harappa
Menu header-logo
  • Our Offerings
    • For Individual Or Small Teams
    • For Managers
    • Accelerated Management Program
  • Resources
    • Harappa Habits Matter
    • Harappa Events
  • Our Faculty
  • Thrive Stories
Schedule A Meeting
Schedule a Meeting

Try  now, no signup required!

Try Now
Go Back To Harappa Blogs

What Are The Top CV Skills Employers Look For?

Akshay recently got hired as a network engineer at a top digital media services company. He was surprised at first…

January 10, 2022 | 7 mins read
Skills for CV

Akshay recently got hired as a network engineer at a top digital media services company. He was surprised at first when he got the interview call; after all, he’d only just moved to India to enhance his skills in an emerging market and wasn’t expecting to get hired so quickly. 

While Akshay did really well during the interview, it was his curriculum vitae that opened the first door of the recruitment process. He outlined his skills in the resume in such a way that it painted a picture of someone who takes well-considered risks, pays close attention to detail and achieves results. He told the story of someone who’s not only dedicated to improving the company’s processes but also himself as an employee and leader. 

Most importantly, while Akshay included everything he deemed important in his CV, including his hobbies, he also managed to keep the document concise and to the point. If you’re wondering what skills to put on a resume so as to achieve Akshay’s balancing act, then read on. Crafting the best CV doesn’t have to be an arduous task; let’s get right into the success stories and skills in a resume that’ll catch a recruiter’s eye. 

  1. Skills In A Resume For Freshers 

  2. Professional Skills For A Resume: Points To Consider

  3. Examples of Skills For A Resume

 

Skills In A Resume For Freshers

What kind of skills for a CV would be considered valuable by recruiters? This question plagues young graduates looking to join the workforce more than seasoned professionals, mainly because the latter already have a body of work to show. In an increasingly competitive world, outlining skills in a resume for freshers might seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Young people who’ve just graduated from university with little to no work experience can still bring a lot of value to a company. For such people, here are some of the points and skills to mention in a resume.

1. A Brief Introductory Statement

This section states the name of the candidate, the reasons why they wish to pursue the profession in question, what their professional goals are, and their extra-curricular achievements at the school and university levels.

2. Hard And Soft Skills

Among the most important skills in the resume for freshers are hard and soft skills. Freshers should only list skills in the resume that would be relevant for the job. For example, in the case of a customer service position, applicants can highlight their communication and conflict management skills, as well as their ability to have persuasive conversations. For a technical role, skills to put on the resume would be their command over coding, programming, writing and so on. Using actions words or power words will also give a fresher’s CV an edge over those of others.

3. Details About Education And Work Experience

Listing skills in the resume for freshers should also be accompanied with a mention of educational qualifications, certificates, awards and scholarships. This goes a long way in benefiting young applicants. Professional skills for the resume in the case of freshers must also be detailed if they do have work experience. In the absence of any formal work experience, freshers can augment their skills in the resume by highlighting projects or collaborations they’ve done with others. Even part-time jobs, such as working in a store or at a fast-food outlet, should be mentioned as part of the skills for the CV.

4. Additional Skills

Mentioning additional skills for the resume, such as fluency in a foreign language, is always a good idea, as it gives recruiters an even clearer view of the applicant. Such skills are valued at most companies. Out of all possible skills in the resume for freshers, this could be the clincher in landing a job. 

5. Eagerness To Pick Up New Skills

Technological advancements are transforming the way organizations function, and employers want to hire people who are eager to learn new skills fast. Focusing on these points will draw a recruiter’s eye.

Now that we’ve covered the correct ways in which to list skills in the resume for freshers, let’s move on to focusing on what skills for the CV working professionals should highlight. 

Professional Skills For A Resume: Points To Consider

This skills section of your resume will show recruiters you have what it takes to thrive in the position you’re applying for. Employers tend to scrutinize the skills section to determine who’s likely to make it to the interview round. (Ambien) How does one determine what skills to put on the resume? Let’s take a look.

1. Hard Skills

A hard skill is an ability that’s applicable to a specific role or industry. These are usually technical skills learned through educational programs or on the job. Hard skills might include expertise in fields like software, machinery operations and foreign languages. Companies are always looking to hire people who have a favorable balance of both hard skills and soft skills. It helps to keep this in mind when you’re listing your skills in the resume. 

2. Soft Skills

Unlike hard skills, soft skills can’t be ‘taught’; they’re more an extension of an applicant’s unique character traits. While soft skills, also called “people skills”, can be applied across fields, they’re often highly valued by employers as they can’t be easily developed on the job. Soft skills in a resume would span customer service, time management, leadership, communication and troubleshooting. In most cases, soft skills augment hard skills. For instance, if you’re skilled in computer programming (hard skill) and also a good team leader (soft skill), you’ll be able to spot errors in the code created by your team and also guide them to be more careful thereon. As such, while listing their professional skills for a resume, candidates for any position should highlight their best soft and hard skills to be considered a top applicant.

3. Other Forms Of Recognition

Candidates who’ve received recognition for exceeding expectations in any specific professional arena should include these details as part of the skills for the CV. Excelling in any work-related objective requires skill and talent, which would be of interest to a recruiter.

4. Opinions Of Industry Professionals

It’s normal to wonder which of one’s skills for a CV would be of interest to a potential employer and which wouldn’t. To clear such doubts, it helps to talk to an industry professional who knows what the role you’re applying for would entail. Identifying which skills in the resume would be considered most important, and then identifying which of those skills you have, will simplify the decision-making process. While listing your skills for the CV, be sure to only mention those that are definitely your strengths.

Aside from these points, what are the other skills to mention in a resume? It would be helpful to take a closer look at a few examples. 

 Examples of Skills For A Resume

There’s a variety of soft skills and management skills that should be mentioned in a CV. Some of the soft skills for resume examples are: 

  • Creativity
  • Active listening
  • Interpersonal (communication) skills
  • Constructive criticism
  • Public speaking
  • Collaboration
  • Critical thinking
  • Problem-solving
  • Flexibility
  • Customer service
  • Teamwork
  • Patience
  • Empathy

These soft skills, however valuable, won’t be enough to land you the job; recruiters look for management skills in candidates as well. What are some of the top management skills for a resume that an applicant should include?

1. Planning

As a leader or team player, if you’re given certain objectives to fulfill, it’s crucial to be able to plan for meeting those goals and making arrangements for any changes to the plan. This is thus one of the most important management skills for a resume. 

2. Coordinating

It’s imperative for managers to be on top of everything, prevent miscommunication and ensure everyone is carrying out their tasks. Shouldering all these responsibilities requires excellent coordination skills, which is why they count among the top examples of skills for a resume.

3. Oversight

A key part of management involves delegating and making decisions. Be it scrutinizing business plans or ensuring a project doesn’t go past its budget, oversight forms a crucial part of management and must be mentioned as a skill on a resume.

4. Organization

Once a plan is in place, it’s the manager’s duty to create structures that aid in the accomplishment of the plan. Organizational skills include deciding the chain of command, scheduling regular meetings, devising strategy and figuring out how to keep a track of milestones. 

5. Motivation

Being able to boost team morale and keep group members eager to perform is a highly valued skill in a manager. Recruiters will always be looking to hire individuals who know how to enhance and incentivize their team members’ productivity by giving them positive feedback and encouragement.

The objective of a well-written resume is to show a hiring manager that you’re the best person for the job. Harappa’s Write To Get Hired pathway opens doors for learners who are serious about making an impression and adding value to their dream job. With Thrive Skills such as Detail Orientation and On-Point Messaging, ambitious professionals will hone their writing skills and fine-tune their resumes to be clear, concise and compelling. Sign up for the Write To Get Hired pathway and master the art of standing out and getting noticed faster!

Special Offers
Thriversitybannersidenav
Related Courses
WMPbannersidenav
Recent Posts
How to Succeed in High-Pressure Situations?
harappa
Master the Art of Negotiating Collaborative Wins with Thriversity
harappa
Thrive Skills for Project Managers!
harappa

Thrive With Harappa

footer-logo1
  • For Myself
  • Grievance Redressal
Harappa Harappa

One Upgrad

  • upGrad
  • Upgradabroad
  • Global study partners
  • Work better
  • Harappa School of Leadership
  • upGradDisha (Talentedge Degree)
  • Insofe
  • Golden Gate University

© 2022 Harappa Learning Private Limited

Spread The Word!