Balance Hard and Soft Skills on Resumes

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.

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

I reviewed 50+ Data Science resumes in the past months. Here are the most common (and easy-to-fix) mistakes 👇 𝟭/ 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹) Your summary section is the FIRST impression that you give recruiters, hiring managers and interviewers. Make this section unique to you, and highlighting your BEST work. → Avoid vague statements, like "Passionate data scientist with experience in machine learning." → Include at least 1 project from your past experience that has a significant impact. → Keep it concise: aim for 3-4 impactful sentences. 𝟮/ 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 Soft skills are as important as technical skills in Data Science. However, soft skills are often missing from Data Scientists’ resumes. → Highlight examples of teamwork and collaboration with cross-functional teams. → Showcase any mentorship or leadership experience, such as guiding junior data scientists or leading project teams. 𝟯/ 𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 Using industry-specific jargon limits your resume's accessibility. Instead opt for commonly-used terminology that resonates with a broader audience, especially non-technical recruiters. → Use well-known business metrics such as revenue, ROI, or customer retention rate to quantify your impacts. → Always pair technical tools or methods with their purpose and impact. 𝟰/ 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Career progression is a strong indicator of your value and growth potential. Highlighting your promotions shows that you've consistently exceeded expectations. → Clearly show your career trajectory by listing job titles chronologically. → Quantify the impact of your work at each level, showing how your contributions have scaled as you've advanced in your career. 𝟱/ 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 Recruiters often scan resumes quickly, so your achievements need to be digestible at a glance. → Keep each bullet point to a maximum of two lines for better readability. → Use strong action verbs at the beginning of each bullet point to convey contributions. → Focus on key achievements and results rather than listing every task you've performed. (𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀) 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 Adding a personal touch can make your resume stand out and provide talking points for interviews. → Include 2-3 unique facts about yourself that are NOT related to Data. → Demonstrate interesting hobbies, volunteer work, or personal achievements. → Keep this brief and engaging – this section should be a conversation starter. ♻️ Found this useful? Repost it. 👋🏽 Follow me for daily Data tips & tricks!