Communication skills are an essential part of your resume. They show how well you can talk and express yourself to others. This is critical in a work environment when you’re working alongside peers, management, and customers.
If you’re stuck on this part of your resume, wondering how to list your communication skills, rest assured, we’ve got you covered.
In this article, we will show you how to list communication skills on your resume and highlight examples of communication skills to include.
When you’re done, you will have a clearer understanding of what communication skills mean and how to add them to your resume.
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What Are Communication Skills?
Communication skills are the skills you use to communicate verbally, nonverbally, and in written form. These skills are important for job recruiters to look at because it determines how effectively you can express yourself to others, which is crucial in any workplace.
You will be working independently or in a team environment and being able to effectively communicate is essential to help you navigate your work environment.
Hard Skills vs Soft Skills
Communication skills can be hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are the skills you learn that can be measured and tracked. They tend to be specific and technical like being bilingual, the ability to do network security or user interface design. But, if tied to a specific task or project, communication skills can be a hard skill.
Soft skills are attributes that people have like motivation, manners, and flexibility. They are like personality traits that you already have or develop over time.
Soft skills are often the skills employers look at when hiring or promoting you. Communication as a soft skill can break down into skills like:
- Negotiation
- Listening
- Nonverbal communication skills
- Visual communication
- Presentation
You can see how communication can be both a learned skill that you develop over time and a personality trait or attribute that someone possesses.
Why Should I Include Communication Skills on My Resume?
According to this survey, 81% of recruiters identify interpersonal skills as the most important, above other skills. Oral communication was the top skill employers wanted from new hires, with 69% of recruiters saying it’s the chief reason they hire graduates from business school.
Communication skills are the top skills employers are looking for when hiring.
It’s important to share how you shine in this area, to improve the chances of getting selected for an interview and ultimately, getting hired.
Here are 12 of the best communication skills to list on your resume.
12 Communication Skills to List on Your Resume
Communication skills are about how you can communicate with others. They play a major role in every job on the market.
Here are 12 communication skills you want to list on your resume, broken down into these three categories:
- Verbal communication: This is spoken communication.
- Nonverbal communication: Unspoken communication is translated in other ways like through visuals.
- Written communication: The ability to communicate in written form.
Verbal Communication Skills To List On Your Resume
1. Negotiation
The art of negotiation is important to employers. It shows that you have the skills to successfully reach a compromise with the other party that’s mutually acceptable for everyone involved. Negotiation skills require honesty, confidence, excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, and creativity.
2. Persuasion
Persuasion is about convincing the other party to go with your agreement. It’s not about a compromise like in negotiation. Instead, persuasion skills require that you change the other party’s point of view so they side with you. This requires critical thinking and sales skills.
3. Storytelling
Storytelling paints a picture for your audience. It connects you to others. The power behind a story can entertain, educate, and inspire your audience. It’s a top communication skill and requires that you’re a creative thinker and have attention to detail.
4. Public speaking
Public speaking skills require that you can talk to an audience confidently using tone, timing, body language, and other skills as you make your presentation.
5. Presentation
Presentation skills are critical so you can effectively communicate your message to the audience. A clear speaking voice, engaging with your audience, using the right tone and body language to share your message are skills required here.
Nonverbal Communication Skills For Your Resume
6. Listening
Strong listening skills are one of the top soft skills employers are looking for. This is about active listening. A good listener is a thoughtful listener who doesn’t interrupt. You should be paying attention which can be measured by how well you can reflect and recap what the speaker said.
7. Open-mindedness
Being open-minded means you respect who you are interacting with, you have empathy and understanding. It’s about opening your mind to another point of view.
8. Relationship-building
Forming relationships with others in the workplace is critical for a strong and well-running organization and team. You build rapport with other team members, there’s trust and honesty.
9. Reading body language
Body language is an expression that you can see in someone’s movements or mannerisms. You can tell if someone is nervous, happy, upset, bored, etc.
You can look at body gestures, movement, and eye contact to determine someone’s body language.
Being able to read body language is powerful. With this knowledge, you can adjust your communication style to change the mood in the room, increase interest, and provoke more positive body language.
10. Visual communication
Visual communication skills are about using visual aids to accompany your presentation to reinforce what you’re speaking about. This can include using GIFs, videos, and infographics, among other elements, to help better share your story with the audience.
Written Communication Skills To List On Your Resume
11. Writing skills
Writing skills are important because they show that you can express yourself in written form. Basic writing skills mean you have good grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary in your writing.
Based on your job, other writing skills might be important to note on your resume like creative writing or technical writing skills.
12. Report writing
Report writing is a business writing skill. It shows that you can take the material you have and present it in a written report that can be consumed by others and easily understood. You are well-organized, an analytical thinker, and detail-oriented.
Related: The Best Careers In Communications
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Where To Include Communication Skills On Your Resume
There are many ways to include your communication skills on your resume. Here are some ideas you can try:
- Write out your communication skills in a bulleted list in the skills section of your resume
- Demonstrate key communication skills you’ve used in the past by sharing examples
- List your communication skills in your resume summary
- Describe how you use your communication skills in past jobs or projects you’ve worked
Where To Include Technical Skills On Your Resume
Technical skills are listed just below your professional summary on your resume.
Your resume will usually begin with your name, contact details, and job title. Then, you’ll write your professional summary. Just beneath that, you can list your technical skills.
Related: How To List Certifications On Your Resume
Where To Get Resume Help
If this still sounds overwhelming, you should consider getting professional help with your resume. We did a lot of research on resume writing services and they are way more affordable than you may think! If you need help preparing your resume, you can turn to these professional resume writing services:
For more, read about our top choices for the best resume writing services including our recommendation for best overall resume writing service.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I describe my communication skills?
Communication skills let you express yourself orally, through nonverbal communication, and in written form. Describe your communication skills in a clear way that’s easy to understand.
How do I say I have good communication skills in an interview?
Talk about how you’ve developed good communication skills and list those skills as examples, like negotiation, storytelling, and good listening skills, for example.
What are the 7 communication skills?
The seven c’s of communication are: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous.
What are the three types of communication skills?
The three types of communication skills are verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and written communication.
The Bottom Line
Communication skills are very important to the hiring process. It’s important to share these skills and it all starts with your resume. Now that your resume highlights your communication skills, you can find your next amazing job. Start searching today on ZipRecruiter.
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