General Skills for Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews

When you're writing resumes and cover letters and applying for jobs, there are certain skills that employers expect job applicants to have. These are general skills that apply to almost any job.

Make sure that you highlight these skills when you're job searching and emphasize them in job applications, resumes, cover letters, and interviews.

How to Highlight Your Skills

You can use these skills lists throughout your job search process. Firstly, you can use these skill words in your resume. Include keywords in the description of your work experience or the summary section of your resume as shown below:

Secondly, you can use these in your cover letter. In the body of your letter, you can mention one or two of these skills, and give a specific example of a time when you demonstrated those skills at work.

Finally, you can use these skill words in your interview. Make sure you have at least one example of a time you demonstrated each of the top five skills listed here.

Top 5 General Skills

Each job you apply for will require different skills and experiences, so make sure you read the job description carefully and focus on the skills listed by the employer.

To draw attention to a skill, highlight it on your resume when you describe your previous positions, and possibly also in a separate skills list section.

Communication Skills

Communication is a critical soft skill. No matter what your job is, you will have to interact with employers, colleagues, and/or clients. You might have to engage with people in person, on the phone, via email, or a combination of all three.

Written and Verbal Communication

Employers look for job candidates with strong written and oral communication skills. They want to hire people who can speak and write clearly, accurately, and professionally.

You will probably also have to do some writing, whether that involves making reports, creating signage, filling out records, or something else. Broadly speaking, communication skills break down into either written or oral skills, although there are areas of overlap, such as email. Good communication must be accurate, easy to understand, and appropriate.

Speaking and Correspondence

That means employing tactful, professional speech and correspondence, and it also means creating well-crafted writing in the correct format. Appropriate communication might mean very different things for different positions, and good communicators know which standards apply to which context. While it’s true that communication is much more important in some jobs than others, it is always a factor to some degree.

Related Skills: Administrative, Advising, Being Artistic / Creative, Business Storytelling, Coaching Individuals, Collaboration, Communication, Conducting Meetings, Conflict Resolution, Confronting Others, Consultation, Counseling, Customer Service, Demonstrations, Dispensing Information, Displaying Ideas, Editing, Expression of Feelings, Fundraising, Handling Complaints, Human Resources, Interpersonal, Interviews, Language Translation, Listening, Monetary Collection, Negotiation, Networking, Nonverbal Communication, Oration, Personal Interaction, Preparing Written Documents, Proposals, Proposal Writing, Publications, Public Relations, Public Speaking, Questioning Others, Reading Volumes, Recommendations, Reporting, Report Writing, Screening Calls, Sketching, Training, Updating Files.

Computer Literacy/Information Technology

Even if your job does not directly involve information technology, every employer expects you to have a basic understanding of how to use a computer.

You should be comfortable with word-processing and email, as well as spreadsheets and programs like Excel. Any additional computer skills you have will only enhance your resume.

Related Skills: Budgeting, Calculations, Classifying Records, Compiling Statistics, Computer, Financial Report Auditing, Information Search, Information and Communications Technology, Locating Missing Documents / Information, Maintenance, Managing Finances, Microsoft Office, Numerical Analysis, Scheduling, Technical Support, Technical, Technology.

Learning Skills

Being a fast learner is an important skill for almost any job. Yes, employers want to know that you have the basic hard skills for a job, but if you are a quick learner, you can expand your skill set over time.

Learning is actually a group of skills, some of which are themselves learned and can be improved with practice, while others are probably inborn. You are likely to be much faster at learning some types of material than others and much better at learning in some ways than others. Your prospective employer might not care whether you are a visual or an auditory learner, but if you know your own style, you can be a much more effective learner.

Related Skills: Assembling Apparatus, Construction, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Detail Management, Equipment Operation, Independent Action, Knowledge of Current Governmental Affairs, Learning, Logical Thinking, Organizational, Organizational Management, Organizational Tasks, Principal Concept Knowledge, Prioritizing, Reasoning, Remembering Facts, Time Management, Transferable Skills.

Problem-Solving

In all jobs, there are problems, so problem-solving skills will make you a much better employee. Depending on your responsibilities, the scope of the problem you are expected to solve, and your level of independence, the degree to which you problem-solve might vary. For some positions, the problem-solving ability will be seen as critical, while in others you will be expected only to follow instructions. And yet, acknowledged or not, problem-solving will help you do your work better.

Related Skills: Accuracy, Analysis, Analytical, Being Thorough, Creating Ideas, Creating Innovation, Creating New Solutions, Creating New Procedures, Defining Performance Standards, Defining Problems, Evaluating, Innovation, Inventing New Ideas, Investigation, Measuring Boundaries, Prediction, Problem Solving, Regulating Rules.

Teamwork

Almost every job involves working on a team in some way. Whether you work regularly on team projects, or simply need to work as part of a department, you will need to be able to get along well with others.

The ability to work on a team is critical in some jobs and almost incidental in others. Yet even the most independent positions sometimes involve shared goals and difficulties.

On your resume and cover letter, and in your interviews, emphasize your ability to work with others to achieve success.

Related Skills: Adaptable, Challenging Employees, Emotional Control, Encouragement, Entertainment, Goal Setting, Involvement, Leadership, Maintaining High Levels of Activity, Management, Meeting Deadlines, Motivation, Multitasking, Overseeing Meetings, Overseeing Operation, Plan Development, Planning, Promotions, Rehabilitating Others, Responsibility, Service, Supervision, Team Building, Teamwork, Toleration.

Resume Example Focusing on Relevant Skills

This is a resume example with a list of relevant skills. Download the resume template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see the example below.

More Skills Resources

While these critical “top five” skills are those which are most sought by all employees, you should also be prepared to describe job-specific skills. To help in this, have a look at “Employment Skills Listed by Job” and “Lists of Skills for Resumes.” At the same time, it’s equally important to be aware of skills not to put on your resume. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to ensure that your resume and cover letter are the perfect match for the qualifications an employer is seeking.