Resume FormatHow to Summarize Your Technical Skills

Resume FormatHow to Summarize Your Technical SkillsResume Format- How to Summarize Your Technical SkillsThe skills section of your resume should be an accurate reflection of all you can do, but this doesnt mean that you should include every technology youve ever read a book about. You dont want to overwhelm your reader at first glance, perhaps making him look at his watch and wonder if he has time to read all youve written. What to Include The skills sectionof your resumeshould include details of technologies that you at least have a working knowledge of. It should also include any notable soft skills you have, such as presenting to large groups or writing technical information for a non-technical audience. Skills listed in this section should be verifiable. If you say you have experience presenting to senior management, someone should be able to verify that with a reference check. How to Organize the Section The skills section of a resume can be organized in numerous ways. The more neat and orderly it appears at first glance, the better. For example, a skills section that lists technologies broken into groups is much easier to read- and therefore more likely to be read- than one that simply offers a long single list mentioning all the technologies one by one. You might want to consider organizing everything in categories such as development tools and languages, protocols, databases, platforms, and so forth. Some Examples Here are a few examples of different, well-formatted skills sections, categorized by industry Software engineer skills section This resume simply lists three software skills in bullet points- databases, software, and languages, with a brief inclusion of the various platforms and programs for each. Bullet points tend to be less intimidating at first glance than long paragraphs. By their very nature, they lend themselves to easy review and digestion.Senior software engineer skills summary If youre going for a senior fleck, you might want to flesh it out a little more, little being the key word. Remember, brevity is key. Consider writing your resume on one day, then going back to it the next day to read it with a cold eye. See if anything jumps out at you as being extraneous or repetitive. Keep in mind that if you have prior experience in a senior position, it goes without saying that your skills include the most basic abilities in the field. Focus on the unique aspects of the trade youve mastered. Skills summary for mechanical design engineer This resume doesnt really include a skills section at all. The really pertinent information to the position being sought is encapsulated in the education and accomplishments sections. Again, the reader can accurately presume that with an advanced education, you have the necessary basic skills to do the job. Additionally, including the list of accomplishments indicates that the applicant knows how to use these skills. Redundancy wont enthuse your reader and its a waste of your time as well. The bottom line? Review your entire resume, not just the skills section, to ensure that youre not repeating yourself, belaboring the obvious, and losing your reader.