Over 43% of hiring managers specifically look for organizational skills when reviewing the resume skills of job candidates.
It’s easy to see why. According to a Gallup survey, employees who lack organizational skills cost the U.S. economy an estimated $544 billion each year due to lost productivity.
These unorganized employees are four times more likely to miss deadlines. They are also nine times more likely to be dissatisfied with their job.
Strong organizational skills are key to success in today’s remote or office workplaces. They are skills that employers are looking for. Luckily, it’s a transferable skill and will always be useful to you.
The top 10 organizational skills to put on your resume
Employees with good organizational skills are very important to any business’s success.
But what specific skills are employers looking for?
Here are ten key organizational skills that hiring managers want. They are in-demand skills. Examples below.
1) Time management
Having time management skills means using our 24 hours each day. It requires careful planning and good organization.
A good time manager focuses on important tasks first. They delegate when possible, cut distractions, avoid procrastination, and meet deadlines.
- Efficiently scheduled and managed daily tasks, reducing project turnaround times by 20%.
- Developed a time-blocking system that improved team productivity by 30% and reduced missed deadlines.
- Coordinated simultaneous projects while maintaining a 100% on-time delivery rate.
- Prioritized tasks effectively, allowing the team to handle 15% more client work without requiring overtime.
2) Goal setting
Highly successful businesses and people with leadership skills all have one thing in common – they possess an extremely clear vision of where they want to go.
Without a clear vision, people can easily get lost, or distracted by life’s daily challenges.
When setting goals, make them measurable and achievable within a time limit. Vague goals won’t help you stay focused and motivated.
- Set and achieved quarterly sales targets, leading to a 25% increase in company revenue within one year.
- Implemented SMART goals across teams, which improved task completion by 40% over six months.
- Developed clear, measurable goals for team projects, resulting in a 10% improvement in overall project efficiency.
- Created and tracked individual employee goals, boosting team morale and enhancing performance reviews by 15%.
3) Prioritization
Setting priorities means finding the most important tasks to do first. This allows you to focus your full attention and energy on them.
When you don’t set priorities, confusion and overwhelm can arise. This lack of clarity can lead to procrastination, which only compounds the problem!
In the end, setting priorities at work boosts productivity and efficiency.
- Reorganized project timelines by prioritizing high-impact tasks, resulting in a 35% faster delivery rate.
- Successfully led a team through the completion of a high-priority project, ahead of schedule, by setting clear task priorities.
- Prioritized competing tasks in a fast-paced environment, improving task completion rates by 20%.
- Assessed and shifted workload priorities, which increased team capacity for additional projects by 10%.
4) Physical organization
According to a survey, employees spend about two hours a day searching for the documents and information they need to do their jobs. That’s 25% of their workday!
This is why it’s so important to be physically organized at work. It means having a tidy, well-kept workspace, both physical and digital. You should be able to find everything you need quickly.
Clearing clutter can free up mental space for creativity and positivity.
- Revamped the office filing system, reducing document retrieval time by 50%.
- Organized digital and physical files using a new inventory system, resulting in 100% accuracy during audits.
- Reorganized workspace layout, improving workflow efficiency by 25% and reducing search time for resources.
- Implemented a shared cloud storage system, leading to a 30% reduction in time spent on document searches.
5) Communication
At first, communication might not seem like an organizational skill. But, clear and concise communication keeps everything organized. It’s a highly valued interpersonal skill.
Communication skills include listening as well as speaking (or writing). Good listeners focus on what is said. They ask questions to clarify and give helpful feedback.
Communication skills are required on more than 35% of job postings, which Jobscan discovered after analyzing more than 10 million listings.
- Led weekly team meetings, ensuring clear communication and improving project coordination by 20%.
- Delivered concise, actionable feedback to team members, improving task completion rates by 15%.
- Collaborated cross-functionally to streamline communication channels, reducing project delays by 10%.
- Wrote and distributed clear project briefs, reducing misunderstandings and rework by 25%.
6) Delegation
Delegation is when you assign tasks to others instead of doing those tasks yourself.
Why is delegation an essential organizational skill? Because when you delegate, you give yourself more time and energy to focus on your own important tasks.
Despite the obvious benefits, delegation is a skill many people struggle with. In fact, only 30% of managers believe they’re good at delegating.
Delegation involves more than just assigning tasks — it requires providing clear instructions and giving proper support so that the task can be completed successfully.
When delegation is done correctly, it can be a powerful tool and problem solving skill to help organizations reach their goals.
- Delegated project tasks based on individual strengths, increasing team efficiency by 30%.
- Managed a team of 10, delegating tasks effectively to complete a major project three weeks ahead of schedule.
- Assigned responsibilities across multiple departments, resulting in a 20% improvement in project delivery time.
- Trained and delegated tasks to junior staff, reducing management involvement by 15% and improving team autonomy.
7) Planning
Good planning skills will help you. You will find it easier to handle workloads, complete tasks, meet deadlines, and collaborate with others.
If you don’t have good planning skills, you’ll always be scrambling at the last minute to get things done.
Good planning skills are key for any successful business. They help companies stay on track and reach their goals efficiently and on time.
- Planned and executed a company-wide event for 500 attendees, staying 10% under budget and achieving a 98% satisfaction rate.
- Developed project timelines and resource plans that reduced project completion times by 25%.
- Implemented a detailed weekly project plan, improving overall team output by 20%.
- Created contingency plans for high-risk projects, reducing downtime and improving task efficiency by 30%.
8) Detail oriented
Attention to detail is an organizational skill. It lets you produce quality, error-free work.
Producing good work that doesn’t need redoing saves the company time, money, and resources.
This is why hiring managers place a high value on job candidates who can show they are detail-oriented.
- Maintained 100% accuracy in data entry tasks for over 10,000 records by implementing meticulous quality control checks.
- Conducted thorough audits of project deliverables, reducing errors by 25%.
- Identified inconsistencies in client data, which saved the company $50,000 in potential financial discrepancies.
- Reviewed contracts and documentation with extreme attention to detail, reducing approval delays by 15%.
9) Decision-making
Decision-making is a skill. It lets you assess and evaluate options, weigh their pros and cons, and choose the best solution to a problem.
You can’t make good decisions without being organized. It’s a skill that also highlights critical thinking. This is because you have to systematically take into account current conditions, needs, resources, and other factors.
Good decisions help businesses save time and money. They also help achieve goals faster.
- Analyzed project risks and made key decisions that resulted in a 20% reduction in operational costs.
- Assessed resource allocation and made critical decisions that improved project outcomes by 30%.
- Made data-driven decisions that improved client satisfaction scores by 15%.
- Led decision-making processes during high-pressure situations, reducing downtime and meeting all deadlines.
10) Multitasking
Multitasking is the ability to handle multiple tasks or projects simultaneously. It does not necessarily mean doing two entirely different things at the exact same time.
Multitasking can boost productivity, reduce stress, and save time. But, multitasking can cause errors and lower work quality if not managed.
In order to be successful at multitasking you need to stay focused on one task at a time and avoid distractions.
It’s also important to know when to avoid multitasking. Some tasks need more focus to be done well.
- Managed up to five projects simultaneously, maintaining a 95% client satisfaction rate and zero missed deadlines.
- Juggled multiple responsibilities, including project coordination and client communication, improving overall productivity by 25%.
- Handled day-to-day operations while leading strategic planning sessions, boosting team performance by 20%.
- Efficiently managed multiple client accounts while maintaining high attention to detail, resulting in a 15% increase in repeat business.
What are organizational skills?
Organizational skills are your abilities to manage time effectively, prioritize tasks, set goals, and develop systems for achieving those goals.
Employees with good organizational skills can juggle multiple responsibilities simultaneously, stay focused on deadlines, and handle complex projects efficiently.
Organizational skills are considered to be soft skills. These are non-technical abilities that help an individual work well with others, such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. Hard skills include things like analytical skills. They also include video editing, computer programming, or speaking a foreign language.
Because soft skills, which are different from hard skills, help foster a positive and functional work environment, hiring managers are placing a greater emphasis on them when searching for job candidates.
This is good news for job seekers, because organizational skills, like other interpersonal skills, are transferable. This means that you can apply them to any job in any field or industry.
So If you’re thinking about making a career change, be sure to stress your organizational and other soft skills to potential employers.
Why are organizational skills important?
According to one study, employees waste an average of 40% of their workday because they don’t possess good organizational skills!
Employees who are organized, on the other hand, can save businesses a lot of time and money. That’s because these employees are able to:
- Complete tasks faster and more efficiently.
- Manage their own time without supervision.
- Quickly find the documents and information they need.
- Maintain data and records correctly.
- Create a productive working environment for the whole team.
Organizational skills are certainly useful in the workplace, but did you know they can also improve the quality of your overall life?
In general, people who are organized experience less stress, anxiety, and depression.
Whether it’s a high income skill or not, being organized is more valuable than you think, both for your professional life and your personal life.
How to highlight organizational skills on your resume
If you want potential employers to see how organized you are, you have to feature those skills on your resume.
Here are the two best ways to highlight your organizational skills on your resume:
1) Provide specific, measurable results
The more specific your resume is, the better. Don’t just say you have good time management or communication skills. That’s too vague and forgettable. You need to accurately showcase the level of skill on your resume.
Instead, show exactly how you implemented your organizational skills at work and what the measurable results were.
Use numbers and metrics whenever possible. These will help paint a clear picture of what you did and how well you did it.
- Developed and maintained a filing system for tracking customer orders, resulting in an 80% increase in efficiency.
- Created a digital inventory system that tracked 200+ units of inventory with 100% accuracy.
- Automated invoices to improve accuracy from 70% to 95%.
- Designed and implemented a scheduling system for 50+ employees, improving productivity by 40%.
- Reorganized office space increasing the efficiency of the workspace by 25%.
2) Use keywords from the job description
Before you apply to a job, carefully read through the job description and pay attention to any words or phrases that describe skills.
These are called keywords (a keyword can also be a phrase).
When hiring managers scan your resume, they are specifically looking for these keywords. If your resume doesn’t have them, you might get rejected!
Keywords are important in another way. After you submit your resume it usually goes into a computer database called an applicant tracking system, or ATS.
Hiring managers search for job candidates by typing keywords into the search bar of the ATS. These keywords are usually the same ones found in the job description.
This is why it’s so important to tailor every resume to each job you apply to!
The basic idea behind keywords is that you want to use the job description’s own language on your resume – and then do this for every job you apply to. The trick is to use the correct keywords, and avoid keyword stuffing while you do it.
Jobscan actually has a free, easy-to-use feature called the Bullet Point Generator. This allows you to create the perfect resume in minutes that highlight your achievements and skills. The Resume Builder identifies the skills you need for a role, you click on it, and it’s on your resume.
How to highlight organizational skills in a job interview
Now that you’ve landed a job interview, what’s the best way to talk about your organizational skills?
Here are three ways to highlight your organizational skills when asked questions about them in a job interview.
1) Describe your process
When asked about a time when you had to be organized, take the interviewer through your thought process step-by-step.
This will show that you not only have the skills to be organized but that you also know how to articulate them.
For example, if your project manager skills include organizing team projects at work, you might say something like,
“I sat down and made a list of all the tasks that needed to be done and then divided them up among the team members that I knew were best suited for each task. I assigned deadlines for my team and checked in with everyone regularly to make sure they were on track.”
If you’re not a manager, but were in charge of multiple individual projects, you might say something like,
“I created a daily and weekly schedule for myself, mapping out when I would work on each task. I made sure to leave some buffer time in case anything ran over, and I always tried to stick to my schedule as closely as possible.”
2) Connect your organizational skills to the new job’s responsibilities
When describing your organizational skills, always try to make connections to the responsibilities of the new job.
For example, if you want to highlight your web developer skills, you might talk about how your organizational skills helped you lead a team to success on a previous project.
Applying for a role that involves regular contact with customers or patients means your organizational skills are crucial. This is true whether you’re focusing on cashier skills, barista skills, server skills, or nurse skills. If you’re applying for a cashier position, you might talk about how being organized helped you handle customer transactions swiftly and accurately.
As a barista, you could say that your skills in organization ensured smooth coffee prep and order delivery. If you’re focused on server skills, explain how your org skills helped track table orders and meet customers’ needs. Finally, in nursing, organization is key. It helps manage patient care and meet their health needs.
3) Use specific examples and data
As on your resume, use specific examples and numbers. They should back up your claims about your organizational skills.
For a customer service job, say how you raised customer satisfaction by a specific percentage in a past role.
If you helped your last company save money by streamlining its inventory process, use numbers to show the savings.
If you used your skills to launch a successful event, describe how you managed the budget and timeline to made sure everything worked perfectly.
Concrete examples and data make your argument more convincing. They also give the interviewer something to remember you by.
Remember, being specific – both on your resume and in an interview – helps create a more vivid picture of who you are, what you’re capable of doing, and identifiying the areas of expertise listed on your resume.
How to develop organizational skills
Organization skills don’t come easy for some people, but they can be learned and refined over time with practice.
If you want to develop your organizational skills, It’s important to focus on the following five steps:
1. Prioritize tasks – Evaluate all of the tasks at hand and prioritize them according to importance, urgency, difficulty, or other criteria that makes sense for your individual situation.
2. Keep a planner – Keeping a schedule and/or a to-do list of tasks can be very helpful in making sure that all of the important tasks get done. Be sure to make time for both short-term goals and long-term goals, as well as leisure activities or breaks.
3. Break down big projects – Large projects can be very overwhelming, so it helps to break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This can include setting deadlines for each task and scheduling time in the day to complete that task.
4. Minimize distractions – To ensure maximum productivity and focus, try to limit distractions such as social media, phones, or even other people. Set aside specific times to check emails or social media.
5. Create systems – Creating systems, such as filing documents by category or using a daily checklist of tasks, can help streamline the process of getting things done. Once you create these systems, be sure to stick with them!
With consistent practice, organizational skills can be learned and improved upon.
It’s well worth the effort, as you’ll experience a more productive and stress-free life, both in the office and at home!
FAQ
Prove your organizational skills on your resume. Use measurable examples, like improving time management or efficiency. Use job-related keywords and quantify your impact to stand out.
To improve your organization, focus on tasks. Set realistic goals. Break larger projects into manageable steps. Use calendars, to-do lists, and project management tools to stay organized. Review your systems often.
Organizational skills are about managing time, tasks, and resources to achieve goals. They include time management, prioritization, delegation, and attention to detail.
Organizational skills boost productivity, meet deadlines, and cut stress. They help people work with high efficiency and manage tasks. This can also help with boosting morale and job performance.