Resume Skills for the Modern Millennial Workforce

A resume can often be broken down into several parts, education, experience, skills, references, overview, etc. One of the simplest, yet most overwhelming parts of writing a resume is coming up with your skills list. You want to showcase your skills and abilities, but you don’t want to have 50 descriptions listed at the bottom of your CV. The key here is to be succinct, and tailor your skills to fit the needs of the job you’re applying for.

There are two different types of skills, “hard” and “soft”. Hard skills are more technical; they require practice or training, and often take months or even years to develop. Soft skills on the other hand showcase your emotional intelligence. They often can be aspects of your personality or examples of your social ability.

With the development of new technology, ever-changing social media, and other new business platforms, the way we have to look at, write, and build resumes is also changing. Here are a few examples of some more “traditional” hard and soft skills:

Traditional Hard Skills:

Physical Skills (think Carpentry, Plumbing, etc.)
Secondary Languages
Machine Operation
Degrees or Certifications

Traditional Soft Skills:

Leadership
Teamwork
Time Management
Presentation Experience

It can be difficult to think of skills you may have (especially in the evolving job market). Here are a few examples of “new” hard and soft skills to use for your resume:

New Hard Skills:

Crypto Currency Trading
Coding
User Interface Development
Graphic Design
Content Creation
Videography
Social Media Marketing

New Soft Skills:

Negotiating
Coaching
Networking
Sourcing Feedback
Mentoring
Business Development

So, now that you have some skills in mind, how do you know which ones to use for your resume and which ones to leave out?

A good rule of thumb to follow is to have about 8-10 skills on your resume. You’ll want them to be split either 50/50 or 60/40 (hard/soft). Most companies will value the technical experience of hard skills over soft skills. That’s not to say that soft skills are any less important, however. We are seeing a new trend of companies mandating sensitivity and other emotional aptitude training programs. Top performing managers are often people who have taken inclusivity training, or have a lot of positive soft skills to pull from.

Remember, resume writing is like tailoring a suit, you keep the pieces that fit, cut what doesn’t, and end up with a piece that suits you perfectly (pun intended). Take a look at the job listing, and look for keywords that match your skill set, use those skills in that particular application. Keep a running list of your skills (both hard and soft) to pull from and switch out which skills are best for your resume depending on which job you’re applying for.

Of course, if any of the more traditional or “old school” skills still apply to you and fit the job that you’re applying to, use them! Any skill is valuable, and your resume is your opportunity to market yourself, so show them what you have to offer! Especially if that skill is something that they’re looking for.

Keep a running list of your skills (both hard and soft) to pull from and switch out which skills are best for your resume depending on which job you’re applying for.

To find longer lists of possible skills to use or other handy resume tips, try these links:

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