Best Skills to List on your Resume in 2015

 

Whether you have been in a well paying job for years or you are currently jobless and looking for one, it is obvious you have been paying very close attention to your resume. After all, apart from the qualification and level of experiences you have, there are other easily attainable skills that can make you be called for that position you have always wanted. I didn’t know about this until when I applied for a number of positions and got no response. However, after I listed SQL on my resume, I was surprised by the number of job offers I received. I have come to learn that there are skills that many potential employers are looking for. To get you started, here are top and easily attainable resume skills that can improve your resume. The best part; you can learn these skills within a few months.

I have come to learn that there are skills that many potential employers are looking for. To get you started, here are top and easily attainable resume skills that can improve your resume. The best part; you can learn them within a few months.

 

Universally useful skills to list on a resume

 

SQL ( Structured Query Language )

 

SQL is the standard programming language used for accessing databases, with such an emphasis on data collection in 2015 has made SQL extremely useful. With this useful skill, you can easily manipulate and analyze data. One good this about SQL is that it is not hard to learn; getting the basics down can be done in a few weeks. Take my case for example’ through online tutorials I was able to master all the basics in within a few weeks. Perfect skill to learn over your summer break. I also recommend this book that will speed things up a bit: Head First SQL: Your Brain on SQL — A Learner’s Guide

 

Excel (Pivot Tables, V-lookup)

 

Excel is a household office items for many organizations and companies. Excel is primarily used to organize, manipulate and analyze tons and tons of information, learning a few fundamental features such as auto fill, sorting and advanced filtering, concatenation, conditional formatting, vlookup, and pivot tables can significantly boost your value proposition as a job seeker. Simple google excel tutorials or go to you-tube and find helpful videos that will take you from beginner to advanced user in a few weeks time. Simply a few hours per day and you’ll have most of the advanced features of excel mastered. Make sure to proudly display your knowledge of advanced features on your resume. Keep in mind that recruiters will search for these advanced features in hopes of discovering somebody who understands the program. A recruiter may search for pivot tables perhaps in order to filter a large amounts of resumes. Most applicant’s only list “Microsoft Office” or just “excel” which doesn’t tell much and doesn’t do you any good. 

 

Microsoft Access

 

Most people neglect Microsoft Access because it isn’t used as often as Word for example, which is a shame because there is a serious need for people who understand a Microsoft Access and can fully utilize all of its features. This database tool can help with a variety of jobs because it can integrated several databases into a network of tables which makes generating reports and organizing data from multiple sources. If you want to learn it, you can download a trial version from the internet which should be enough time to grasp the fundamentals of Microsoft access. Interestingly, there are million study guide and online tutorials available that this could be over a few hours on the weekends. 

 

Microsoft SharePoint

 

Currently used by well over 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies, if you’re not working right now then you should definitely be learning this skill. This tool helps in collaboration on projects, having share-point on your resume can do wonders for your starting pay rate.

 

 

 

Social media marketing Skills to list on a Resume

 

According to LinkedIn, some knowledge in social media and marketing is one skill many companies and organization are looking for right now.

 

To get you started, here a good ways you can show your proficiency in those areas.

 

Google Analytics / Google Adwords

 

Google normally gets you certified in both. Google Ad-words is a program that lets you buy ads on Google; you first choose a phrase and then pay money when a person searches for that and click on your link. To get this certification, you have to sign up for a free Google Partners account then pass the test. They also have a course for google analytic, which measures website traffic and gives important data on the demo-graphical and other data of website visitors. For more info take a look here

 

Tons of marketing jobs are also looking for people who have experience with social media like Twitter, Facebook and Ebay, Youtube, Pinterest. One of the best way you can show you are actually good in those areas is by learning a number of tools that have been designed for this platforms.

 

Hootsuite; One of the most popular tools for managing networks like Twitter, Google+ and Facebook among other world’s major social sites. You can actually go for a free account today and you learn some basics.

 

Sprout Social; normally coming in a 30 day free trial, Sprout Social is fully equipped with great features that can be used to manage social media.

 

Tweetdeck; Used for managing Twitter. 

Good web skills to list on your resume

 

 

Knowing a good number of web skills such as setting up and managing a website has also shown to be one of the greatest things you can do if you are looking for a good job. The good news is that learning some of those skills is a walk in the park. For example, you can learn the basics of CSS, PHP/HTML and others such as HTML5, C# within a few months time, this will come in handy in some of the best paid positions. 

 

WordPress is an amazing free tool that you can use to create and manage website. It is quite easy to learn and use and there are countesses tutorials and free videos that will show you how. Did I mention that WordPress is free 

 

 

 

Advanced business skills to list on your Resume

 

 

Agile Development

 

This is probably one of the most sought out skills when it comes to any type of projects that require frequent change. At the basics agile development is simply a method for how to develop software. Currently, Agile has even gone beyond technical positions found its way into jobs such as project manager and analyst. Getting some basic is not difficult there are abundance of books written which you can rent from the library, there are also countless free courses online. 

 

Six Sigma certification

 

for most people, the name might sound intimidating, but the whole concept is just a theory on how a company or organization can create high quality products. You can easily get this particular certification as it does not come with standard accreditation. Google Youtube, make sure to filter for videos longer then 20 min and you will find plenty introductory courses that will teach you the basics. 

 

Salesforce

 

Salesforce is another in demand skill that will improve your resume. Salesforce is a customer relationship management tool that is needed in a number of job positions. To get you started, you can actually visit Saleforce’s help page and you watch some training videos. Moreover, you can even go ahead and you get yourself a free developer’s version to play around with as you do some stuff on your own. The power of salesforce is in the reporting, learn how to create advanced reports and you will find more opportunities that you can apply for. 

 

Kanban

 

Kanban is another project managers favorite tool. It is closely related to Agile for managing how tasks are done. It is also used in software development and creation of products, product launches and only project that requires cross functional teams to collaborate and get things done. Kanban is really easy to learn and grasp, but the true understanding won’t come from watching videos. Nevertheless a few books will teach you the basics and it will improve your resume. 

 

CAPM; Certified Associate in Project Management

 

With this certification, you can easily gain an edge up in a number of well paying jobs. Although, you need at least 23 hours of formal education to qualify, if you are into project management, this certification is worth considering. You may be able to attain the hours through volunteer work or work study programs.

 

 

 

User Experience Skills to list of a Resume 

 

User experience is also one of the hottest area; everyone is talking about for it can make you very competitive in the job market.

 

Axure

 

It is a downloadable prototyping and wireframing tool that is required in a number of user experience positions.

 

Balsamiq

 

Balsamiq is another popular wire-framing and prototyping tool that is need in a number of areas.

 

SketchUp

 

SketchUp is a 3D modeling tool, and one of the greatest user experience tools you can list on your resume. The best part, you can get if for free.

 

 

 

Great specialty skills that are in demand in 2015

 

R language 

 

R programming language is currently a very popular language that is used for statistical computing, analysis of data, and graphics. It can be used in numerous settings when you are searching for data. R being probably one of the hardest to learn, Cision is a popular PR software that can help you in that field. 

 

Latex

 

Latex is another powerful tool you might want to consider learning to improve your resume. It helps in preparation of documents and makes them look presentable. Although, it is more of a specialty skill, it can help you in a number of positions that are documents heavy such as technical writer among other areas in publication industry.

 

 

 

Some of the trending industries in 2015

 

 

LinkedIn listed 25 tops skill that led people to getting a number of positions in the job industry. Although, a good number of them are a little bit technical, if it is something you want to be apart of, you can actually comb through information resources and see if there is a topic or topics that are somehow related to it that you can master and you bring into your resume. You will be surprised how many courses, videos, tutorials, books and other free resources you can uncover by dedicating some time to it. The days where you had to go to school in order to get a well paying job is over. Dedicate yourself to mastering the skills that are most important for the given roles you are applying for and you will do fine. 

 

Some of the things which can be learned with some much ease include:

 

 

• User interface design

• Social marketing

• Strategy and strategic planning

• Business intelligence

• Digital and online marketing

• PR and communication

• Business Development/relationship management

 

 

Machine learning has also in the past become one of the hottest topics, and learning some of the basic will definitely make your resume stand out from the rest.

Other things organization and companies prefer

 

 

• Quality Assurance

• Risk management/assessment

• Information security

 

 

One government’s organizations, FEMA, has over the years offered free online course on a number of great topics like disaster preparedness and safety. The best part, you are given some kind of education credits if you pass an exam. Ideally, by having a number of those resume skills captured on your resume, you can stand out and considered for a number of positions, because the recruiter will see that you took additional steps to prefect your craft.

 

 

Hazardous materials certification can make you qualified for a number of types of jobs.

Commercial driver license CDL can also help you edge over others when it comes to a number of truck driving positions

Welder certification can help you get a job in physical labor industry as a welder. After all, you can properly weld metals. These jobs start around $20 an hour.

 

 

At the end, there are several ways you can boost your resume and get a chance to be called for that job interview you have always wished for. Had I known the value of SQL when I was in college, I wouldn’t be where I am today; learning this skill could have given me an edge over others when it came to jobs in business analysis and data analysis. Use your time wisely, a few hours before bed, morning hours on weekends, it all it takes to progress and do well. 

 

 

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