Results tagged “soft skills” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves: Content focuses on soft skills and neglects hard data. Seeing soft skills listed on a resume is a rock-bottom priority for hiring decision-makers, who prefer to explore soft skills in the interview stage (and by talking to your references) because it is difficult to substantiate them on paper. “If you have to tell me you have these skills, you probably don’t have them,” said Kristina Creed, a senior manager at a for-profit education provider. Limit use of soft skills — such as communication, teamwork, and leadership — to those that are germane to the position you’re targeting. Portrayal of soft skills will be more credible if you substantiate them with solid examples of how you’ve demonstrated them. If hard skills are required, be sure to include them, too, and be very specific about them — types of projects, technical skills, and expertise.

Soft skills are also helpful if you are in a profession in which hard skills predominate, and soft skills are unexpected but desirable. “If you’re a software engineering manager who has a real talent with people and is technically excellent — highlight it,” suggested Veronica Richmond a human resources in professional Oakville, Ontario, Canada. “You’re a rarity, so have great stories ready to back it up.”
See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

“First impressions count more than ever in today’s virtual world where face-to-face meetings are becoming an endangered species,” writes Peggy Klaus in her article for Quint Careers, Are You Up To Snuff When It Comes To Soft Skills?. “When your resume formatting is messy or your follow-up note demonstrates poor writing skills, spelling errors, and incorrect word usage, you will be demonstrating your soft skills, or lack thereof, loud and clear!”

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

In her article for Quint Careers, Are You Up To Snuff When It Comes To Soft Skills?, Peggy Klaus tells this story: One hiring manager — who echoed the sentiments of many others — says she can spot what she calls a soft-skills impostor in seconds. “In our executive-level job postings, we purposely ask candidates to explain how their experience will translate into helping grow our organization. You would not believe the number of responses we get from very senior executives who fail to address our question, much less even mention the name of our organization in their letter!” Translation: The job candidate is taking the “throw spaghetti against the wall and see if it sticks” approach by using one-size-fits-all- communication. As for those applicants who don’t follow the instructions in her postings, “If they ignore me, I ignore them.” The hiring manager also noted, “Would you want this person leading your organization and presenting to clients? Communicating, listening, critical thinking — even at the most basic level — these are all very important soft skills.” A loud message is sent when an applicant fails to highlight details most relevant to the position, follow simple directions, or show signs of having bothered to visit the company’s website.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

With regard to resumes and cover letters, Peggy Klaus says she often tells professionals: “When approaching any business communication situation, start out by tuning in to your listeners’ favorite radio station, what I call WIFT-FM, or What’s In It For Them? This helps you to identify the potential needs, objectives, and goals of your audience,” Klaus writes in her article for Quint Careers, Are You Up To Snuff When It Comes To Soft Skills? “In other words, why should they be listening to you in the first place?”

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Make sure your examples in your resume and cover letter “are relevant to the position for which you are applying, advises Peggy Klaus in her article for Quint Careers, Are You Up To Snuff When It Comes To Soft Skills? For instance, what would be more relevant to a non-profit charitable organization — that you raised a substantial amount of money for a do-good cause, motivating hundreds in your company to participate, or that you sold more widgets in China than any other division? As one HR director remarked, “I hate it when the candidate assumes we will connect the dots for them. Instead of writing a cover letter that brings the relevant experience forward, critical points remain buried in the resume. Connecting the dots is their job, not ours.”

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

In your resume and cover letter, “weave in past accomplishments that highlight your soft skills in action,” writes Peggy Klaus in her article for Quint Careers, Are You Up To Snuff When It Comes To Soft Skills? “If you are having a hard time coming up with specifics, ask yourself: What have I done that demonstrates my problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities or my ability to lead and motivate others, especially under challenging circumstances? Try to recall a time when a supervisor or colleague complimented you on how you handled a situation,” Klaus writes.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

“Don’t make the mistake on your resume or in your cover letter of claiming soft-skills competency without substantiation,” cautions Peggy Klaus in her article for Quint Careers, Are You Up To Snuff When It Comes To Soft Skills? “Providing solid examples that demonstrate your soft skills in a resume or cover letter is far more effective than making empty promises, such as: I possess solid leadership, people, and communication skills. Show me! This is especially important, given that many hiring managers — as associate publisher of Quintessential Careers Katharine Hansen points out in Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves of Hiring Decision-Makers — don’t like to see a laundry list of soft skills on a resume,” Klaus writes.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

Having the right hard skills will determine if the employer will read your resume, writes Sherri Edwards in her article for Quint Careers, Ten Resume Tips. “Soft” skills are important, but very difficult to measure/prove. In many cases, employers assume you have the related soft skills until they learn otherwise. Typically, soft skills can only really be determined with proof (quantifiable results) or when the employer actually meets you.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.

To sharpen your resume’s focus, you can add a section called something like “Summary of Qualifications,” “Profile,” or the like. Such a section, in a reader-friendly bulleted format can contribute to powerful resume opener that draws the reader in; it can be part of the top third of resume that showcases your best selling points, catches the prospective employer’s attention, and immediately demonstrates your value as a candidate.

A synthesis of the ideas of two leading resume experts, Susan Britton Whitcomb, author of Resume Magic, one of the best books on the market for resumes, and Deb Wile Dib of Advantage Resumes, reveals that a Summary/Profile section can contain:

• Title/functional area/level of your current position and/or position you seek.
• Number of years of experience (which, for age-discrimination reasons, should not exceed 15-20; “15+” is a good guideline for mature workers)
• Industry you’re in or seeking to be in.
• Core competencies/areas of expertise/strengths/specialization for that field.
• Highlights of representative accomplishments, especially used to demonstrate skills and competencies you’ve used throughout your career.
• Top business, leadership, craft-related skills, both “hard skills” and “soft skills” (such as communication, interpersonal, teamwork); however, be aware that many hiring decision-makers believe soft skills can be substantiated only in person or by references, so be sure to provide strong substantiation of these skills in your resume.
• “Value-added” information: Skills/accomplishments/experience that
• add to your value because they are not necessarily expected of someone with your background (e.g., operations manager with deep knowledge of IT).
• Any advanced degrees, certifications, or licenses that are integral to the type of job you seek.
• Language and international business skills, if relevant.
• Technical/computer skills, instead of burying them at the bottom of your resume (Exception: IT professionals, who should place IT skills in a separate section).
• Personality /management style: Open a little window into your personality with your Summary/Profile (e.g., mention sense of humor)
• Possibly affiliations if integral to the job, otherwise in a separate section.
• Any extremely prestigious colleges, employers, or clients.
• Quantification whenever possible, using numbers for, e.g., revenue generated, size of accounts, typical budgets, money saved, etc.
• Positive quotes, testimonials from supervisors, clients, taken from memos, letters, performance evaluations.
• Awards you’ve earned, such as Employee of the Month and President’s Club, can also be listed in the Summary/Profile section to give them more up-front attention than if they were listed in their own section.
• Keywords/buzzwords from ads or job postings you’re responding to.

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.