When searching for a new job, your resume is the first impression you make on a potential employer. If you want your application to be taken seriously, you have to prove you’re a skills fit. To really drive your abilities home, you need to include a skills section at the top of the page and intersperse your talents into body of your resume.
Find out how to put your skills to work to help you land the job you want.
List Both Hard and Soft Skills
If you want to get hired, you have to prove you’re an all-around fit. Hard skills highlight your ability to perform the actual job duties, while soft skills showcase your capacity to work well with others. For example, if you’re applying for an administrative assistant role, your ability to type 75 words per minute would be a hard skill, while your easily adaptable nature would be a soft skill.
Choose Skills That Fit the Job
You’re a very talented person with a lot of great skills, but focus only on those applicable to the job at hand. Listing irrelevant skills will take the focus off your abilities that actually pertain to the job. It could also cause the employer to think you don’t understand the job description or are a poor match for the position.
Group Them Into Categories
Really drive your fit home by organizing your skills into categories that directly relate to the job. Hiring managers typically scan resumes in a matter of seconds, so if your skills aren’t listed in any particular order, they might not be able to put the pieces together. Doing the work for them ensures they won’t accidentally miss skills that position you as the right person for the job.
Change Your Wording
The best jobs receive a lot of applications, so many employers use keyword-scanning tools to weed out candidates who clearly don’t have what it takes. Ensure you make the cut by listing key skills needed for the job several different ways. This will increase your chance of using the specific word or phrase the employer wants to see.
Emphasize Pertinent Skills
When reviewing the job description, take note of any skills mentioned several times throughout the text. These are likely the most important skills needed to do the job, so find ways to incorporate them into your resume text several times. This will further emphasize your fit and if the employer is using keyword scanning software, it will give your application a higher rank.
Need a little help finding a great new job? Contact PrideStaff North Dallas. Our team is committed to connecting talented professionals like you with temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire opportunities with top local employers.
