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Choosing the right non-technical skills for resume and creatively adding them to the resume with proof is crucial to impress the recruiter and get an interview with the company.

Failing to showcase these skills along with your experiences, education, and technical skills relevant to the position you are applying for can lead to rejection.

Whether you get an interview call or not depends on the soft skills you add to your resume as needed by the recruiter. But what skills are they looking for, anyway?

Don't worry. In this post, we are discussing 10 non-technical skills for resumes that will improve your chances of getting an interview.

10 non-technical skills to include in your resume

Businesses value non-technical skills much. In fact, these skills are what enable them to build strong relationships with and among the employees.

Hence, it is natural they look for these qualities in potential candidates.

When preparing your resume, try to include a few of the skills given below. Because these are the non-technical skills most employers are looking for.

1. Problem-solving

Problems are sure to arise in a job. While it is impossible to predict the kind of problems that may arise, businesses always want employees who are comfortable solving them. Hence, this is a crucial non-technical skill for your resume, for sure.

For example, the problem-solving abilities of Elon Musk are renowned in the business world. When he began his company SpaceX and started working on developing reusable rockets, not everyone was convinced. Although he kept going on, the launches failed consistently. However, he learned from his mistakes, solved the problem creatively, and made better decisions with newer insights to make the launches successful.

You could include instances where you solved an issue within the team or in the department in your previous job.“Identified performance issues in the team after interacting with the team and created a quick learning course that lasted a week to improve the team’s performance by 78% in a month.”

2. Decision-making

The ability to make sensible and informed decisions is an important skill that businesses want their employees to have. Working in a professional setup means that you need to make good decisions, and it can affect your team or the business at large.

Therefore, businesses need candidates who can analyze the situation, look at the available data, and see beyond the obvious to make rational decisions.

As this frees businesses from monitoring every decision made by their employees, this is an important skill they want their employees to have.

An example of decision-making skills is how Ratan Tata decided not to sell the car division to Ford Motor Company in the US. At first, Tata decided to sell the car division as it was not making sales or growing. However, as negotiations were not as fruitful as expected, Mr. Tata rethought the decision and backed from the negotiation. And now Tata Motors has some of the most selling passenger and electric cars in the country and owns Jaguar and Land Rover, from Ford, the same company that tried to buy Tata Motors.

Include instances of you making a wise decision for your previous employer in your resume. Quantify the result of your decision and how it impacted your employer positively.“Selected the best SEO agency from multiple vendors based on their experience, quality, price, etc.” 

3. Attention to detail

Paying attention to every aspect of your job is crucial. More than a skill, it is a necessity in any business. This skill is extremely essential in industries such as technology, manufacturing, healthcare, etc., as the failure to pay attention to detail may result in considerable challenges in the future.

Hence, employers want candidates who pay attention to every bit of their job without constant directions.

You can add examples of how you have used this skill in your job and how it helped you adhere to compliance practices without fail.“Proofread important business proposals to catch and rectify grammar and spelling errors before they are sent to the clients for the best results.” 

4. Time management

The ability to work as per schedules and complete tasks on time is a skill that every business wants from their employees. No business wants an employee who constantly misses the deadline and cannot complete the work on time.

Failure to manage time is also detrimental to the business in a remote setting, where the employees are not under direct supervision.

Hence, employees who are on time with their tasks allow employers to not worry about projects. And naturally, they want employees who respect time and manage it well.

Hence, when you create your resume, show that you are a person with good time management skills by including a sentence that shows that you were always on time with tasks and projects.

“Managed a tight schedule to complete a project in 3 days by expanding the team and delegating the tasks to the best employees in the organization for timely project delivery.’’

5. Adaptability

The corporate world is changing faster than businesses can sit down and analyze. Hence, they are on the hunt for employees who can adapt to these dynamics.

The COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted the world, sending everyone to remote or work-from-home options. Now, the AI revolution is again challenging businesses.

No business wants an employee who is unable to adapt. They need employees who can adapt, face the challenges, and help the business move forward.

An example of adaptability could be Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. He has always adapted to varying changes in his career and competition from businesses, which led to the formation of Meta, Instagram, etc.

You may add examples of how you have navigated through changes in your business or the team to achieve goals. Briefly explaining your strategies on how you did it would do the trick.“Adapted to the flexible work requirement of the organization during the pandemic and worked 3 days from home and 2 days at the office.” 

6. Organization

Despite having the right resources to work and improve productivity, many employees still fail to live up to the expectations of their employers. A lack of organizational skills could be the reason.

Staying well-organized is a key habit that enables employees to deliver high-quality work without compromising on efficiency or productivity. That's why businesses need individuals who are well-organized.

For example, Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, was respected across the industry for her exceptional organizational skills. During her tenure, she has reshaped the company product portfolio, helping the FMCG giant grow even further thanks to her exceptional organizational skills.

Likewise, you could also show instances of your organizational skills in your resume. Explain how you use the available resources and tools quickly by staying organized to access them as needed to deliver top-notch work on time.“Helped the business stay organized by creating a well-structured digital file management system and a standard operating procedure for file management.’’

7. Leadership

Leadership is a crucial skill that every business covets in their employees. Employers are looking for candidates who can grow beyond managerial positions or roles to more senior and executive roles.

Leadership is the amalgamation of most of the skills we have discussed in this list. These essential leadership skills make a person effectively take leadership not only in their own line of work but also to motivate and influence others for growth and better performance.

One of the best examples of such skill is Steve Jobs, who has inspired millions of people in the world as a leader in the tech world. He not only created one of the most respected and valued businesses in the world but also inspired an entire generation with his motivational speeches, presentations, and innovations.

In your resume, you can share experiences where you have led your team and taken charge of certain situations to resolve challenges. Highlighting the transformation with quantifiable information could make it even better.“Led the digital marketing team to help a client regain their search rankings in 6 months and increase conversion rates by 37%.’’

8. Interpersonal

When you work in an organization, you will be surrounded by people from diverse backgrounds.

Your ability to interact, work, and engage with them will determine your performance as well as your team’s. This is why employers are looking for people with excellent interpersonal skills, as diversity and inclusion have become integral to any business's success.

Therefore, show your interpersonal skills, such as empathy, emotional intelligence, active listening, etc., in your resume and how you have utilized the skills to get work done.

“Helped and supported a newcomer to understand the workflow after actively listening to her concerns regarding the same.”

9. Communication

Effective communication is at the foundation of the success of any business. A business that is open for communication fosters trust and collaboration. And businesses look for professionals with excellent business communication skills.

Communication skills don't just mean the ability to talk well; it is also the ability to listen to people thoroughly, be witty, and keep conversations interesting. Your communication skills also determine if you are a great leader, can make intelligent decisions, and resolve problems.

All great leaders in the world have been excellent communicators. A few examples would be Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou, etc.

You can share how you have been able to clearly communicate with your colleagues and clients, understand client requirements quickly, and share your ideas and thoughts precisely, even if they are complex.“Successfully delivered a project presentation to secure a major client, clearly explaining the deliverables, the team’s capabilities, and previous successful projects.”

10. Teamwork

A business is a team. And without teamwork, no organization can grow or achieve goals. As employees are the ones who must work in teams often, businesses look for candidates who can demonstrate these skills from previous jobs.

That's why businesses constantly look for candidates with demonstrated experience of working in teams, collaborating on projects, etc. If you want to work with your dream employer, teamwork is a skill you need to include in your resume, as they will be looking for it.

There are several experiences that you could include in your resume to show that you have excellent teamwork skills. Such as how you have worked with your team on projects, how you brainstorm better ideas with a team than individually, etc.

“Collaborated with the UI design team to brainstorm new design ideas for the internal employee management software, keeping user experience in mind.”

Conclusion

These are the most common non-technical skills for resumes to impress a recruiter. Adding these skills is sure to make potential employers look at your resume with increased interest. At the same time, merely adding these skills to your resume will not be enough.

You need to present them as part of your previous professional experiences for credibility. You can look at the job description of the role and include the skills mentioned there to improve your chances of getting an interview call.

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