The majority of HR managers quickly scan the “Skills” section on your resume to determine if you're the right fit for the role. To help you stand out from the competition, we've compiled a list of the 100 hottest skills to include on your resume.
While the “Skills” section may seem like an easy one to tackle, many people still sabotage themselves by listing cliché buzzwords like “hard-working” or “flexible.”
However, these empty words not only waste precious space on your resume, but they also don't say much about you as a professional.
Instead, you should include specific skills that are also desired keywords.
We'll show you which skills are currently the most in demand in industries such as:
- Tech
- Healthcare
- Hospitality
- Marketing
- Finance
- and more.
What types of skills do we recognize?
First things first. What skills should you put on your resume?
Generally speaking, there are two recognized types of skills:
- Soft skills. You're usually born with these, but they can also be trained, learned, or perfected. Soft skills on your resume can be: body language, multitasking, time management, persuasion, stress resistance. However, they must be really relevant to your role. Otherwise, they may appear as buzzwords.
- Hard skills. These are the skills that are learned the hard way. They're also measurable. These can be: Java, Spanish, UX, SEO tools, DevOps, Microsoft.
Generally speaking, hard skills are essential when applying for technical roles, while soft skills are a must for customer-facing roles or roles that require a lot of teamwork.
Many think being really good at technical stuff is all that matters. But what they don't realize is that soft skills are just as important these days. And employers along with studies prove so too.
In fact, A Harvard University study indicated that up to 80% of a person's career success is influenced by soft skills, while only 20% is influenced by hard skills.
With that in mind, let's have a look at the top 10 soft skills employers simply can't resist in an infographic below, according to a recent survey.
You will find more infographics at Kickresume Blog
However, a balanced resume should include a mix of both soft skills and hard skills.
Why are skills on your resume so crucial?
Today, most companies use the ATS system to filter through the large number of resumes that they receive.
And in order to pass the test, your resume simply has to include the right words. Otherwise, even if you're the perfect candidate in theory, you won't make it past the clever technology.
So, which skills should you include on your resume in 2024?
- Include those skills that are required for the position in the job listing. This is the safest way of pleasing both the ATS system and the recruiter.
- Then identify and add specific skills that you possess that are truly your forte and that make you unique.
- Choose industry-specific skills. Different industries require different sets of skills. While your slick negotiation skills may be worth their weight in gold in finance and sales, they may be irrelevant in the design industry. That's why you shouldn't keep sending the same resume for different job openings, and you should always tailor your resume to each job opening.
- Choose skills that are trendy in your industry and favored by hiring managers and recruiting systems this year. To see which are these, scroll to the next chapter.
- Include a mix of hard and soft skills. This is crucial especially for positions like project management, where effective leadership requires both technical expertise and strong interpersonal abilities.
Pro tip: Always support the claim of possessing a certain skill in another part of the resume. For instance, if you claim that you know SEO analytics, include the course that taught you this skill in the “Education” or “Courses” section.
100 skills to include on your resume in 2024
Find your industry and see what skills are most desired by employers this year.
Now that you know what hot skills to include on your resume, check out this guide on how to list these hot skills in your “Skills section.”
This article was recently updated. The original article was written by Jakub Kaprál in 2020.
- Junior Writer
Kaja Jurcisinova is a junior copywriter at Kickresume. Kaja completed her undergraduate degree in Art History at the University of St Andrews in 2018 and graduated with a Master’s in Arts and Culture from the University of Groningen in 2021. She was an intern at multiple cultural institutions across Europe, including the Dutch Museum Association in Amsterdam, the Matter of Art Biennale in Prague, and the European Cultural Centre in Venice. At the moment, she resides in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland.
