Ask a Resume Writer: Should You Put Soft Skills on a Resume?

When writing your resume, you’re likely focused on ensuring you emphasize your industry-specific skills, experience, education, and qualifications to stand out from the crowd. But what about soft skills, like communication and problem solving? Do employers care about those, or should you just wait to demonstrate them in interviews?

In a competitive market, it may seem that soft skills don’t really deserve space on your resume; however, these intangible traits are crucial for workplace success. Should you put soft skills on a resume, and if so, how? We asked Freddie Rohner, Certified Master Resume Writer at iHire, for his guidance on this topic.

What Are Resume Soft Skills?

First, let’s unpack what soft skills are. Unlike hard skills, which are generally teachable and measurable, soft skills are personal attributes and interpersonal abilities. They include strengths like leadership, communication, teamwork, time management, adaptability, and conflict resolution.

“Yes, you should include soft skills on your resume! If you only showcase your hard skills, your resume might appear one-dimensional,” said Rohner. “Soft skills lend depth, showcasing your ability to collaborate, lead, and solve problems within a team. Strike a good balance between soft skills and hard skills and you’ll be in good shape.”

Additionally, having soft skills as well as hard skills in your resume will help you get past applicant tracking systems that employers use to scan resumes for certain keywords.

How to List Soft Skills on a Resume

So, where should you put soft skills on your resume?

“There are three main places where you could highlight soft skills on your resume: your summary paragraph, core competencies or skills section, and experience section,” Rohner explained. “Let’s use ‘leadership’ as an example. You could start your resume summary off with, ‘Results-driven HR Generalist with proven leadership skills,’ add ‘Team Leadership’ to your skills section, and include content in your career history that demonstrates your leadership abilities.”

It’s one thing to simply add soft skills to your resume in multiple sections; you also have to show those soft skills in action.

“Be specific about how you led teams or projects as part of your day-to-day responsibilities, and include multiple achievements that show the effectiveness of your leadership, like revenue growth, time savings, or team productivity,” Rohner clarified.

For example, a leadership-driven achievement on your resume could be, “Trained, motivated, and managed team of 10 sales reps that exceeded revenue goals by 50%.”

You could also showcase your soft skills in volunteer roles, school projects, or other experiences that may not have been paid positions but are still relevant.

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Which Resume Soft Skills Should You Include?

To decide which soft skills should be on your resume, look closely at the jobs you’re applying for.

“Job ads are a great resource for the keywords you should have in your resume. Make note of any soft skills you see listed as required, repeated throughout the ad, or even included in the company’s mission statement or core values,” advised Rohner.

In addition to looking at job ads to determine in-demand soft skills, you could do a personal SWOT analysis or ask a colleague, mentor, or other trusted resource to help you determine what your strongest traits are and how to best showcase them.

Now that you know you should include soft skills on your resume, go back to your document and find ways to highlight those vital traits that will set you apart from your competition! For more resume guidance, check out our Job Seeker Resource Center, give our Resume Builder tool a try, or explore our professional resume writing services.