A skills section is a given on any resume, but to boost the power of that section, you may choose to add your proficiency level to give employers a more honed representation of your abilities. But judging your own skills can be tough. You may be tempted to underplay or overplay your expertise level in an effort to impress.
So how do you go about creating an accurate resume that includes skill levels? In this blog, we’ll break down the answer to that question into the following topics:
Before you begin to rate your skill levels, you need to create a list of all your attributes. Brainstorm any and all knowledge and abilities that you have, regardless of whether they seem relatable to the job. Keep this master list and add to it as you progress in your career. It will come in handy when you compile your skills list, but also when you get asked that common interview question: “What are your greatest skills?”
Once you’ve created your long list of skills, you need to organize it. There are two main types of skills:
Hard skills are those you learned for the job. In other words, if you can take a class to learn it and it applies directly to your profession, it’s a hard skill. Examples include computer software, rules and regulations, accounting procedures, graphic design, and languages.
Soft skills are interpersonal and general work qualities that are relatable to most jobs. Examples include communication, trustworthiness, reliability, problem solving, and organization.
Your resume should include a blend of both of these types of skills.
You may want to further divide your master list into categories of both hard and soft skills that will ensure you can easily create the best mix for your resume skill section. Below are example categories.
| Hard skills | Soft skills |
| Technical or computer | Communication |
| Industry knowledge | Presentation |
| Management | Sales |
| Analytical | Creativity |
Once you have impressed yourself with all the skills you have acquired in your life (not just your career because some of your most valuable soft skills are those you have developed in your relationships with others and in school), it’s time to think about how to rate your skill level.
Here are the four levels of skills you should use to rank yourself:
Now that you have the definitions of skill levels, let’s look at how you can rank yourself within them
Many resume templates offer the option of ranking your skills to give recruiters a clearer picture of who you are as a candidate. This extra information requires more thought on your part, but will also help you find the right job fit.
Unless you really want to list a skill you believe is secondary to the position you seek, but adds to your candidacy, avoid choosing beginner-level skills.
Hard skills are easier to rate. You may even have taken an assessment test that tells you exactly where you fall on the proficiency scale of skill levels. Any skill that you have advanced certification in makes you proficient or expert—you’ve proved it by passing a class and earning a certificate.
If you’re wavering between two levels, you can see if there’s a quick assessment you can complete online or ask a colleague. You don’t want to take yourself out of the running by being too modest, but you also don’t want to exaggerate and find that you are in over your head at your new job.
Soft skills can be more difficult to rate because there’s no simple test for how well you communicate or organize your workday. One method is to break down the skill into its components and see how many of the components you have.
For example: Are you an active listener? Can you give feedback? Regularly communicate and share information with peers and other stakeholders? All of these are parts of communication skills.
While your skills section is an important element of your resume, you need to back up this listing with concrete examples within the rest of your document. Use your profile, employment history, and education sections to provide evidence that backs up your ratings and broadens the picture of what you can do with your skills that will make your prospective employer’s workday easier.
The skills section offers valuable information at a glance to HR personnel. Taking the time to rank and rate your skill levels will also help you target jobs for which you are an excellent candidate.