How can a hiring manager tell that you’re a top candidate to interview? Easy! Your resume checks all the boxes they’re looking for! Creating a standout resume is a skill in itself and it’s time you had a head start in getting it right. There are some high-demand skills you should highlight on your resume. Here, you’ll learn how to properly incorporate them in your resume to make sure the recruiters take notice.

Why skills are important

Each role will require a mix of hard and soft skills. Without these, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to fulfil the demands of the role and perform at a satisfactory standard. That’s why skills are one of the first things recruiters and hiring managers look for on a resume. Sure, experience and academic qualifications are important too, but it’s the skills that dictate the largest part of success.

As hiring managers only spend a few seconds on their first skim of any resume, it’s vital that they see the skills they’re looking for. Otherwise, they’ll move onto the next resume in their pile and you may not get another glance. 

Hard skills vs soft skills 

You may be asking yourself, “What’s the difference between hard and soft skills?” 

• Soft skills (also known as interpersonal skills) are useful across roles and industries. They’re the ones that aren’t usually taught, such as communication and teamwork. 

• Hard skills, on the other hand, are job-specific skills that require training to attain. Coding and accounting are examples of such skills. 

Hiring managers look for a good mix of both hard and soft skills. You’ll find that soft skills are useful across industries and roles and when two candidates are equally matched in experience and hard skills, it’s often the soft skills that will make the final decision. 

Top 30 high-demand skills to highlight on a resume

So what are the best skills to put on a resume? The list is long, but it’s critical to note that you probably won’t include every one of these on your resume. The goal isn’t to use your resume as a dumping ground for everything you know how to do. Instead, the skills you highlight on your resume need context.

Communication skills 

1. Report writing

2. Public speaking

3. Customer interaction

4. Building rapport 

5. Negotiation

Time management skills

1. Meeting deadlines

2. Planning

3. Prioritizing 

4. Organization 

5. Multitasking 

Leadership skills

1. Empathy

2. Influencing 

3. Vision 

4. Decision-making

5. Strategic thinking 

Problem-solving skills 

1. Logical thinking 

2. Critical thinking 

3. Analysis

4. Attention to detail 

5. Creativity

Customer service skills 

1. Active listening 

2. Verbal communication 

3. Conflict management 

4. Patience

5. Attentiveness

Project management skills

1. Scheduling 

2. Budget management

3. Quality control 

4. Teamwork

5. Tenacity

5 skills to avoid on your resume – and why!

In addition to adding some of the most in-demand skills to your resume, you’ll also want to make sure you’re not using any of these cliche skills: 

1. Hardworking: It should go without saying and it’s one of the most overused words on resumes

2. Detail-oriented: Usually accompanied by several errors

3. Working well independently: After training, everyone will be expected to do this to some extent

4. Motivated: You haven’t even started the job yet – it’s the minimum expectation that you’ll start off feeling this way

5. Honest: If that’s all you can offer, your resume is missing some key details! 

How to decide which skills to highlight on your resume 

The strongest resumes are targeted to a particular role, so to select which ones you should focus on, try these tips: 

• Read through several job adverts for similar roles that you’re interested in and pick out skills that are common across all of them. For example, most retail roles will mention customer service skills in the advert so that’s one to prioritise.

• Consider which skills you use every day. If you’re looking for a similar role, the skills you’re already using will be a great selling point.  

• Check out the LinkedIn profiles of people currently working in similar roles and see how they’ve filled out their Skills section – they might give you some inspiration and direction.

• Think about what problems the company is trying to solve and highlight skills on your resume that will help them achieve their aims. For example, if they’re currently trying to expand their customer base, you could add skills in negotiation and relationship building. 

• Contact people within your network who already work at the company and ask what skills and attributes the company as a whole looks for. 

How to highlight skills on a resume

You can highlight skills in every section of your resume. 

Profile

That little paragraph at the top of your resume is one of the most important parts of the whole document, as it’s the first detail a hiring manager will read about you. With that in mind, you really need to sell yourself into the role!

It’s likely that hard skills will win the day here – choose a maximum of two or three from the job description that are critical to the role and weave them persuasively into this paragraph. 

For example: 

Commercially astute Sustainability Consultant, with expertise in recycling. Demonstrate dynamic leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment. Deliver cost reduction and long-term sustainable growth by removing barriers. Build relationships with suppliers and lead global businesses to deliver on their objectives. 

Key Skills 

You may think this is the obvious place to highlight skills on your resume – and you’d be right! The key here is to be selective. A long, exhaustive list with zero context is no use to anyone. You should be adding no more than – 12 skills in this section. 

The most impressive Key Skills sections are curated to focus on the skills that are required for a particular role. Again, hard skills relevant to the job at hand will be more impressive – but a few soft skills won’t hurt, especially for more junior roles.  

For example:

Major Investigations   |   Governance   |   Leadership   |   Risk Management

Stakeholder Relationship Management   |   Change and Transformation

Performance Management   |   Decision-Making   |   Strategy Implementation

Professional Experience

This section is where weaving in your skills is critical – but tricky. Outlining the skills you acquired in each role requires context and specific examples. Saying you have “good communication skills” just isn’t good enough. 

Every time you add a skill, challenge yourself to prove it. Adding accomplishments that demonstrate your skills is the best way to convince your reader you have what it takes. 

For example: 

• Resolved 3 long-term customer disputes, retrieving overdue payments of $30,000 (proves problem solving and communication skills) 

• Contributed as a key member of the team that awarded $16million in grants to support nearly 37,000 children and young people (proves teamwork and budget management skills)

• Planned and delivered a multi-concert festival attended by 60,000 people over 2 weeks (proves planning and organization skills)

Education 

There aren’t many opportunities to highlight skills that are in demand in this part of your resume, but if you’re a recent graduate with minimal work experience, you can add a few alongside your academic achievements. 

For example: 

• Bachelor of Science in Logistics Management | Name of University

Final project: Leveraged teamwork, planning, and deadline management skills to replan a warehouse layout 

Top tips for highlighting skills on your resume 

• Tailor the skills you include to the requirements of the role

• Give context and quantifiable outcomes wherever possible 

• Include your skills in every section

• Use a mix of hard and soft skills 

• Don’t exaggerate or lie

Step into your job hunt with confidence in your skills 

After analyzing the most desirable skills to highlight on a resume and combining that with your own research into the skills most in-demand in your chosen sector, you’ll have a resume that shines – and lands interviews!

Not getting the callbacks you expect? Why not send your resume for a free resume review by our experts? With expertise across numerous industries and the know-how to create an impactful resume, you’ll learn about issues with your document and get recommended improvements. 

Recommended reading: 

• What Are Interpersonal Skills? Key Traits and Examples for the Workplace

• 11 Best IT Skills for Your Resume + Examples

• Leverage People Skills to Improve Your Employability and Career Success