Soft Skills for Résumés: 20 Examples to Include on Your Résumé

Soft skills, also known as people skills, are the intangible interpersonal skills and character traits job applicants include on a résumé. When listing your work history, record statistics about your accomplishments and the soft skills you acquire from each work experience. Examples of soft skills employers look for include critical thinking, active listening, dependability, and effective communication skills. A strong soft skill set usually makes someone a well-rounded team player with a strong work ethic.

Job recruiters and hiring managers prioritize hard and soft skills in job postings, and the ideal new hire will possess skills in both categories. Hard skills are the teachable and transferable skills people learn in training or certification programs. These job-specific technical skills require dedicated training, like computer programming, data analysis, and bookkeeping.

Soft skills are usually personality traits and interpersonal skills that develop over time through personal growth and maturity. Soft skills are in high demand because people cannot learn them as easily as hard skills. Soft skills include leadership skills, organizational skills, time-management skills, problem-solving skills, verbal communication skills, and written communication skills.

When making a résumé, consider the following tips for including soft skills:

• Include a skills section. On a chronological résumé, you can typically find the skills section at the bottom. You can also use a functional résumé format, which showcases skills more than work experience. In either format, highlight the types of skills relevant to your job search.
• List soft skills for each previous job. Add accomplishments and soft skills for each position in the work history section. For example, to highlight a cost-saving measure you developed for a past job, you might include the soft skills necessary for implementation. Consider whether you utilized critical thinking skills to devise a plan, used active listening skills with coworkers to gather information, or presented the final results to your team members.
• Review the job description. Identify the job-specific soft skills in the job description. Optimize your résumé to include any of those skills you have, and mention them in your cover letter and the job interview.

Employers look for job seekers with soft skills to contribute to a positive work environment and be good team players. Consider including the following soft skills on your résumé, if applicable:

• Active listening
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Conflict resolution
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Customer service
• Decision-making
• Dependability
• Emotional intelligence
• Leadership
• Mentoring
• Public speaking
• Problem-solving
• Project management
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Verbal communication
• Written communication

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