Soft Skills vs Hard Skills (and How to Use Them on Your Resume)

There are two types of skills recruiters look for on resumes: soft skills vs hard skills. When used correctly, they form a powerhouse resume. It gives the hiring manager a clear view of the job seeker’s skills.

In this article, we will explain the difference between soft skills vs hard skills. We will explain their importance, show resume examples, and teach you to add them to your resume.

Hard skills vs. soft skills: What’s the difference?

A combination of hard skills and soft skills forms a well-rounded job applicant. Hard skills differ from soft skills. But, a mix of both is ideal. It balances knowledge with interpersonal traits. Hard skills show mastery and skill. Soft skills show communication and relational abilities.

For example, a software engineer may have the following skills on their resume: Javascript, Java, CASE, and Linux. The are hard skills, but they may also have soft skills, like being detail-oriented, working well under pressure, and having great time management.

This applicant’s hard skills demonstrate a very different, very specific expertise compared to their soft skills. Hard skills help the applicant get past ATS while showing experience level and qualification for the position. Soft skills make the applicant human, showing leadership, empathy, and character.

What are hard skills?

Hard skills are taught skills. They are quantifiable and are often learned in school, through certifications, or in previous work experience. Hard skills are specific to each job and are often the basis of job requirements.

Recruiters look for hard skills on your resume to gauge how well you may perform job duties. These skills are crucial. They help with applicant tracking systems (ATS). These systems rank and filter job applications. 

Hard skills are “resume keywords.” Recruiters use these to search for candidates in applicant tracking systems. To be highly searchable, a resume must include the most suitable levels of skills in the job description.

Hard skills examples

Below are some examples of hard skills you can add to your resume, depending on your industry.

Technical skills examples

Big data engineering skills examples

Sales and marketing skills examples

Accounting and finance skills examples

How can you find hard skills for your resume?

Resume hard skills must be tailored to each job. In order to find skills that will grab the attention of recruiters and help get you past ATS, job seekers should analyze the job description. Look specifically for required skills when writing your resume. These are skills that are mentioned first, or skills that are listed more than once, as those are likely high-priority to the hiring manager.

When choosing hard skills to include, bear in mind that tense matters in ATS. Be sure to use the exact form of the word used in the job description.

To make a resume with the right keywords, but not overstuffed, use Jobscan’s Bullet Point Generator. This lets you create a perfect resume in minutes. It will highlight your achievements and skills. The tool even knows to avoid keyword stuffing. The Resume Builder identifies the skills you need for a role, you click on it, and it’s on your resume.

Optimize the hard skills on your resume

Analyzing each job description can be time-consuming, but it is important. Jobscan can help by automating the process of locating hard skills. Upload or paste your resume next to a job description. Jobscan will do the rest.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are typically interpersonal people skills or desirable personality traits that revolve around character, teamwork, communication, time management, and work ethic. Soft skills tend to be transferable between jobs or industries but are more difficult to quantify on a resume than hard skills.

Soft skills are usually people skills or desirable traits. They involve character, teamwork, communication, time management, and work ethic. Soft skills are transferable between jobs. But, they are harder to prove on a resume than hard skills.

Here are examples of some of the most common and important soft skills recruiters are looking for in 2024.

Communication

One of the most important and in-demand skill is communication. Why? Because without strong interpersonal skills, you can’t build relationships. You also can’t resolve conflict or achieve common goals. 

Communication skills are required on more than 35% of job postings, which Jobscan discovered after analyzing more than 10 million listings. 

Time management

Time is money, and every employer has a bottom line to watch — which is why they want to hire people with great time management skills (especially high income skills). Time management skills help you make the most efficient use of your time.

Leadership

Having leadership skills is the ability to influence and inspire others. It moves people to take action, make things happen, and achieve goals. Leaders must clearly communicate goals. They must rally and motivate people towards a vision. They must take charge, especially during crises.

It is about trying to be the best version of yourself while empowering others to become the best version of themselves.

How to use soft skills on your resume

Just because soft skills are non-technical does not mean they can’t be worked into measurable accomplishments. In fact, they should be. Soft skills become more tangible and believable when combined with accomplishments and measurable results.

For example, if you have a summary statement in your resume, try working soft skills into it, like this:

Product manager, problem-solver and super communicator with 15 years of experience in product strategy. I have carried more than 20 successful products from start to completion.

This summary uses the soft skills “problem solver” and “super communicator.” It includes metrics as proof of experience. When working with soft skills, a job seeker should always try to pair a soft skill with a measurable result.

Another way to highlight these soft skills on your resume is in the form of accomplishments in the experience section. For example:

“Using my strong organizational skills, I created a new filing system for more than 300 patient files.“

“A common resume mistake is not customizing your resume for each job application,” says Clair Levy, a certified professional resume writer with over 15 years of experience in career transitions.

Read more: How to Showcase the Top Executive Soft Skills on Your Resume

Where should you display soft and hard skills on your resume?

A skills section on your resume lets recruiters see, at a glance, that you have the required skills for the job. You can include hard skills in your work experience. But, they are most impressive in bullet points.

“Tailoring your resume to the specific job and industry shows the employer that you’ve taken the time to understand their needs,” says Levy.

“Include industry-specific keywords and phrases from the job description to pass through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and catch the recruiter’s eye.,” Levy added.

Tip: List important hard and soft skills in both your work experience and skills sections. You can also add highly desirable hard skills to your cover letter. 

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