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). These skills are always in high demand because they’re essential for keeping workflows moving smoothly and efficiently. Recruiters want people with specific areas of expertise.
In this article, we’ll talk about seven time management skills you should add to your resume to help you stand out to potential employers.
What are time management skills?
Time management skills help you make the most efficient use of your time. These are usually considered to be soft skills, which are the personal attributes and social skills that we need to interact with other people. Soft skills include things like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Hard skills include things like data analysis.
According to a LinkedIn study, 89 percent of employers say that when a hire does not work out, it’s often due to a lack of soft skills. This is why more and more recruiters are prioritizing soft skills over hard skills when hiring.
Soft skills like time management are high demand skills right now especially because they are transferable. This means they can be applied to any job, across all industries and positions.
7 important time management skills examples for your resume
When you’re adding skills to your resume, remember that you should always try to show, not tell. In other words, don’t just list your skills, but try to back them up with real-life time management skills examples showing when you applied them. You also want to showcase what’s required, not overload the reader with information or keyword stuff the resume.
Here are the seven time management skills that employers love to see the most.
1. Prioritization
Setting priorities is perhaps the most essential time management skill of all. If you don’t know which task has the highest priority, it’s very difficult to make effective use of your time.
When you show potential employers that you know how to prioritize tasks, it tells them that you can think about the big picture and understand what is most important for the company’s success. It shows you have critical-thinking skills as well.
Remember, when writing your resume, don’t tell readers that you’re “good at prioritizing.” Instead, show them. You could say, for example:
“As a supervisor, I was responsible for managing a team of customer service representatives. We were constantly bombarded with requests from customers, and it was my job to prioritize those requests to keep our team on track. I learned how to quickly assess what was most important and delegate accordingly.”
- As seen in the example above, use action verbs such as manage, prioritize, or assess to paint a clear picture and keep readers engaged.
- Use numbers to show the results you achieved. For example, “By prioritizing the most important customers, I helped my team increase the ROI of outbound sales by 25 percent.”
- Emphasize efficiency. Show potential employers that, despite having many responsibilities, you can still meet deadlines and deliver great results.
2. Setting goals
Setting clear goals makes it easier to determine how to best use your time so you can achieve those goals. They also help you stay on track and avoid getting overwhelmed.
If you are a social media manager, for example, you set goals by creating a schedule for posting content. This helps you plan your time so you can focus on the most important tasks.
If you are a project manager, you set goals by choosing a target completion date for a project. Then you can work backwards and create a schedule or plan that will ensure the project finishes on time.
Setting goals makes it easier to track your progress and see how far you’ve come. It also allows you to make adjustments if necessary.
- Be specific – don’t just say your goal was to “grow sales this year.” Instead say you set a goal to “increase sales by 10 percent over each quarter throughout the year.”
- Share an educational goal, such as learning a new tool or completing a course. For example, “My goal was to learn to code, which I did by taking an online coding course.”
- Show how you set goals that are measurable and achievable. Maybe you set a goal to increase web traffic to your company’s website by 20 percent over the course of 6 months – and you successfully reached that goal.
3. Planning
Yes, prioritizing and setting goals are important skills. But you also need to be able to put those ideas into motion – this is where planning comes in.
Examples of planning include creating a timeline, developing a strategy, or allocating resources.
Putting this skill on your resume is fairly easy if you were in a leadership or project management position. All you have to do is think about a time when you helped put a new process in place. We analyzed over 10 million real job listing and found that out of the skills most commonly requested on job descriptions, 14% had planning as a required skill.
But even if you didn’t lead such efforts, you can still try to think of times where you had to plan events, meetings, or anything else where you had to take charge and make sure everything ran smoothly.
Planning is a valuable skill in any job, so don’t be afraid to showcase it even if you don’t have the word “manager” in your title.
- Try to use action verbs that emphasize your planning skills, such as coordinated, organized, and scheduled.
- Include any relevant certifications or training in project management.
- Highlight successes you achieved that were the result of good planning on your part.
4. Delegating
Delegating is the process of assigning responsibility for a task or project to another person or group. When delegating, it is vital to ensure that the people you delegate to have the necessary skills and expertise to complete the task. Delegation is also a great example of interpersonal skills.
Delegating is an important time management skill for two reasons:
- It shows you are capable of managing others effectively.
- It allows you to free up your own time so that you can focus on other tasks.
Add delegating to your resume by highlighting the successes you achieved by assigning tasks to others. Also explain how this benefited your company or organization.
- Create a more powerful impact by using action verbs like managed, directed, supervised, or assigned.
- Include any experience you have managing a team. This shows that you are able to lead others and get the best out of them.
- Use numbers. Instead of saying, “I supervised a team,” say, “I supervised a team of 8 people.”
5. Technical skills
In today’s world, any discussion of time management skills must include using technology. Technology can save time by improving communication, streamlining processes, and freeing up employees for other tasks.
This means that it’s critical to show prospective employers that you are comfortable with using technology, and other analytical skills, to save time and increase productivity.
Your resume should always include your experiences with specific time management software or tools.
Examples of this technology include project management software, marketing automation platforms, data analytics software, e-commerce platforms, mobile apps, CRM software, and more.
- Whenever possible, show how you used a tool to achieve a specific result. For example, “I used Smartsheet software to reduce workflow by 10 percent.”
- List certifications, special training, and other credentials.
- If tech knowledge seems like a make-or-break for a potential employer, include a simple list of relevant tools you know how to use.
6. Documentation and training
It’s vitally important for businesses to document, or create a written record of, their processes. These documents can then guide current employees or train new ones. Documenting can save a lot of time and frustration down the road.
Out of those 10 million real job listings we analyzed, we found that 14% had documentation as a required skill.
Examples of documents include manuals, video tutorials, online courses, flowcharts, training webinars, and more.
- Be detailed about any training experience you have. For example, say, “I trained all new machinists on equipment safety and production work.”
- Focus on the measurable results you achieved. An example would be, “As an office manager, I created materials to train new employees on company policies and procedures, which resulted in making the onboarding process 32 percent more efficient.”
- List any certifications, special training, or other classroom credentials you may have.
Report: Top 10 In-Demand Resume Skills (2024)
7. Decision making
You might be asking, “How is decision-making a time management skill?” The answer is that quick and efficient decisions save time that would otherwise be wasted on deliberating over options. Making effective decisions also shows hiring managers that you have effective problem solving skills as well.
On your resume, try to highlight specific decisions you made that resulted in a positive outcome and explain why they were successful.
In addition, good decisions always involve problem solving, or the ability to quickly see what needs fixing. So, as a bonus, feel free to add problem solving skills to your resume as well!
- Show how you utilized data and analytics to inform your decisions.
- Highlight the impact your decisions had on the company’s bottom line. For example, “As a financial analyst, I decided to switch the company over to QuickBooks, which saved 20 percent on accounting costs.”
- If applicable, mention that you made your decisions in a fast-paced or high-pressure environment. This shows that you work well under pressure.
How to improve your time management skills at work
There are a few key things you can do to improve your time management skills while you’re at your job.
- Set priorities and stick to them.
- Make a to-do list and use it as a guide for your daily activities.
- Delegate tasks when possible.
- Stay organized and keep your workspace clean.
- Avoid procrastination at all costs!
- Practice time management techniques regularly.
Following these tips will not only help you become more efficient and productive in the workplace, but they’ll provide you with important soft skills you can add to your resume.
And to create the best resume you possibly can, use Jobscan’s resume builder.
This tool will dramatically increase the searchability of your resume so that recruiters and hiring managers are more likely to find it – resulting in more job interviews and job opportunities.
How to add time management skills to your resume
Wondering how to highlight skills on your resume? To show your time management skills on your resume, list them in your work experience and skills sections. Only do this if they match the job description. For example, if the job stresses time management and lists it as a keyword.
- Prioritization
- Deadline management
- Task scheduling
- Delegation
This helps your resume align with applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan for specific keywords. In your work experience, quantify your achievements. For example, “Developed a strategy that improved team efficiency by 20%.” Use action verbs, like “coordinated” and “organized.” They show you can manage time in practical situations.
This approach shows employers how you use these skills. It also ensures your resume ranks well with ATS.
You can easily identify these skills with Jobscan’s free Resume Builder tool. You can select which skills to add from the automated suggestions and add them to your resume with just one click using our bullet point generator. It takes just seconds to perfectly optimize your resume this way.
What are the best tools to improve time management skills?
There are so many apps, tools, sites, and more designed to help you with managing your time management skills. Here are some of the most popular ones to try, categorized for you to know exactly how they can help.
Project management software
Platforms like Trello, Asana, and Monday.com allow you to break down complex tasks into manageable steps, assign deadlines, and monitor progress in real time. These tools are excellent for team collaboration and keeping projects on track.
Time-tracking apps
Apps like Toggl and Clockify help you track how much time you’re spending on different tasks. This insight allows you to adjust your schedule and improve productivity by identifying time-wasting activities.
Calendars and planners
Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and physical planners can help you block time for specific tasks, set reminders, and plan your day, week, or month in advance.
Automation tools
Tools like Zapier can automate repetitive tasks, such as scheduling emails or organizing files, freeing up time for more critical activities.
Focus and distraction blockers
Apps like Focus@Will block distracting websites and apps, allowing you to concentrate on important tasks during work sessions.
FAQ
Time management skills are the abilities to organize, prioritize, and effectively plan tasks to maximize productivity and efficiency while minimizing stress. These skills help manage time effectively in personal and professional settings.
Prioritization: Focusing on urgent and important tasks.
Goal Setting: Creating clear, measurable goals.
Planning: Structuring tasks and scheduling them efficiently.
Delegation: Assigning tasks to others when appropriate.
Focus: Maintaining concentration on tasks without distractions.
The three essential components are:
1. Prioritization: Knowing what tasks to focus on first.
2. Goal Setting: Creating short-term and long-term goals to guide your actions.
3. Planning: Organizing tasks and resources to ensure efficient completion.
Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific tasks to complete them efficiently. It involves setting goals, prioritizing tasks, and scheduling time effectively.
Time management is important because it reduces stress, increases productivity, helps meet deadlines, improves decision-making, and supports a better work-life balance. It also helps achieve personal and professional goals more efficiently.