9 Skills to Include on Your Resume

You know you're supposed to list job skills on your resume. But what do you list? Is it important to say you can use Microsoft Word? Does it matter that you took four years of college French and spent a semester in Paris? Don't worry. You're not flying blind here. Take a look at nine job skills you should include on your resume, plus a few more suggestions — and some skills you shouldn't mention.

Six Tech Skills That Are Valuable to List

For certain jobs, you want to lead with your tech skills. If you're a pro with Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Excel or Google Analytics, make sure to feature these job skills prominently on your resume. Other valuable tech skills include mastery of WordPress, the ability to develop websites and SEO optimization. Make sure you're truly ready to hit the ground running with the latest tech. If it's listed on your resume, you shouldn't need any training once you get the job.

Add a Couple of Hard Skills

What's a hard skill? Basically, it's a skill on which you could be tested objectively. Hard skills that are in great demand include public speaking and the ability to speak a foreign language, especially, in some regions, Spanish. But which of these job skills do you put on your resume? Easy. Look at the job posting, talk to anyone you know in the company and learn what the position requires. Tailor your resume to make sure the skills you have are properly highlighted.

Soft Skills

Soft skills are a little more difficult to define. These range from time management and problem-solving to collaboration and critical thinking. A prime soft skill that's greatly in demand is project management. The problem is that you can claim these skills but you can't show them off by taking a test. Make these skills sing on your resume by finding ways to quantify them. Don't just mention that you're a great project manager. Instead, point out exactly what you did in your company's startup or how you developed and brought a product to market. Include numbers to show your success.

Skills to Avoid Mentioning

Certain job skills, even tech skills, are assumed to be a given nowadays. You should know how to use a basic word processing program, such as Microsoft Word, and you should know how to use Google. However, don't mention these on your resume. Also avoid mentioning any work experience you have that doesn't relate to the job for which you're applying. Your resume for an IT job with a games startup is not the place to mention that you worked in your college dorm cafeteria.

When you're listing job skills on your resume, always start with the job description. Look at the skills mentioned specifically, especially on the tech side, and read between the lines to understand what soft skills the company seeks in a candidate. Once you have a good understanding of that, you're in the best possible position to tweak your resume to show yourself off at the best advantage.

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