
- work on the layout
- write a resume in a chronological manner,
we also advise you to read our dedicated article : how to make a cv ?
To go further
👉 Writing a spontaneous application email
👉 Changing the way you look at your job search period
👉 Write a cover letter for an internship in 10 steps
👉 Volunteering to facilitate professional insertion into the impact
To take action
👉Find all our job offers