Skills are essential for a college student’s resume. College students will have less work experience to speak of (if any at all). Therefore, a greater focus should be placed on showcasing skills and attributes, as well as your educational achievements. An extensive list of skills that takes up most of the page isn’t the right way to go. This article takes you through the best ways to write about skills for a resume and five of the best skills which all employers will be looking for, so your chances of getting the job after college will increase.
How to Highlight Skills for a College Student Resume
One of the best ways to showcase skills is by customizing them to the job you are applying for. Firstly, take a look at the skills the advert is asking for. Ensure these are mentioned by name on your resume. Second, briefly detail specific examples of how to embody these skills to match the job description. This way, you will appear aligned with the role, and your application will be more likely to be picked up by applicant tracking systems (ATS).
The Top Five Skills for College Students to Focus on
These five skills are transferrable and will be sought after in most jobs. Think about each one and see how it can be elaborated upon in your resume.
1. Communication
Practical communication skills are essential in many lines of work and equally important whether you are looking for full- or part-time employment. Communication can be broken down into verbal (such as presentation skills), written communication (including languages), and effective listening skills. When referring to the quality of your written communication, you must ensure your resume is professionally and clearly written.
2. Dependability or Reliability
This is your chance to demonstrate to potential employers that you are trustworthy and conscientious. Dependability and reliability can refer to attendance or absence, time management, meeting deadlines, or seeing through projects or volunteering opportunities from start to finish. Consider touching on your stress management ability or when you have effectively balanced multiple tasks or responsibilities.
3. Informational Technology Skills
Information technology (IT) skills can refer to any number of areas of expertise or competence that require working with systems, applications, computers, or software. These skills are invaluable to employers because of how quickly many facets of working life are going ‘online’ or virtual (the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated some of these trends). Being able to demonstrate your proficiency in IT areas aligned with what a specific employer needs will ensure you stand out from the crowd.
4. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving skills demonstrate to an employer that you can work autonomously and, with the proper training, resolve problems and challenges appropriately. Problem-solving skills also draw upon your effective use of logic or analytical/critical thinking, which you already use at college. On a college student’s resume, you may need to relate these skills to specific situations, such as customer service.
5. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a brilliant skill to add to your CV as it’s one of the most transferrable. EI should be used in any interaction involving other people. EI is not just about how you manage your own emotions. It’s also a measure of how you relate to loved ones, colleagues, clients, managers, suppliers, and more. In this respect, EI is concerned with how you understand people’s points of view to help them achieve common ground or accomplish tasks and goals. EI can be seen as an extension of ‘people skills’, but with an emphasis on empathy.
Final Thoughts
Building up enough work experience for a college student’s resume will take time. In the meantime, do all you can to show off your skills and how you have developed them over time. Paragraphs of information on each one are not needed, but a one-word-per-line list will not do your experience justice. Gradually, as you gain your first job as a college student alongside your college education, you can edit your skill list to corroborate your professional experience. Even then, the skill section of your resume will remain important, as you must ensure employers know exactly what it is you are capable of.
