Have you ever considered what happens when employers are stuck between two equally qualified candidates? What if both applicants have the necessary proven experience and skill sets for the position? In this scenario, employers will look at the relevant personal skills the candidate has listed.
Previously, traditional jobs focused on hard skills, but now, it is not only acceptable but also encouraged to include personal skills. You might just make yourself stand out as a best-fitting candidate by using the right mix of personal skills. If you are wondering how to add personal skills to resume in sentence, read on to find out! We will be sharing several examples of personal skills for resume in sentence.
Read More :- Top Skills For A Resume
What Are Personal Skills?
First, let us discuss what personal skills are. These are the skills that are often referred to as soft skills or people skills. Unlike hard skills that can be taught and are typically standardized, soft skills are attributed to your unique character and personality. These are the innate qualities that you hone over time with your developing character. Because of their nontangible nature, it becomes even more difficult to truly master soft skills.
Why Does A Resume Need Personal Skills?
Now, let’s move to the more important question. Why add personal skills to your resume when you already have enlisted hard skills?
The answer is that finding the candidate with the required hard skills is actually easier. The real challenge is finding a candidate who has the personal skills needed to actually become a better cultural fit in the organization. They give much more information on the working style of a candidate. Think, would you hire an experienced programmer or a programmer who is a problem solver who can handle any obstacle that comes his way? A problem solver is what you need!
Read More :- Hard Skills To Mention In A Resume
How To Add Personal Skills for Resume in Sentence?
Now that you know why your resume needs soft skills, how should you list them in your resume? Simply listing them in chronological order is not enough. Using personal skills for resume in sentence is a better approach. You can do this in two major sections of the resume.
Resume Summary
A resume summary is provided at the very top of your application. This is the section that employers will usually check first to get an idea of what you are bringing to the table. You should surely add your hard skills here, but a healthy mix of personal skills will truly grab the employer’s attention.
For example, check out the following resume summary for a banker:
Focused banking professional delivers consistent customer service and high-achieving results for a variety of financial tasks. Six years of experience in the banking industry with proven success in cash flow management, analytical thinking, creative investment portfolios, detailed reporting, problem-solving, and product upsell.
Notice that the resume summary highlights skills such as analytical thinking and problem-solving alongside hard skills such as cash flow management. Cash flow management is a reliable skill on its own, but combining it with analytical thinking and problem-solving makes you stand out!
Here is another example of a resume summary for an operations administrator.
Versatile operations administrator adept at taking on routine and complex business challenges with a resourceful and creative approach. Recognized as a driven, dedicated, and hardworking leader with a history of sales, streamlining operations, and increasing efficiency.
The resume summary mentions creativity, drive, and dedication, which are all excellent skills to have when you want to optimize operations in an organization.
In this manner, you can use your soft skills to actually boost the value of your hard skills, almost like an add-on!
Work Experience
The second method is to incorporate your soft skills into your work experience. In reality, there is no role that will not demand at least some sort of personal skill.
For example,
Collaborated with a team of six professionals to deliver a project within just five days of project initiation. Reduced employee attrition by 50% using bonding activities to create an opportunity for team members to talk about obstacles and find solutions.
This work experience highlights not only project management as a skill but also includes team management and problem-solving skills. Also, notice how a soft skill is demonstrated best when presented with a hard skill. The above example focuses on the hard skill of project management, but at the same time, it highlights problem-solving and team management. This gives the hiring manager better insights into how you can put your skills to use.
Personal Skills for Resume in Sentence Examples
Here are some examples for personal skills for resume in sentence. We will share the most popular personal skills in demand today.
Leadership
Leadership demands the ability to bring people together toward a common goal and do what is best for the group. Leaders are all about motivating others and taking the lead on projects.
Here is how you can use leadership in your resume.
Successfully mentored and coached junior team members, contributing to their professional development and boosting team productivity by 15%.
Developed a group of young graduates into the most successful sales team in the company’s history.
Teamwork
Teamwork is one of the must-have soft skills in any organization. The organization itself is a complex machine with many working sections. If you do not know how to work well in a team, you might not be the best fit for several roles. Here is how teamwork can be highlighted in a resume:
Collaborated effectively with a team of five to develop a Facebook strategy that increased brand engagement by 30%.
Teamwork doesn’t always have to be within the department but can also be across departments. Consider the following example for personal skills for resume in sentence:
Facilitated collaboration among 3 departments, achieving project completion 15% ahead of schedule.
Problem-Solving
Workplaces are dynamic, and problems are bound to arise. Companies, therefore, prefer resilient individuals who can handle any curveball thrown their way. You can also mention this as a skill you used to solve a consistent problem your organization faced. For example:
Identified and resolved operational inefficiencies, saving the company $4k monthly and optimizing workflow efficiency.
Identified inefficiencies in the factory layout and implemented solutions that drove a 10% increase in production.
Time Management
Time management is another skill that nearly all companies value. No one likes tardiness in the workspace. Employers will always prefer an individual who values time. Here is how you can highlight this skill in your resume:
Seamlessly juggled client meetings, team mentorship, and sales targets, consistently overshooting quarterly objectives by 15%.
Time management doesn’t always have to be your own personal time management, but it could be a skill you extended toward your job role. For example:
Developed an improved workflow, which cut turnaround times by 20%.
Conflict Resolution
Conflicts are another natural occurrence in organizations. Leaders who can overcome conflicts by mediating resolution ultimately help boost performance, retain employees, and even save costs for the organization.
Here is how you can present conflict resolution in your resume:
Mediated a conflict between two team members to improve collaboration and productivity.
Attended emergency intervention and de-escalating processes training, resulting in a 75% increase in response time.
Analytical Thinking
Where data-driven decisions are needed, so is analytical thinking. This personal skill encompasses a wide range of skills, including the ability to process information, the ability to think critically, and create cause-and-effect relationships. Here is how you can highlight this skill in your resume:
Analyzed customer data to identify trends, resulting in a 20% improvement in customer satisfaction rate.
Analyzed customer feedback data and developed a new loyalty program that increased customer retention rates by 30%.
Motivational Skills
Being motivational and driven is another quality employers look for. Such individuals possess the drive and resilience needed to move the company beyond the glass ceiling and bring it closer to its goals. Here is how you can show your motivational skills in your resume:
As a motivated leader, successfully coordinated and executed a company-wide training program, improving employee retention by 30%.
Consistently met and exceeded quarterly sales targets by 20% through self-motivation and strategic goal-setting.
Strong Work Ethic
A strong work ethic demonstrates that you are dedicated, committed, and passionate about your work. This makes you a reliable employee to have in the workspace. Here is how you can add them to your resume:
Worked as Customer Service Coordinator at ABC company catering to 100+ customers daily with a strong work ethic and high quality of service.
It can even be rewards and accolades that demonstrate your strong work ethic. For example,
‘Awarded Top Performer for 2 consecutive years.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinkers are those who can delve beyond the surface level of any problem and think critically to resolve it. It incorporates other personal skills such as analytical thinking, problem-solving, and communication (to communicate ideas with upper management). Here is how to highlight this skill in your resume:
Led cross-functional teams in critical decision-making processes by gathering relevant information, analyzing potential outcomes, and implementing solutions, leading to a 15% increase in quarterly performance.
Identified and resolved deficiencies within the company’s vendor logistics network by reducing supply delays by 30%.
Attention To Detail
An eye for detail will be able to ensure quality and accuracy in every assignment. Here is how you can highlight this skill in your resume:
Identified opportunities to automate manual data entry processes for business results, resulting in a reduction of over 400+ work hours per year.
Developed and implemented rigorous quality assurance protocols that improved product accuracy by 35%.
Read More :- Unique Resume Skills
Mistakes To Avoid When Adding Soft Skills To Resume
One of the most obvious mistakes when it comes to using soft skills on your resume is over-relying on them. Your soft skills should be used to better explain your role and work best with your hard skills. For example, analytical thinking is a soft skill best associated with data analytics. Randomly adding analytical thinking as a soft skill without properly explaining how you actually put it into use might have an undesirable effect on the hiring manager. Instead, they might think you are using soft skills to cover up your insufficient hard skills. This is why you should never exaggerate the use of soft skills in any role.
Another thing to note is that if you add a soft skill to your resume, you should be able to actively demonstrate it. An employee may always request that you showcase analytical thinking in an assessment or test. This is where choosing the right soft skills comes into play. The right soft skill is one you can employ in various situations and not just in ideal settings. Choose a soft skill you can actively display if prompted to do so.
In the same way, you should avoid using generic soft skills such as ‘hard worker’ or ‘go-getter.’ These skills are hard to explain in a resume and seem like filler content that adds no real value. It also seems obvious that a hiring manager will expect you to be a hard worker regardless.
How To Identify Your Personal Skills?
Now you know what personal skills for resume in sentence examples can be put to use for your application. But here comes the question of finding the appropriate soft skills to mention.
First, thoroughly inspect the job description. You will get an idea of what sort of soft skills the employer seeks and then think of what soft skills best align with the role. For example, a customer support role will require communication and conflict resolution as soft skills. Similarly, a Managerial role will demand leadership and communication as soft skills.
This will narrow down your choices. If you are not sure what soft skills you can present authentically, you can always ask those around you. You should also review your past experiences and see what roles you performed well.
Ask yourself, what personal skills did I put to use in order to get the job done?
If you are still unsure where to start, consider checking out our resume builder application. Simply enter the role you are applying for, and Resume Star will provide you with a list of soft skills you can list accordingly!