By Robin Reshwan U.S. News & World Report
Striving to maximize your career options this year? Showcasing your capabilities is critical to professional success, especially during a job search.
Have you been able to stay productive during continuous change? A key soft skill to show in your resume is your ability to adapt and thrive.
Describe how you evolved your way of working during periods of change.
The first step of almost every job application process is to submit a resume. With so much riding on that first impression, reflecting desired job skills in your resume is key.
Here are some in-demand skills to list on your resume.
- Self-starter.
- Adaptability.
- Problem-solving skills.
- Growth mindset.
- Time management.
- Virtual communication skills.
- Succinct writing.
- Impact.
- Collaboration.
- Deadline-driven.
- Ability to thrive in chaotic environments.
- Analysis and insight.
- Accountability.
- Trustworthiness.
- Investment.
- What to exclude from your resume.
Capture how you have identified and acted on opportunities to improve quality or speed, boost morale, increase productivity or minimize risks.
Problem-Solving Skills
Rapidly changing technology and evolving work environments have led many teams and companies into unchartered territories. Professionals that have an ability to solve problems in new or difficult situations are better equipped to tackle future challenges that may not have a best practice or rule book to follow. Outline how you approached and resolved problems.
How have you challenged yourself or motivated others around you to learn something new or expand thinking? The ability to learn is a learned skill in itself that improves the more you do it. It is why recent students are often better equipped to acquire and apply knowledge more quickly than peers who have not been in a learning environment recently. Capture how you have added new hard skills and sought to challenge yourself with new approaches.
Time Management
Balancing never-ending emails, Slack messages, Zoom meetings and projects is tricky. Managers want to be able to gauge productivity. Be sure to capture how you manage time, efficiency and results when writing your resume.
Virtual Communication Skills
It is challenging to build effective relationships without in-person interaction. Show evidence of how you have expanded or strengthened relationships in and outside of your company using virtual communication tools. This can be as simple as listing the digital tools you use – such as Teams, Slack and Zoom. You can also write more descriptive impact statements. For example, explain how you created an online presentation template implemented by the sales team which resulted in 10 new deals. You can also explain how you increased engagement in virtual all-hands meetings by creating polls and encouraging the use of Q&A features.
Succinct Writing
With the rise in video meetings and enterprise messaging tools came the rise in Q&A and chat responses. Success with these platforms requires mastery of the art of getting to the point – succinct and well-written questions and responses are key. How you write your resume (and cover letter) are evidence of this competency. Don’t overlook the importance of concise and relevant content in your resume.
Impact
An effective resume shows – not tells – how you add value. Yes, you need to list your responsibilities, but you also need to show what happened because you were there. In other words, call out your impact. For example, if you are responsible for recruiting and hiring and you would say it is one of your key strengths, include how many people you hired, how quickly you made those hires and how many of your hires have outlasted the average tenure of your firm or your industry.
Every job description asks for “cross-functional collaboration.” This means you need to know how to play well in the sandbox with other people who aren’t your immediate co-workers. To illustrate your collegial approach, describe any “enterprise-wide taskforces” you were invited to join. For example, communicate how your team was able to move through financial planning and analysis approval process two times faster than other managers because of your track record of quality work. In short, show what was accomplished when you partnered across the company.
Deadline-Driven
In a competitive, technology-infused environment, even results with a 24-hour turnaround can seem 25 hours past due. The most productive employees get stuff done fast and have tactics for setting and exceeding deadline-driven expectations. Give evidence of your ability to work under pressure.
Ability to Thrive in Chaotic Environments
When speed is king, many organizations act before all options are assessed. Employees who can survive and even thrive in cultures where priorities shift, variables change and goals are moving targets are in greater demand than those looking for stable and fixed roles. Most growing companies are in flux and they want employees who can function even without a fully developed structure.
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