Demonstrating leadership qualities in your resume can often be challenging. Here are 10 ways leadership skills on resume examples to ace your job profiling.
Portraying leadership as one of your strengths in your resume is crucial to show an employer that you excel in managerial, supervisory or management roles. During job profiling, most HRs and employers use applicant tracking systems that shortlist a resume based on keywords. This is why, 75 percent of job applications are rejected before they are seen. It becomes all the more important to enter keywords such as ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ as well as demonstrate leadership through examples for the employer to look at once it passes the ATS.
If done correctly, your resume can lead to interviews and more opportunities for you to demonstrate what makes you stand out as a potential leader.
Leadership is a skill that can be learned, cultivated, and refined. It is also an ability that is in high demand by most organizations. Most likely, when you read the job posting for your next position, you will see “leadership skills” within the bullet points of experience. Recognizing this growing need for leadership skills has the ability to elevate your next position or project above others because it will separate you from the competition. We have outlined key areas of leadership skills that influence organizational performance and a leader’s impact on employee engagement.
These skills are crucial to helping you be a more successful leader, and they can help you advance faster in your career. Leadership skills also help shape the development of employees and corporate brand perception. The more you develop the skills you need to lead well, the better you will be able to influence others. Leadership skills also indicate that you are willing to take on responsibility, and your new manager will surely recognize this quality in you during the interview process. Here is why leadership skills are crucial for your success:
All leaders come across novel problems, good leaders cross the hurdles, great leaders make the hurdles disappear.
Aspects of problem-solving you can mention in your resume:
Data Gathering. Observation, Data Analysis. Experimentation. Evaluation. A/B testing. Research. Development. Critical Thinking.
Communication is the cornerstone of leadership. It involves key aspects such as making expectations clear to your team, demonstrating clear value to your client and everything in between.
Aspects of communication you can mention in your resume:
Storytelling. Persuasion. Presentation Skills. Listening. Public Speaking. Language skills.
Every team will face conflicts, either internally or externally and it is the leader’s responsibility to sort it out in an amicable manner.
Aspects of Conflict Management you can mention in your resume:
Emotional Intelligence, Composure, Listening, facilitating conversations, Negotiation.
Ethical leadership is rare to find, but very much essential to leading a sustainable business and driving all employees towards the organization’s goal.
Aspects of Integrity you can mention in your resume:
Honesty, Discipline, Accountability, Ethical, Loyal
A leader is also a good taskmaster, since a leader will always be multitasking. The need to deliver quality work within a time span is fundamental through effective time management.
Aspects of Time management you can mention in your resume:
Planning, Execution, Multitasking, Flexibility, Organization.
A good leader delegates tasks to maximize their value and use their time effectively.
Aspects of Delegation you can mention in your resume:
Collaboration, Agile, Scrum, Standups, Running Meetings, Followups.
Technological leadership is a competitive advantage. It is a make or break factor in respect to innovation. Any leader with sound technology skills pertaining to their field will clearly articulate problems better than someone who isn’t.
Aspects of Technology Leadership you can mention in your resume:
Coding, Development, Engineering, Specific tools, R&D.
Motivation is a powerful force behind every great leader out there, and if you are motivated, you will be able to really get things done.
Aspects of Motivation you can mention in your resume:
Mentoring, Coaching, Collaboration, Rewards, Recognition, Goal Setting.
The more personal experience a leader has had, the better their decisions will be. Great leaders are great decision-makers because they have experience and knowledge to draw from.
Aspects of Decision-Making you can mention in your resume:
Problem Analysis, consensus building, democratic decision-making, Intuition.
Constructive feedback is important because it can help solve future problems and issues before they even happen. A good leader always gives feedback with respect, articulation and understanding.
Aspects of Feedback you can mention in your resume:
Articulation, Writing skills, Performance rating, Empathy, Compassion, Critical Analysis.
Visionary leaders are those who use their imagination to envision future challenges and opportunities in order to lead their organization towards success. Visionary leaders anticipate what challenges may arise, and have a plan for addressing them before they become a major problem for the organization.
Aspects of Vision you can mention in your resume:
Ambition, big goals, scaling, looking ahead.
Leadership and management skills can often be the deciding factor between a candidate who gets offered the job and not getting shortlisted. With just a little creativity, you too can highlight your leadership experience on your resume. Start by listing leadership skills in several relevant sections of your resume by listing tasks and accomplishments that show you are a natural leader who is willing to take responsibility and execute critical job functions well. Don’t assume that the hiring manager will know that you have leadership experience just because someone referred you for the opportunity. Create a compelling resume to highlight your strengths in relevant sections.
Tailor specific stories to relevant job descriptions and make it more personal and less vague. As Plato suggests "those who tell stories, rule the world". Demonstrating good leadership starts with good storytelling.
Keep the following factors in mind while crafting your resume:
Here are a few adverbs and adjectives to help you tell your story:
Being the leader of a group doesn't have to be passive. It involves being dedicated, motivated, and actively taking steps to improve the team and its work environment. Take charge and show your team that you're willing to do whatever it takes to make it succeed. The results will speak for themselves, and your leadership skills will develop into something truly remarkable. Here are some quick tips that will help you build leadership skills:
1. Cultivate discipline
2. Don't stop learning
3. Learn to speak in public
4. Learn about resolving conflicts
5. Put yourself in uncomfortable and uncertain situations
6. Learn Negotiation
7. Develop Empathy
Every aspiring leader should read the following books:
A person is said to have analytical skills when they are able to organize, assimilate, and see patterns in an array of data in order to find creative solutions to the problems discovered in such a way that increases overall performance of the organization.
Analytical skills are considered necessary for identifying problems, analyzing the whole situation, and finding creative but effective solutions. They are useful in not only inherent analytical jobs such as business analytics and data analytics, but also in marketing, law, healthcare, sales, scientific research, etc.
Analytical skills include a lot of other skills and abilities. These are:
Essentially, communication is listening to others in a way that you understand and expressing yourself to others in a way that they understand. It can be verbal, non-verbal, or written and thus, includes body language, tone of voice, eye contact, facial expressions, etc.
Communication skills are not just a part of the list of leadership skills for resume, but also form a very important part of your resume by themselves. This is because every job or workplace requires you to interact, discuss, and maintain professional relationships with your colleagues or superiors.
Here is a list of skills and abilities that are included under communication skills:
Computer skills refer to a person’s ability to use computers, software programs, and new technology in general in a way that contributes towards your efficiency and problem-solving capacity at work.
Nowadays, it is assumed that everyone knows basic computer skills but since every kind of job needs some kind of computer or software skills, it is important to know which ones will be useful for the position you are applying for and add them to your resume skills section. While computer skills form a vital part of IT resume skills, they can also be useful in social media resume skills, call center resume skills, sales resume skills, etc.
Below are some of the commonly desired in most fields and industries:
Customer service skills are those skills that enable, mainly, customer service professionals to interact with a customer and satisfy their needs by solving their problems.
Customer service can be highly impactful in retaining customers. Reports have shown that 89% of customers would rather buy a competitor’s products, if it meant better customer service. Hence, it becomes very important for people working as customer service professionals to have skills that make them better at their job and help retain more customers by providing them with a good experience.
Following are some of the many resume skills examples for customer service:
Interpersonal skills are very similar but they extend beyond the scope of communication skills. While being able to efficiently interact with people is a necessary part of interpersonal skills, they also involve having the skill of building meaningful relationships with everyone you meet.
Interpersonal skills enable a person to interact in the best way possible with clients, colleagues, customers, team members, superiors, etc. What’s more is that these skills won’t just look good on your resume and be useful at the workplace, but they can also greatly help during interviews. Interpersonal skills, although useful in every kind of job, look particularly good as resume skills for retail, resume skills for nursing, teacher resume skills, caregiver resume skills, nanny resume skills, HR resume skills, etc.
Interpersonal skills further includes the following skills and abilities:
People skills are very similar to interpersonal skills and refer to skills and abilities of interacting with everyone you come across effectively. These can be people who work alongside you, people you work for, or even customers. These are similar to interpersonal and communication skills.
People skills are important as you have to interact with many people in the course of a day and communicating with them effectively and positively helps build connections instead of barriers. These are a must-have as customer service resume skills, resume skills for sales associate, retail resume skills, and any other job that involves direct communication with people.
The following qualities and skills are included under the umbrella of people skills:
Management skills involve having the ability to assemble, organize, and lead or manage a group of people effectively in order to achieve organizational goals. However, besides having great people and communication skills, a manager also has to have the proper knowledge about the products and operations of the organization.
Every organization needs management and people with good management skills happen to be the best managers and leaders of the organization. Adding to your resume, management skills relevant to the job description is highly recommended to your human resource resume skills section and resume skills for administrative assistant.
Here are some resume management skills that you can use:
Organizational skills involve being able to manage all situations and people in an organized and structured way in order to increase productivity. These skills help a person to stay motivated and use the knowledge and hard skills they have most efficiently and effectively.
Organizational skills are often listed as a requirement in the job description for many positions and roles. This is because having these skills will enable you to meet any challenges you face in the workplace in a professional manner. Besides, organizational skills are transferable, meaning that being the manager of a restaurant or of a bank requires pretty much the same organizational skills. They are particularly useful to include in housekeeper resume skills, supervisor resume skills, administrative resume skills, pharmacy technician resume skills, etc.
The following organizational skills can be included to your job resume skills list:
Technical skills are those skills and abilities that are needed to perform a specific task or job. These usually refer to hard skills and thus, vary according to different jobs. These are also learnt and practiced, unlike soft skills.
Technical skills are quite important as every job requires a specific skill set and knowledge. There are some that are absolutely necessary and form the crux of the job, whereas some are not but they definitely look good on the job resume skills list and will make your resume distinguished from others.
Different technical skills are considered valuable for different industries and job positions. However, here some of the most common technical resume skills:
Time management skills are those skills and abilities that help you use all the time you have on your hands in the most efficient and productive manner. A person can have the best hard and soft skills but they should also know how to manage their time to meet their targets and complete their goals at the same time.
At every job, there will be a lot to do and not a lot of time, and there is the issue of managing your personal life as well. Letting an employer know that you can handle challenges and deadlines by adding time management skills to your resume skills list can do wonders. It is also one of the many good resume skills.
The following skills and abilities are related to time management:
Language skills are those that enable a person to use a language(s) to communicate, either verbally or in written form, effectively. There are many ways to describe your language proficiency in a resume. You can use different language proficiency scales as rating systems to mention the level of proficiency in your resume. These can be the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or use words such as Intermediate, Proficient, Fluent, or Native.
Employers usually prefer bilingual or multilingual candidates because of the increasing globalization. A person can also have the best hard and soft skills but be unable to use them efficiently or interact with colleagues if they cannot communicate in a common language. Positions where there is direct interaction with customers will also require good language skills. Thus, language skills must be included in a retail resume skills section, customer service resume skills section, etc.
If the job description does not explicitly ask for or depend on your language skills, it is better to include them in the resume skills and qualifications section. Remember to mention the proficiency level. However, if language skills are an important part of the job description, a separate Language Skills section should be added.
Collaboration skills are those that enable a person to work well in a team in order to achieve common goals most efficiently. Collaborative skills are not just limited to communication skills and include many other soft skills.
It is often true that a person who is collaborative and cooperative in nature is likely to be a well-performing employee and member of a team. That is also the reason why such skills are listed in the job description of many positions nowadays. Collaboration skills are also one of the most desired leadership skills on resume because a leader has to be a team player to lead a team as well.
The following soft skills can be included under collaboration skills:
Problem-solving skills are a set of hard and soft skills that would enable a person to identify a problem, come up with all the possible solutions, choose the best alternative, and apply it.
Problems are bound to come up in any job or industry you work in. Thus, it is only understandable why employers would want candidates who know they will be able to face any situation calmly and formulate a plan to eliminate the problem or guide their team through it successfully. While these may not be explicitly mentioned in the job description, they are considered quite valuable in every kind of job as resume leadership qualities, and should be added to all resume skill sections such as housekeeping resume skills, bartender resume skills, nannying resume skills, administration resume skills, construction resume skills, engineering resume skills, etc
The following soft skills can be included under problem-solving skills:
Creativity is coming up with unique and original ideas that lead to out-of-the-box innovation. Similarly, creative thinking skills enable a person to think creatively about each problem they encounter and come up with new solutions that no one has come up with before.
Employers want people who will be able to solve problems in innovative ways that can save them time and money. Creative thinking skills allow a person to think outside the box, thus accomplishing tasks in a newer, better, and more efficient way. These are required in almost every kind of job and are one of the many resume leadership skills examples.
The following can be associated with creative thinking skills:
Critical thinking skills involve understanding a situation carefully to identify a problem, organize all the data collected to come up with possible solutions, and implement the best alternative after analyzing each course of action.
Resumes that contain critical thinking skills or examples of them shown through experience instantly become more appealing to employers because with good critical thinking skills, a person can solve even the most complex of problems. It leads to proper decision-making and increases overall efficiency in all kinds of jobs and industries, which is why these are one of the most important leadership skills resume phrases:
Here are some of the skills and abilities included in critical thinking skills:
Active listening skills are one of the many interpersonal or communication skills that involve actively listening and concentrating on the speaker when they are talking to you. It sounds very simple but it is an acquired skill that not many have as it requires using all the senses and letting the speaker know that you are listening to them through verbal and non-verbal cues.
Active listeners tend to be people who are helpful and collaborative. They will be best suited to work in a team or even lead one because of their interpersonal skills and ability to understand people; so it makes sense that employers want to hire people with active listening skills.
The following are included under active listening skills:
Adaptability skills allow a person to change in the environment, people, management, etc. Adaptability requires as well as leads to consistency and efficiency in the workplace.
People with adaptability skills tend to spend less time adjusting to big changes and more time on taking advantage of the situation in order to maximize efficiency. Moreover, these skills are highly desired because of the dynamic business environment and its importance has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adaptability skills include many other soft skills, which are:
Negotiation skills involve two or more parties resolving conflicts through dialogue and compromise in order to reach a common solution agreeable by both parties. In the workplace, negotiation can take place between colleagues, employees and employers, with suppliers, etc.
There are always going to be differences between people regarding their opinions or needs or wants, but it is through negotiation that they can find common ground and not let differences affect overall efficiency. Negotiation skills lead to solutions that are beneficial to all parties involved and help in the achievement of organizational goals. These are important in almost every industry and considered to be one of the main leadership qualities.
Here are some skills and qualities included in negotiation skills:
Conflict resolution involves de-escalating a situation to remove any conflict by using dialogue, compromise, empathy, negotiation, etc. Having good conflict resolution skills makes someone a really good communicator and thus, it is a very important skill to have.
Around 85% of employees experience some kind of conflict at their workplace at some point and this is bound to cost organizations a lot. This is why employers tend to prefer people who can deal with or manage conflict in an amicable way without it creating resentment or frustration in the workplace. Skills such as conflict resolution and communication are great ideas for resume skills section for any job or industry.
The following skills and qualities make up conflict resolution skills:
IT is one of the most desired career paths due to many reasons but it is also a dynamic industry and including the best skills to your resume can be a great advantage. Here are some IT resume skills ideas:
Human Resources is yet another industry that constantly keeps on changing and developing. Thus, with it, the professionals working in have to keep growing their skill sets as well. Here are some HR resume skills that you must include in your resume:
A resume for a software developer needs to have the best technical hard skills and soft skills for it to not get overlooked by the applicant tracking system (ATS). Since this field is fast-growing and quickly becoming very competitive, it is important to have a good resume. Here are some skills that can be included in a developer resume:
Teaching is a very important job in society and it is only fair that only highly-skilled candidates are chosen for the position. Here are some ideas for teacher resume skills, nanny resume skills, childcare resume skills, etc.:
For such an important job, it is necessary to have the right skills listed in the resume skills and qualifications section. Here are some of the most important hard and soft skills for a medical assistant or nurse:
A customer service resume has to be specially tailored according to the requirements of the job. Here are some important skills and keywords to include in a customer service resume skills section:
Administrative assistants play a very important role in the functioning of an office and contribute greatly towards overall productivity and efficiency. Here are some skills you can include in an administrative resume:
With high competition rates, entering the sales field becomes a difficult task but with the right work experience and skills, you can definitely improve your odds. Here are some skills and abilities you can include in your sales resume skills section:
Adding skills to your resume can be the missing piece that gets you the job you want. These skills can be of two types: hard skills and soft skills. While hard skills are related to the job and technical know-how, soft skills are abilities or personality traits that help a person use hard skills and thrive in the workplace. These can include important and highly desired resume skills such as leadership skills, communication skills, organizational skills, time management skills, customer service skills, etc. It is always better to customize your resume and only add the resume skills and qualifications that are relevant to the job you are seeking. You can do so by looking at the job description and making a list of all the skills you have and then selecting the common ones. This will allow your best skills to be highlighted before the employer and increase your chances of securing an interview.
Leadership on a resume is very important, as this is what wins you the interview. Being able to describe your leadership skills clearly and concisely in a resume is also very significant. Resumes are normally limited to one page and as such it can be difficult to fully address all of your skills, knowledge and abilities. One way is to write a section called strengths and weaknesses. This is an excellent place to discuss any shortcomings that you might feel detract from your leadership status. The other way is to identify the types of leadership experiences you have had as well as demonstrate your abilities in those areas.
Some common adjectives used to describe leadership are: Constructive, Bold, Influential, Passionate, Versatile, Trustworthy, Accountable, Decisive, Astute, Flexible, Creative, Optimistic Dedicated, Humble, etc.
Yes, leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed. As a leader and manager, you will always be practicing your skills. There will never come a point when you have completely mastered the art of leadership and are ready to sit back and relax. If you think you have mastered leadership skills, then step out of the role of being a leader or manager and take on the role of a team player. You will see your skills diminish in order to allow your team members to grow in their own roles. Good leaders always put their ego aside to create an environment where people can grow and excel in their roles. Leadership is a skill that is never perfected; it takes constant work, development, training, practice, and review for the individual.
If you look at senior leaders in your company, there are certain characteristics that you will find common between them. The good news is that some of these leadership behaviors can be learned through mentorship, training and coaching. Some core behaviors are: Confidence, Resilience, Reflection, Goal Setting, Responsible, Assertiveness, Influential, Adaptive, Creative and Empathetic. In truth, these are the top leadership behaviors that make an effective leader. These traits help you to be respected by your subordinates, understood by those around you, and most importantly – make you a valuable asset to your company.
By conducting a self-analysis, you can learn or relearn specific leadership traits that you possess. In essence, discovering your strengths will allow you to market yourself more effectively. However, there are ways to develop weaknesses into strengths and this is an important point to put across in your resume. For example, your style maybe too aggressive and you don't take criticism well from others. This may come across as weakness to some potential employers but all that is needed is for you to learn the value of accepting feedback, acting on it and incorporating it into your leadership style. When managers who have built lasting careers listen to their employees' input, they improve their skills and might become a strong team member in the process.
Some common leadership strength examples are:
“I am a very good active listener” “I am an empathetic leader” “I am a resilient leader” “I have demonstrated accountability in my previous role (quoting example)” “I take action on the feedback I get” “I give out constructive feedback and this is the change I have seen”.
A good leader should avoid being a dictator. They should also avoid being a pushover and never showing any signs of weakness as this will cause their team to take advantage of them. To be a good leader, they must be fair and just to everyone on their team as well as those under them. Additionally, a good leader should avoid feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility they have, never make promises they cannot keep, and always keep their cool when they are in a sticky situation. They should also be open to change and find ways to deal with negative emotions like anger or frustration. A leader should never stop learning or take for granted that they are doing the best job possible.
It is important to carefully tailor your resume according to the job you are applying to and the resume skills section plays a huge part in that. Since employers are not going to spend much time going through your resume, you will need to use the best keywords related to the hard and soft skills suited for the job. These may include:
The first step to writing resume skills is figuring out which skills to add. This can be done by looking at the job requirement and creating a list of skills that you have and those that are relevant for the job. Next, you can add these skills to your resume either in a list format in a separate “Skills” section under Hard Skills or Soft Skills, or weave them into a functional resume by giving examples of using those skills in the past.
Resumes are a way to market yourself to an employer when you are seeking a job. These are a page or two long and highlight your best skills, abilities, and past achievements, along with giving all the information related to your education and work experience. An employer can easily look at a resume and decide whether to hire you for the position or not, without having to go through a longer process of interviewing each candidate.
The resume skills section should contain all the skills required for the job. You can look for these skills in the job description and find those that you possess as well. There are a couple ways to add skills to a resume, that is, either in a list form or by adding examples from your experience where you used those skills. However, remember to add only relevant skills and never too many as that can confuse the employer or make your resume unnecessarily long.
In a resume, it is often recommended to describe the skills and qualities you have using action words such as “led, managed, organized, etc”, and describing a situation or role from the past where you had to employ those skills. For example:
Even when you are not actively looking or applying for jobs, your resume should be updated at least every 6-10 months to correctly reflect your experience and any change in your skill set. Sometimes the contact information also needs to be updated and you should also customize your resume according to the position that you are applying to fill.
It is important to list only the most relevant hard and soft skills on your resume, which can be 6-10 in number in total. Remember to never put too many skills on your resume as this will prevent the most relevant and useful skills from being highlighted and lead to a decrease in your chances of securing an interview.
Where you put your skills on your resume depends on how you want to display them. You can either add resume skills and interests as lists under your contact information in a chronological resume, or add them under the career objective or summary in a functional resume using examples from your previous jobs where you used those skills.
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