Skills To Include On An Entry-Level Resume

Are soft skills important to include on your resume? Yes, but many job seekers do it wrong. Here's my advice for doing it right: What I normally see: -Soft skills jammed into a "skills" section at the top/bottom of a resume 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲: -Soft skills organically written into bullet points under experience How do you accomplish that? Option 1: Instead of writing "collaborative" in a skills section, try this instead "Collaborated with project managers and senior staff to accomplish 'x'...." Option 2: Instead of writing "critical thinker, problem solver, adaptable, team player" Create bullet points that show when you need to be those things Example: "Reorganized and reallocated funds within the company budget by identifying and eliminating unnecessary spending, resulting in $8 million in cost savings." Problem-solving ✅ Adaptable ✅ Critical thinker ✅ Team player ✅ 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 Continue to do this for as many bullet points as you can 𝚅𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚊 You just showed me you have the soft skills I'm looking for Without putting it in an ugly skills bank that's better served for hard skills 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚? Here's what you need to know about soft skills: -Just listing them on a resume doesn't mean you have them -Unlike hard skills, soft skills are open to interpretation (Your definition of a good communicator is different than mine) -Listing them on your resume isn't going to help you get passed the "ATS" -Unlike hard skills, soft skills are broad + generic Recruiters and hiring managers agree that soft skills are important Most would argue (and I would agree) that soft skills > hard skills And they belong on a resume But do it the right way Don't stuff your skills section like a turkey on Thanksgiving Weave them organically and appropriately in your bullet points And use that space you just opened up to add more value to your resume

A mistake found in most student resumes: A skills section packed with soft skills — but no proof you've actually used them. Here are some of the usual suspects: • Teamwork • Leadership • Communication All good skills, and many roles ask for them. But here’s the problem: anyone can claim them. Without clear evidence of how you’ve applied them (and the impact they had) they won’t help you stand out. Generally speaking, your skills section should focus on hard, verifiable skills: • Technical tools (e.g., Python, Adobe Illustrator) • Certifications (e.g., Excel Certification) • Languages (e.g., Spanish Fluency) And even then, those skills should appear in your bullet points — with context and outcomes. If the skills section is the only place where they’re mentioned, you’re expecting the recruiter to blindly believe you actually have them. Don’t do that. Give them proof. Here’s how: • Choose the skill(s) you want to highlight • Identify the experience(s) where you've used them • Show how you used the skill to create positive results Let's give you a couple of examples: Instead of simply listing "Teamwork" in your skills section, craft a bullet that showcases how you've used that skill: • Revised the chapter’s student engagement plan in partnership with the chapter president, faculty advisor, and events chair, resulting in... Instead of simply listing "Excel" in your skills section, craft a bullet that showcases how you've used that skill: • Conducted investment analysis using Excel by compiling data on historical returns and risk metrics, creating charts and pivot tables to compare asset performance to... And so on. Bottom line: If these skills only appear in your skills section, you leave the recruiter guessing if you actually have the skills or if you've simply included them for keyword alignment. You don't want to leave them guessing. You want to show exactly how and where you've used your skills and to what end. Skills without context create doubt. Skills with context build credibility.